ULTRAFAST ALGORITHMS FOR REAL-TIME DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CLOUDS

THE MICROPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF CLOUDS AND THE MORPHOLOGY OF CLOUD FIELDS CAN HAVE SIGNIFICANT DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS ON THE SUCCESSFUL OPERATION OF A BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM. A DETAILED FEASIBILITY STUDY IS BEING UNDERTAKEN OF DUAL VERY LARGE SCALE AND MEDIUM SCALE INTEGRATED CIRCUIT TECHNOLOGY BASED ULTRAFAST ALGORITHM IMPLEMENTATIONS FOR THE DETECTION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CLOUDS. THE FEASIBILITY IS BEING DETERMINED OF INTEGRATING THE ABOVE IMPLEMENTATIONS INTO EXISTING COMPUTER ARCHITECTURES FOR STRATEGIC DEFENSE. THE FEASIBILITY IS BEING INVESTIGATED OF AUTOMATING THE DATA INGEST AND DATA ALIGNMENT FROM SENSORS TO ENHANCE THE SENSOR TIME RESPONSE. PRELIMINARY STRATEGIES ARE BEING DEVELOPED FOR VALIDATING AND TESTING SUCH ULTRAFAST ALGORITHM IMPLEMENTATIONS. BENEFITS, WHEN SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOPED, INCLUDE REAL-TIME INFORMATION ABOUT THE LOCATION AND CHARACTER OF CLOUD, SUCH AS OPTICAL THICKNESS. IMAGE PROCESSING APPLICATIONS INVOLVING PATTERN RECOGNITION AND IMAGE UNDERSTANDING WOULD EXIST, INCLUDING APPLICATIONS IN THE AIRCRAFT INDUSTRY FOR CLOUD DEPICTION, THE MEDICAL INDUSTRY, AND COMPUTER AIDED MANUFACTURING.