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

A Real-Time Robust Autonomous Surface Threat Identification and Visual Knowledge Discovery System
Navy SBIR FY2005.2

Sol No.:	Navy SBIR FY2005.2
Topic No.:	N05-129
Topic Title:	A Real-Time Robust Autonomous Surface Threat Identification and Visual Knowledge Discovery System
Proposal No.:	N052-129-0078
Firm:	UtopiaCompression, Corporation 11150 W Olympic Blvd. Suite 1020 Los Angeles, California 90064-1825
Contact:	Joseph Yadegar
Phone:	(310) 473-1500
Web Site:	www.utopiacompression.com
Abstract:	A set of robust software tools for automated identification/classification/recognition and tracking of surface threat among a group of non-threat entities is vital in the development of a good surveillance system. The increase in volumes of imagery data imposes a paradigm shift in the current surveillance systems used primarily only after the fact as forensic tools, to automatic knowledge exploitation tools to discover the relevant knowledge, forecasting the onset of (possibly catastrophic) events prior to their occurrences - such knowledge being critical for preventive actions across a number of government agencies - to detect, track and monitor (suspicious) objects and humans, their patterns of behavior and their associations in order to prevent possible calamities. Currently this capability is not available due to inadequate feature extraction and intelligent analysis tools that can in time communicate critical information collected and analyzed by various sensors. The objective of this project is the feasibility of an innovative Visual-Knowledge-Discovery system (VKD) to robustly and rapidly analyze actionable knowledge from visual data to identify and classify potential threats among a group of non-threat entities. The design and development of the system is based on a hierarchical/multi-resolution scene decomposition scheme to localize, recognize and track movement of objects of interest.
Benefits:	For the Navy, DoD at large, Department of Homeland Security, Department Of Justice, Department of Transportation, the Intelligence Community and the Law Enforcement, there will be immediate benefits upon implementation and deployment of UtopiaCompression Corporation (UC) VKD. It will greatly enhance the effectiveness of threat and violence assessment, prevention and neutralization and enable forensic analysis to identify and disarm the responsible parties through the use of visual features captured and analyzed intelligently. The proposed technology will enable the Navy and Coast/Port authorities to protect ships and other assets in busy ports for otherwise will require the existence of the man-in-the-loop (MITL) to constantly look for intruders on the screen; leading to human errors and fatigue. The commercial potential for UC's novel VKD is broad and significant. The initial primary application will be for the Military and Department of Homeland Security facilitating a major step in prediction and prevention of terrorist activities in the battlefield as well as here at home. In addition to the military and homeland security applications, UC's proposed technology will have significant application for security & surveillance industry. The technology will assist the federal and local law enforcement agencies, corporations, schools, and commercial security and surveillance companies to better address the critical problem of escalating crime and violence in urban settings, workplace, schools, financial and other places of business by enabling automatic observation and recognition of risk-associated behavior and events followed by a call to action to prevent criminal and tragic events from taking place. In private commercial markets, the proposer has identified the recreational boating industry as a logical entry point for the proposed technology, given the similar operating environment of the water vehicles. This is a multi-billion dollar industry with projected growth. UC's proposed VKD will also assist the mental health professionals to better assess the risk their patients may pose to themselves and to the society. In addition, correction facilities will be able to use UC's technology to better manage risk in prisons. Additionally, automotive industry will be able to use UC's technology for detection of human fatigue and other alarming behavior and prevention of accidents.

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