Information fusion for onboard and offboard avionics
T. Kurien, Alan Chao, Sol W. Gully, Richard A. Wood · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1998
This paper defines and demonstrates an all-source information fusion system for combining onboard and offboard data and maintain continuous track on targets. We provide an architecture containing an offboard data processor to extract data relevant to the attack aircraft mission, and a set of fusion modules for recursively associating sensor reports, tracking targets, and classifying targets. These modules are derived from a well-posed mathematical formulation which enables us to define precise interfaces among the fusion modules. This approach provides three benefits. First, it enables us to construct a fusion algorithm with close-to-optimal target tracking and classification performance. Second, it allows us to study new fusion algorithms by implementing alternate algorithms for each module. Third, it allows us to process data from any combination of sensors making the architecture applicable to a variety of attack aircraft and missions. We show that the proposed system can increase a pilot's situational awareness by providing him with a clear battlefield picture consistent with attack aircraft mission objectives. Results for a simple but realistic air-to-ground scenario simulation demonstrate the benefits of fusing data from offboard and onboard sensors.