N102-152 TITLE: Near Field Passive Tracking

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Sensors, Battlespace

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: Under Sea Warfare Decision Support Systems (USW-DSS) ACAT II

OBJECTIVE: Design and Develop an automated passive only target tracking system for a sparse field of low cost directional passive sonar sensors.

DESCRIPTION: Passive sonobuoys support the covert detection, classification, localization, and attack of a submarine through the detection of the narrowband, broadband and transient sounds that are emitted from even the quietest, modern submarine. However, the implementation of target tracking with passive sensors has proven resistant to automation, significantly lagging progress achieved with other types of sensors. This lack of automation translates directly to shipboard extended manning requirements, heightened operator workload, and diminished operator functional efficacy. Furthermore, Ad-hoc, fractional solutions to the passive near-field tracking problem suffer from a common set of systemic shortcomings: mathematical modeling of the data measured at the sensors, handling non-linearity of the problem (nearfield curvature effects), and applying appropriate optimal estimation.

Under this topic, an approach will be developed that addresses the specific technical problem of automated near field directional buoy tracking. An effective approach must consider the following: physical modeling and error modeling of sensors and targets, choice of appropriate optimal estimation algorithms, and metrics based testing. Develop processing concepts and proposed algorithms to automate localization and tracking of multiple surface and sub-surface contacts in a field of passive sonobuoy sensors. The proposed approach must handle a mix of loud contacts that produce concurrent sonobuoy detections and quiet contacts that are detected intermittently by a single sensor. Model results must demonstrate how the proposed algorithms will address the sensor positions and measurement limitations of passive sonobuoys. Important performance metrics to be addressed include: (a) contact scene completeness - the percentage of true contacts that are contained in the set of automated track solutions, (b) number of false tracks produced by the automation that are unrelated to true contacts, (c) accuracy or mis-distance of localization and track solutions, (d) containment - the percentage of true contacts that are contained in the set of automated track solution areas of uncertainty. Innovation will be required to assure the eventual algorithms address the near field tracking problem.

PHASE I: Specify a set of metrics to act as the basis for selecting estimation algorithms. Conduct research and development that will lead to the development of unique optimal estimation algorithms. Conduct analyses of the algorithms to determine at least two optimal estimation algorithms for testing that are well suited to the near field tracking problem.

PHASE II: Complete development initiated in phase I. Develop a prototype automated sonobuoy field processor utilizing the algorithms validated in phase I. Process recoded sonobuoy field acoustic data to demonstrate algorithm performance. Compute performance metrics for completeness, false tracks, localization tracking accuracy, and containment with recorded track data inputs.

PHASE III: Finalize development of the Phase II prototype and participate in the transition efforts to a Navy system. Complete metrics based test suite, and optimize performance of baseline algorithms. Bring product up to best commercial practices for function, stability and maintainability.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Developed technology will be useful in passive commercial automated surveillance systems and automated intrusion detection.

REFERENCES:
1. Kalman, R.E. (1960). "A new approach to linear filtering and prediction problems". Journal of Basic Engineering 82 (1): 35�45.

2. Kalman, R.E.; Bucy, R.S. (1961). New Results in Linear Filtering and Prediction Theory.

3. Alan V. Oppenheim, Ronald W. Schafer, John R. Buck : Discrete-Time Signal Processing, Prentice Hall, ISBN 0-13-754920-2

4. Design and Analysis of Modern Tracking Systems, 1999, S. Blackman, R. Popoli, Artech House, ISBN 1580530060

KEYWORDS: Passive Sonobuoy Processing; Near Field Tracking; Non-Linear Tracking; Automation; Linear Filtering; Sensor Modeling

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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