Target selection with communicating observers
David J. Salmond, Malcolm P. Rollason, Ivan Gregory · 2003
The problem of surface target selection and estimation for multiple communicating observers is addressed. Prior information is provided in the form of a targeting map, which includes the expected posi- tion and possibly other attributes of the targets of in- terest in the scenario. This map is available to all ob- servers. The observers process sensor measurements locally and send information occasionally to a fusion centre, which produces an (approximate) overall pos- terior pdf of one, or more, required targets from the targeting map. It is assumed that the targets are fixed during the (fairly brief) observation period. A multiple hypothesis algorithm for local processing and a (subop- timal) central fusion scheme have been derived from a Bayesian starting point. Key aspects of this algorithm are that it is robust to observers joining (or leaving) the group, and that it is scalable with the number of observers. Operation of the scheme is demonstrated via a simple two dimensional simulation using a batch filter (Iterated Least Squares) implementation.