A Distributed Sensor Manager

Many tactical scenarios include coordinated actions by distributed platforms. Data Fusion Corporation (DFC) and Lockheed Ft. Worth Company will develop innovative methods for handling sensor management among distributed heterogeneous sensing platforms of varying degrees of coupling. This work builds on DFC's work on sensor management and Lockheed's work on multi-platform resource sharing. Platforms will coordinate sensing activities by using and exchanging multi-resolution models of situations, utilities, capabilities, and plans. Multi-resolution models permit scaling of computation and communication requirements for bounded-optimality in resource-constrained systems. Four engineered processes will be created that relate to the design, instantiation, communication, and interpretation of these multi-resolution models. As with DFC's current sensor manager, this effort will focus on general methods as opposed to a particular ad hoc solution. This approach ensures maintainability and extensibility to new sensors and mission scenarios.