Spectral Assisted Moving Vehicle Tracking

A capability for robust tracking of one or more vehicles of interest ¿ through traffic patterns, across occlusions, and other complicating situations ¿ is needed as a component in the detection of activities related to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It has been hypothesized that the incorporation of vehicle signature information outside the visible bandwidths could improve tracking performance. This project will examine the signatures of vehicles in certain nonvisible bands (IR in particular) and develop methods for incorporating this information into a new, fused vehicle detection and tracking scheme. The approach will involve the direct measurement of vehicle signatures, analysis of features, development of specifications to capture those features, and development and testing of prototype methodologies to detect/track those features. Commercial Applications and other Benefits as described by the awardeeA capability for robust tracking of vehicles would enable government security personnel to interdict and thus reduce the movement of contraband materials (such as weapons of mass destruction or improvised explosive devices). Beyond the security application, there are substantial applications in commercial surveillance and monitoring.