(3) Multisensor Fusion and Analytics for Detection and Correction of Sensor Degredation

The proposed effort investigates machine learning and deep-learning artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to sensor degradation which is one of the more significant limitations that stymie reliable and dependable operations on the part of unmanned surface and undersea vehicles. Multiple external and internal causes related to adversarial action as well as system failure modes are investigated along with their effects on sensor system performance, and methods are developed to overcome these effects. A wide variety of navigation and tactical sensors and sensor functions are considered in exploiting overlaps in sensor coverage that may provide multiple perspectives to achieve sensor information redundancy by repurposing individual sensors in new roles for which they may not have been originally designed. Also considered is the introduction of new techniques that can compensate for degraded sensor performance through improved reasoning with higher levels of uncertainty present within sensor data streams. A third consideration is the exploration of the sensor signal characteristics of internal failures that distinguish themselves from external phenomena yet still manifest similar symptoms.