FORMAL MATHEMATICAL METHODS FOR SENSOR MANAGEMENT

IN THE PAST, SENSOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN CONSTRUCTED UTILIZING A VARIETY OF AD HOC METHODS AND HEURISTIC "RULES OF THUMB." LITTLE OR NO ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO PROVIDE A CONSISTENT INTELLECTUAL FRAMEWORK OR SYSTEM LEVEL ARCHITECTURE FOR SUPPORTING SENSOR MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS. THIS APPROACH MADE IT DIFFICULT TO UTILIZE SYSTEM LEVEL REQUIREMENTS TO DEFINE SENSOR MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS AND PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS. IN CONTRAST, WITH A FORMAL MATHEMATICAL APPROACH TO SENSOR MANAGEMENT, THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH THE SENSOR MANAGEMENT SYSTEM WILL MEET SPEICIFC NUMERICAL REQUIREMENTS CAN BE DETERMINED ANALYTICALLY. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT IN THE ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVE SENSOR MANAGEMENT ARCHITECTURES AND ALGORITHMS. THE PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL DEVELOP FORMAL MATHEMATICAL METHODS FOR SENSOR MANAGEMENT. BOTH BROAD THEORETICAL FRAMEWORKS, AND SPECIFIC ALGORITHMIC APPROACHES WILL BE EXAMINED DURING THE PHASE I EFFORT.