Net-Centric Cooperative Tracking of Moving Targets
Jack S. Elston, Eric W. Frew · AIAA Infotech@Aerospace 2007 Conference and Exhibit · 2007
The cooperative stand-off line-of-sight (CSLOS) tracking of a mobile target by two UA has been demonstrated through a series of experiments conducted at an outdoor range. All computational and decision making processes were performed entirely onboard each UA, requiring no outside input other than an ID for the target. Communications for coordina-tion were performed strictly plane to plane, with the possibility of a “hop ” through a relay node for greater range or reliability for the transmission. A ground node was maintained for the collection of network and sensor data, but remained simply a passive device on the network. The extensibility of the design was demonstrated through a hardware-in-the-loop (HWIL) simulation of a three plane cooperative tracking. The ability to perform both the experiment and simulation were enabled through the extension of an existing networked command, control and communications infrastructure.a I.