A Real-Time Robust Autonomous Surface Threat Identification and Visual Knowledge Discovery System

Major threats to America's security are attacks by sea. Ships, harbors and other marine assets are under threat from terrorist or other asymmetric attacks on, or below, water surface. Thus it is important to track (classification-movement) potential threats amidst a clutter of non-threat entities with the mal-intentions of inflicting destruction to military or commercial vessels. Such capabilities are needed for several reasons: foremost are the related applications of self-protection and fire-control, and situation-awareness and the challenge of asymmetric war against terrorism directed to the US assets. As it has been quoted “a limited factor in successful defensive Surface Warfare operations is often the early identification of a potential threat among a group of non-threat entities”. In this project UtopiaCompression offers a Visual-Knowledge-Discovery System that mines relevant knowledge from scenes captured by electro-optical or infrared sensors aboard an LCS, an Unmanned (Surface or Under Water, Land or Air) Vehicle or other strategic locations for threat analysis and prevention in defensive Surface Warfare. Phase II program further enhances the components built in Phase I, fully develops and integrates them into an end-to-end Decision-Support-System prototype that automatically and at runtime monitors littoral (or deep sea/ocean) waters for detection and prevention of asymmetric attacks.