Design of Unattended Ground Sensors Based upon Biologically Inspired Wireless Networking and Data Fusion Algorithms

As recent experience has taught us, superior technology and sophistication is insufficient to protect our military forces from the attacks of individuals and small groups who can easily conceal themselves and deceive standard detection techniques. The danger that these attacks pose drives the need for novel approaches for their detection and identification. One approach that possesses great potential is the use of small, low power Unattended Ground Sensors (USG) networked together and cooperating with one another. This concept demands sensor and networking strategies that possess a level of flexibility, robustness and efficiency that far outstrip the capabilities of traditional techniques. In order to construct networking algorithms possessing the necessary attributes, decentralized algorithms that also address the sensor constraints are required. Nature provides numerous examples of distributed algorithms, which hold great promise for communications networking applications. Orbital Research proposes the development of a novel Intelligent Communications Architecture for a suite of networking protocols based upon group intelligence control algorithms and networking strategies for sensor networks. The proposed work will demonstrate the feasibility of an efficient and robust, spatially distributed wireless networking architecture imbued with the ability to achieve self-configuration and adaption in response to dynamically changing communications requirements and resources.