Integrated Data Fusion and Decision Support for Dynamic Battlespace

In the traditional DF (data fusion) and DS (decision support) systems, a decision is made upon a complete set of data is provided at a given time. Operating in a 'batch processing' mode, they usually require a transfer of a large amount of data to generateoptimal decisions. However, with the ever-growing availability of asynchronous sensors, the use of batch mode is becoming technically obsolete. New systems capable of synergistic integration with the DDB are needed.Following the above observations, this project develops a methodology, architecture, and algorithms for a Dynamic Data Fusion / Dynamic Decision Support Systems (DDF/DDSS). A stand-alone DDF/DDSS system will be developed and experimentally tested usingapplication domain data. The proposed DDF/DDSS approach performs data flow analysis on-line with the decision making process and interacts with a human via an advanced 3-D visual interface. It identifies bottlenecks and problems in the information flow,and based on this analysis, it generates queries/requests for information update to the DDB and information sources. The DDF/DDSS requests selective data items rather than shifting large parts of the DDB to the system input. It handles loosely-coupled datacollected asynchronously at different time intervals and operates in an active mode.