Ants on the AEDGE

When the call comes in to respond to a time critical target, there is little time for the watchstander to weigh the myriad factors that go into targeting decisions. We know where the target is now, but where will it be when the weapon system arrives to engage it? In order to plan for an effective mission, the planner and watchstander must have an effective movement prediction on known surface vehicles. This prediction should take into consideration vehicle capabilities, the vehicle's environment, and updated observations of the vehicles in question. The prediction technique should also provide the operator/watchstander with a sense of the uncertainty in the prediction based on time elapsed since last observation and possible alternate paths. 21st Century Systems, Incorporated is pleased to address this prediction challenge by utilizing a recent innovation in algorithms derived from nature. 21CSI proposes to use an ant-based algorithm for predicting the future location of a surface vehicle that incorporates vehicle capabilities, previous history, and vehicle environment in its determination. The algorithm includes support for updated vehicle observations and uncertainty regions. We call our concept Ants on the AEDGE (an ant colony paradigm algorithm using the COTS AEDGE environment).