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Detecting and Tracking Multiple Moving Objects from a Moving Platform

Award Information

Agency:
Department of Defense 		Branch:
N/A 		Award ID:
 Program Year/Program:
2011 / SBIR
Agency Tracking Number:
08SB2-0542 		Solicitation Year:
2008 		Solicitation Topic Code:
SB082-029 		Solicitation Number:
2008.2
Small Business Information
Dragonfly Pictures, Inc.
PO Box 202 West End of Second Street Essington, PA -
View profile »
Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No
 
Phase 2
Fiscal Year: 2011
Title: Detecting and Tracking Multiple Moving Objects from a Moving Platform
Agency: DOD
Contract: W31P4Q-11-C-0173
Award Amount: $749,953.00
 

Abstract:

We propose to demonstrate a"Tracking with Planning"module for tracking objects in a highly cluttered environment from a moving platform. This system is designed to track objects with multiple long occlusions, by anticipating where and how the objects might move. The main innovations are 1) actively anticipating objects'goals and intentions, 2) using motion planning to create multiple plausible predictions on objects'trajectories, and 3) online learning of visual features for discriminating similar nearby objects. In phase 1 we have demonstrated that the"Tracking with Planning"approach can overcome many problems associated with traditional tracking algorithms, such as drifting into background after multiple occlusions. We improved the tracking precision from 56% using Kalman filter to 87% using"Tracking with Planning."In phase 2 we propose to develop an active goal prediction system with multiple path generation. We plan to integrate bottom-up information from tracking and contextual visual information with top-down planning-based reasoning to create a robust tracking system. We can adapt our modular design to different operating environments from outdoor urban environments to indoor office settings. We plan to evaluate this system on a mobile ground platform as well as a simulated unmanned helicopter in preparation for flights on a tactical autonomous helicopter.

Principal Investigator:

Dean Anderson
Robotics Engineer
(610) 521-6115
DeanAnderson@DragonflyPictures.com

Business Contact:

Gregory Piasecki
Director of Commercializa
(610) 521-6115
GregoryPiasecki@DragonflyPictures.com
Small Business Information at Submission:

Dragonfly Pictures, Inc.
PO Box 202 West End of Second Street Essington, PA -

EIN/Tax ID: 232675311
DUNS: N/A
Number of Employees:
Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No