Analytical models quantify the military benefit of collaborative search
Melvin H. Friedman, Todd W. Du Bosq, Eric A. Flug · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2010
Analytical Model 1 describes how long it takes the first observer to find a target when multiple observers search a field of regard using imagery provided by a single sensor. This model, developed using probability concepts, suggests considerable benefits accrue from collaborative search: when P is near one and with ten observers the mean detection time (in reduced time) is reduced by almost an order of magnitude when compared to that of a single observer. To get the instant of detection in clock time we add the delay time td to the reduced time. Empirical fits for td and are also given in the paper. Model 1 was verified/validated by computer simulation and perception experiments. Here ten observers searched sixty computer generated fields of regard (each one was 60 x 20 degrees) for a single military vehicle. Analytical Model 2 describes how the probability of target acquisition increases with the number of observers. The results of Model 2 suggest that probability of target acquisition increases considerably when multiple observers independently search a field of regard. Model 2 was verified by simulation but not by perception experiment. Models 1 and 2 are pertinent to development of search strategies with multiple observers and are expected to find use in wargaming for evaluating the efficacy of networked imaging sensors.