"With wideband phased array radars, objects can be larger than the rangeresolution in which case multiple detections will occur across adjacent range cells. Forconditions with closely-spaced objects (CSOs), a key processing function is the segmentation ofdetections (called primitive measurements)… More

"The success of hit-to-kill missile defense systems depends on correct discrimination of an entire collection of tracks. A number of organizations are now building Bayesian Network (BN) system models that assume near-perfect tracking knowledge, and theseBNs use single tracks and collections of… More

"Tracking midcourse objects for SBIRS Low is a truly significant anddifficult scientific problem that must be solved to provide aconsistent set of tracks to discrimination. For the space based IRsensors, the resolution is limited due to the geometry and distancefrom the satellite to the targets. … More

"The aim of the BMD program is to provide a layered defense against ballistic missile threats.A central component to the BMD system is the tracking system which hasto provide accurate tracks for discrimination and prediction of thethreat's position. Countermeasures in the form of debris, chaff,… More

"Multiple frame data association methods such as MHT (multiple hypothesistracking) and MFA (multiple frame assignments) have establishedthemselves as the preferred tracking method. The reason for the successof this class of methods is that difficult data association decisionsare held in abeyance… More

The objective of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) is todetect, identify, and track targets using sensor observations, andengage the lethal objects using interceptors.To achieve the desired level of effectiveness, the system mustdistinguish between the lethal and non-lethal objects.Object… More

Tracking midcourse objects for IR surveillance is a significant problem that must be solved to provide an accurate and consistent set of tracks for intercept and discrimination. Numerica has developed an advanced STSS tracker and tested it extensively on government supplied scenarios. Several… More

Many factors make the ground target tracking problem decidedly nonlinear and non-Gaussian. Some of these factors include the relatively poor angular accuracy of GMTI sensors, the presence of persistent clutter and target obscuration, and the complexity of target maneuvers. Because these… More

Detection, surveillance, and defense against asymmetric threat scenarios such as small surface target swarms is an important area of concern. For homeland security, drug trafficking surveillance, and the protection of Navy assets it is necessary to track these highly maneuverable targets, perhaps… More

The BMD Benchmark is a MATLAB-based simulation environment used by MDA for analysis of tracking and related algorithms as they apply to missile defense. The overall objective of this proposed program is to develop algorithms and models that will enhance the BMD Benchmark. One component is the data… More

Many factors make the ground target tracking problem decidedly nonlinear and non-Gaussian. Some of these factors include the relatively poor angular accuracy of GMTI sensors, the presence of persistent clutter and target obscuration, and the complexity of target maneuvers. Because these… More

Defense against asymmetric threats such as small surface swarms is an important area of concern. For homeland security, drug trafficking surveillance, and the protection of Navy assets it is necessary to track these highly maneuverable targets, perhaps in large numbers. This requires a tracking… More

A key algorithm component in surveillance radar tracking systems (e.g., the E-2C) is the multiscan pre-filter that passes measurements to the tracker that are potentially from targets, while removing those originating from clutter. Since this algorithm determines feasible associations, it must not… More

In surveillance platforms such as the E-2C and upcoming E-2D, it is essential that the Airborne Early Warning (AEW) radar provide a complete track picture of the surveillance region. To maintain continuous tracks throughout the surveillance region, the radar sensor must be able to produce… More

A key element in the mission of the United States Armed forces is the ability to identify and track multiple objects of concern and to then coordinate forces to take appropriate action. To this end, the use of multiple sensors on multiple platforms greatly enhances this tracking and identification… More

A critical need for BMD is innovative data fusion algorithms that enable the BMDS to meet performance standards by overcoming known limitations due to disparate, sparse, or degraded local (sensor) track or measurement data. A hybrid approach is sought that can correlate both measurement and track… More

Observation of closely-spaced objects using limited-resolution infrared sensor systems can result in merged measurements, which can hamper the performance of both tracking algorithms and discrimination. Algorithms intended to improve image resolution capability are often processor-intensive. This… More

In our Phase I program, Numerica developed a prototype for a hybrid and feature-aided multiple hypothesis correlation (HMHC) system that provides a framework to address several deficiencies in the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). During the last two years, Numerica has partnered with the… More

The coordinated use of these multiple distributed sensors by network communication has the potential to substantially improve track state estimates, associated feature and attribute estimates, and identification of targets (ID and CID), primarily due to geometric diversity, complementary sensor… More

The ability to detect, assess and resolve ambiguity in the measurement- or feature/attribute-to-track association process is fundamental to the success of correct fusion of information and to the robustness of combat identification algorithms that depend on the correctness of this association… More

Observation of closely-spaced objects using limited-resolution infrared sensor systems can result in merged measurements, which can hamper the performance of both tracking algorithms and discrimination. Algorithms intended to improve image resolution capability are often processor-intensive. This… More

With ever-increasing detail in terrain elevation data available to the Warfighter, new challenges are faced in the Battlespace for storage, transmission, and rapid display of these data. The key benefit of these more detailed data is better representation of terrain: thus, traditional approaches to… More

The Ballistic Missile Defense System is evolving into a distributed network-centric architecture with tracking and discrimination being performed using multi-sensor data. The X-Band radar (FBX-T, SBX, and THAAD) will play a key role in the network. Each is capable of providing wideband waveforms… More

Airborne ISR platforms generate tactical air picture representations using kinematic information from radar and combat identification information from ELINT. This program seeks to develop a fusion system that is capable of combining airborne MTI (AMTI) radar data and airborne target ELINT (ATE)… More

To provide multiple layers of defense against increasingly complex threats, the heterogeneous sensors of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) must be carefully coordinated to make optimal use of their diverse capabilities. In particular, because information demands are tied to the timeline… More

Navy radar systems must operate in increasingly complex signal environments. The deployment of higher power transmitters and wider bandwidth waveforms causes energy to become spread out throughout the spectrum, leading to more unintended interference from nearby friendly radar systems. Advanced… More

Armed Unmanned Systems (UMSs) will be common in the Future Force Battlespace. In order to make the most efficient use of manpower, control modes with more UMS autonomy are necessary. Numerica envisions a system of multiple aerial and ground vehicles that intelligently prioritizes, tracks, and… More

Highly reliable detection of hazardous materials is a fundamental part of homeland security. Arrays of simple sensors can provide much of the sensitivity and selectivity of sophisticated sensors, but without the substantial hardware overhead. Unfortunately, such arrays are not without their… More

In surveillance platforms such as the E-2, it is essential that the Airborne Early Warning (AEW) radar provide an accurate track picture of the surveillance region. Estimates of position and heading are important, but more critical is the maintenance of continuous tracks through clutter, target… More

Military operations in urban warfare provide an added emphasis to effectively detect, track, and ID ground targets in challenging environments. Given the high dynamic nature of ground targets and the ambiguity that may result from closely spaced targets, incorporation of feature data from sensors… More

In the modern electronic warfare environment, a network-centric tracking system will have to function in a variety of jamming scenarios. The coordinated use of multiple distributed sensors by network communication has the potential to substantially improve track state estimates, associated feature… More

The US Navy is developing an Undersea Warfare Decision Support System (USW-DSS), the purpose of which is to provide a net-centric capability to support fleet commanders. A significant advantage the architecture will provide is the integration of the C4I domain and the combat systems. Since many… More

To provide multiple layers of defense against increasingly complex threats, the heterogeneous sensors of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) must be carefully coordinated to manage their load and make optimal use of their diverse capabilities. The approach to sensor resource management… More

The current missile defense system incorporates overhead IR sensors as well as ground-based radar sensors for detection and tracking of ballistic missile events. Data from these sensors are separately fused into tracks before finally being associated in the C2BMC using the Ballistic Launch… More

The tracking and data communication architecture for the current BMDS can be characterized as a "centralized" architecture in that sensor data are sent to a central node for correlation and fusion. Future plans are to evolve this architecture into a "distributed" one where correlation and fusion… More

Airborne ISR platforms generate tactical air picture representations using kinematic information from radar and combat identification information from ELINT. This program seeks to develop a fusion system that is capable of combining airborne MTI (AMTI) radar data and airborne target ELINT (ATE)… More

Dynamic use of increasing, high fidelity GIS data remains a significant challenge in processing GIS data. As the demand by users to exploit detailed DEM data in real-time increases, novel data compression methodologies resulting in compact datasets are in high demand. Especially those that can be… More

The Army uses MUVES-2 for the modeling and simulation of combat system vulnerability, and requires the ability to rapidly assess effects of damage to vehicle structures. This SBIR focuses on modeling damage to combat vehicle structures and the resulting effects on vehicle capabilities. SURVICE… More

Unmanned Systems (UMSs) are becoming a vital component for missions among all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and these UMSs can support a tremendous range of roles in combat and surveillance around the world. Many of these roles cannot be safely performed, or are not cost-effective to perform,… More

To provide complementary data and enable the synergistic gain from the fusion of multiple sensing modalities, there have been recent efforts to incorporate multiple sensors on the same platform. This approach may require vastly different detector material and apertures (optical lenses and antennas)… More

Numerica proposes the development of a distributed communications and sensor resource management system. Sensor resource management (SRM) is performed at one level and then communications resource management (CRM) at a finer level with feedback to the SRM. This architecture accommodates the much… More

Military operations in urban warfare provide an added emphasis to effectively detect, track, and ID ground targets in challenging environments. Given the high dynamic nature of ground targets and the ambiguity that may result from closely spaced targets, incorporation of feature data from sensors… More

Coordination and merging of multiple distributed sensors over a communications network can substantially improve estimates of the type and severity of potential hazards for command and control (C2) decision makers. These sensors include long range instruments such as radar, infrared (IR),… More

The U.S. Navy uses digital wideband electronic warfare (EW) receivers for RF threat warning and cueing of countermeasures to protect Navy aircraft. The receivers accomplish these functions by processing RF waveforms from enemy radars, extracting pulse parameters, and conducting emitter… More

Dismount discrimination is often based on static EO or IR target attributes such as height, length, and color. Various algorithms such as gait estimation have been developed to distinguish dismounts from other moving objects. Techniques that build high-fidelity 3D models of dismounts are fragile… More

In the modern electronic warfare environment a network-centric tracking system will have to function in a variety of jamming scenarios. The coordinated use of multiple distributed sensors by network communication has the potential to substantially improve track state estimates, associated feature… More

Military operations in urban warfare provide an added emphasis to effectively detect, track, and ID ground targets in challenging environments. Given the high dynamic nature of ground targets and the ambiguity that may result from closely spaced targets, incorporation of feature data from sensors… More

Accurate and timely surveillance of objects in the near-Earth space environment is becoming increasingly critical to US national security. One of the main difficulties in this domain is efficiently and accurately modeling trajectories of the vast number of objects in orbit around the Earth. The… More

Space surveillance is the component of space situational awareness focused on the detection of resident space objects (RSOs) and the use of multisource data to track and identify space objects. While the propagation of the states of RSOs has been investigated extensively over the last fifty years,… More

A mathematical framework for detection and classification of weak, distributed patterns on computer networks is proposed. The framework will provide rigorous methods for understanding performance bounds and optimality of intrusion detection methods, while also providing concrete and implementable… More

There is serious concern about the introduction of UAV's into the National Air Space because of their potential to increase the risk of loss of separation (LOS) between aircraft. Many UAV's lack a ``sense and avoid'' (SAA) capability, i.e., they do not possess an adequate means of making the UAV… More

We propose herein to augment current NASA spaceflight dynamics programs with algorithms and software from two domains. First, we propose to use numerical parameter continuation methods to assist in computation of trajectories in complicated dynamical situations. Numerical parameter continuation… More

Resource optimization for battle management in ballistic missile defense requires the determination of both the optimal allocation and optimal employment of sensors and weapons against threat launches. This becomes especially difficult for threats in ascent phase, where the class of potential… More

The use of unmanned assets both on the ground and in the air are proving effective as semi-autonomous ISR platforms. While unmanned ground systems (UGSs) can provide stable, close-in, and persistent capabilities, unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) provide flexibility for wide area search missions and… More

Recent employment of airborne persistent surveillance systems by the Department of Defense has provided a significant force multiplier to military operations. These systems are capable of providing real-time imagery from airborne sensor systems to a ground station in order to provide situational… More

To achieve desired levels of operational performance, airborne surveillance systems require a capability for identifying non-cooperative targets within the surveillance space. Effective non-cooperative target recognition (NCTR) systems reduce the time to engagement and also the incidence of… More

Space surveillance or reconnaissance is that component of space situational awareness focused on the detection of resident space objects (RSOs) and the use of multisource data including available radar and electro-optical data to track and identify space objects. Our proposed program aims to… More

Numerica proposes to develop a prototype system for co-orbital anti-satellite (ASAT) threat assessment, intended ultimately to be integrated into a larger data mining / data fusion Space Situation Awareness (SSA) environment. This system will mine the available satellite kinematic track data for … More

Recent employment of persistent surveillance systems by the Department of Defense has provided a significant force multiplier to both combat and asymmetric threat operations. Furthermore, the use of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) is proving effective as semi-autonomous ISR platforms. These systems… More

According to the Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan for Edwards Air Force Base, the Department of Defense, and in particular, the U.S. Air Force is taking an active role in the protection and conservation of natural resources to include endangered species. Given the large expanse of some… More

Coordination and merging of multiple distributed sensors over a communications network can substantially improve estimates of the type and severity of potential hazards for command and control (C2) decision makers. These sensors include long range instruments such as radar, infrared (IR),… More

The current U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS) is comprised of a range of components, the integration of which is the responsibility of the Command, Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) system. In the current architecture, track data from Overhead Persistent Infrared… More

There is serious concern about the introduction of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in the National Air Space (NAS) because of their potential to increase the risk of collision between aircraft. At present, many UAV platforms lack a Sense and Avoid (SAA) capability to mitigate collision risk, and… More

We propose herein to augment current NASA spaceflight dynamics programs with algorithms and software from three domains. First, we use parameter continuation methods to assist in computation of trajectories in complicated dynamical situations. Numerical parameter continuation methods have been… More

ABSTRACT: Space surveillance or reconnaissance is that component of space situational awareness focused on the detection of resident space objects (RSOs) and the use of multisource data including available radar and electro-optical reports to support their tracking and identification. The proposed… More

The U.S. DoD has made ballistic missile defense a top priority. In response, MDA is developing a layered ballistic missile defense system (BMDS). A key requirement for this system is a global battle manager that efficiently and effectively coordinates the actions of the component sensors and weapon… More

ABSTRACT: Space surveillance is that component of space situational assessment and protection that makes use of multisource data to track and identify space objects. Given the increasing importance of space, the need to protect space assets, and the increasing number of objects in space, an… More

ABSTRACT: To reduce the incidence of fratricide, improve time to engagement, and increase situational awareness, the Air Force is pursuing technologies with the capability of positively identifying non-cooperative targets. However, single-sensor NCTR systems may be unable to resolve all target… More

ABSTRACT: In our work we are developing and applying a mathematical and computational framework for detecting and classifying weak, distributed patterns in sensor networks. Our work demonstrates the effectiveness of space-time inference on graphs, robust matrix completion and second order analysis… More

ABSTRACT: The correct representation of a resident space object's state uncertainty and the accurate propagation of the uncertainty by way of the Fokker-Planck equation, collectively referred to as uncertainty consistency, is fundamental to space situational awareness and the problems of… More

Numerica proposes to developed advanced algorithms for constructing a UAS vehicle model from ATC surveillance data in real-time. Using functional descriptions of aircraft performance and computationally efficient sampling techniques, UAS model parameters are estimated, and aircraft maneuvers that… More

The U.S. DoD has made defense against regional missile threats a top priority. In response MDA is pursuing a Phased Adaptive Approach, which includes new sensors, such as Airborne Infrared (ABIR) and the Precision Tracking Space System (PTSS). Recently, regional missile defense has focused on raid… More

All sensors are less than perfect in their perception of the environment, including knowledge of their own position and orientation. These errors lead to inaccuracies in fulfilling their responsibilities, and less than optimal performance in support of warfighters. When sensors in a network seek to… More

ABSTRACT: Space surveillance is that component of space situational assessment and protection that makes use of multisource data to track and identify space objects. Given the increasing importance of space, the need to protect space assets, and the increasing number of objects in space, an… More