The driving force behind ONRs unmanned sea surface vehicle (USSV) program is the great potential for these versatile vehicles to support Navy ships in the littoral environment. However, if USSVs are to fulfill this expectation, efforts must be made to make them less challenging to operate in order to reduce the manpower footprint. In a perfect world, these systems would be cooperative heterogeneous mobile entities balancing resource allocation, onboard/offboard processing, prioritization, and communications themselves. To meet this challenge, 21st Century Systems, Incorporated (21CSI) is pleased to propose the Sensor And Track Fusion for Collaborative Reconnaissance (SEA TRAFFCR) concept. We propose to exploit the synergy between an innovative data correlation/fusion concept and a novel track correlation and association algorithm. The marriage of these innovative algorithms create a tool that will combine sensor data and tracks from heterogeneous and distributed sources into an accurate and timely common operating picture. With our impressive track record of being able to transition technology (100th percentile on the DoD commercialization index) and our strong research and development team, 21CSI is the right team at the right time to propel the USSV program to its littoral destiny.
Benefit: Autonomous fusion and processing by distributed sensors is a technology that will be used for numerous military applications both inside and outside of USVs. There is an immediate need for this kind of technology to improve the effectiveness of existing USVs, UAVs, UGVs. The 21CSI team fully intends to build and transition key technological elements of SEA TRAFFCR to all suitable DoD components. Both the Air Force UAV program and the Army UGV program will especially benefit from applying this technology to their current systems. 21CSI will build the distributed software, with agents, tailored to the specific applications. 21CSI has strong DoD marketing capabilities from its ~10 years market penetration, with good contacts and a strong reputation. We will continue to leverage this experience to identify the best route to put this technology in the hands of the war fighter. Ultimately, this technology will be a significant force multiplier. As an immediate transition, 21CSI would incorporate SEA TRAFFCR data fusion methodologies into the two force protection command and control programs SentinelNet and HiRSA. HiRSA is currently in use in Iraq where it was first deployed to Camp Fallujah, with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, in September 2004. Advanced sensor data fusion would be an invaluable addition to HiRSA. SentinelNet is the maritime/littoral version of HiRSA. It also utilizes a robust suite of sensors and would greatly benefit from SEA TRAFFCR data fusion technology. The list of potential military customers for this technology is almost limitless. Sensors are becoming ubiquitous on todays battlefield. The ability to rapidly fuse sensor data is critical to the success of our military. SEA TRAFFCR could be utilized by any current command and control system with the ability to import sensor data. SEA TRAFFCR could readily be adapted for commercial uses. The core data fusion technology is applicable for use in commercial security operations for the protection of critical infrastructure and key assets such as chemical plants, power plants, hospitals, etc. SEA TRAFFCR has the ability to better utilize the sensor data for security operations. Other governmental agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security FEMA/Border Patrol/TSA could utilize SEA TRAFFCR data fusion. The Border Patrol, through the SBInet initiative, is developing a virtual border 0x9D around the U.S. The use of cameras, radar and other sensors is critical to the success of this operation. SEA TRAFFCR could provide an invaluable tool to make better use of these sensors.
Keywords: unmanned control, unmanned control, Track fusion, sensor fusion, autonomous unmanned systems, data fusion, Track Correlation/Association, Uncertainty Reduction
