Automatic 3-D Structure Creation and Target Identification

"The ability to disable a ballistic missile in flight is a major component of ballistic missile defense. Proper surveillance is the first step in this type of defense. The missile must be identified and recognized before any disabling activity can beinitiated. Due to the size and speed of typical missiles, standard target recognition approaches have significant problems with recognizing missiles in flight. Once the target is identified, the next step is to predict where it is headed (calculate itstrajectory). We believe that the three dimensional structure of the object is the natural framework for performing both of these steps. Cybernet proposes to create a prototype system capable of reconstructing the 3D structure of an object from a series of2D images of the object. The 3D object information can then be used to determine the object type and the position and orientation of the object in each of the original images. Given enough images, this information provides the necessary data to estimatethe missile's trajectory. The proposed technology could be used to increase the speed at which virtual models are created. Additionally, it could be used to improve the capabilities of industrial robots. The ability to accurately determine position andlocation of an object would allow the robot to properly obtain any item regardless of initial pose."