AN INVESTIGATION OF THE APPLICATION OF NEURAL NETWORK TECHNOLOGY TO DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

A NEED EXISTS FOR PROVIDING TIMELY DAMAGE ASSESSMENT INFORMATION TO THE KEY DECISION MAKERS ON A TYPICAL AIRBASE DURING AN ATTACK OR NATURAL DISASTER. AT PRESENT, THE DIFFICULTY OF PROVISING ACCURATE AND TIMELY INFORMATION HINDERS DECISION MAKING DURING A CRISIS. REAL-TIME DAMAGE ASSESSMENT MAY BE POSSIBLE THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF NEURAL NETWORK TECHNOLOGY. FOR A DAMAGE ASSESSMENT SYSTEM TO BE SUCCESSFUL IT MUST PERFORM THREE KEY FUNCTIONS: RECOGNITION AND IDENTIFICATION, CATEGORIZATION, AND LOCATION. IN THIS PROPOSAL A SYSTEM CONSISTING OF A DIGITAL COMPUTER HOSTING A NEURAL NETWORK WITH SIMULATED SENSORS WILL BE USED TO INVESTIGATE THE CAPABILITIES OF THE SYSTEM TO PERFORM THE THREE FUNCTIONS. THE MAIN THRUST OF THIS EFFORT IS TO SHOW THAT THESE FUNCTIONS CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED ON REAL-TIME AND WITH SUFFICIENT PRECISION AND RELIABILITY TO MAKE REMOTE SENSING DAMAGE ASSESSMENT POSSIBLE.