Range and brightness fusion: using radar and electro-optical data association for tracking small objects

Philip G. Whitehead; Mark Bernhardt; Duncan Hickman; Christopher Dent

doi:10.1117/12.487002

25 August 2003 Range and brightness fusion: using radar and electro-optical data association for tracking small objects

Philip G. Whitehead, Mark Bernhardt, Duncan Hickman, Christopher Dent

Proceedings Volume 5096, Signal Processing, Sensor Fusion, and Target Recognition XII; (2003) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.487002
Event: AeroSense 2003, 2003, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

In this paper we consider the tracking of small distant objects using Radar and Electro-Optical (EO) sensors. In particular we address the problem of data association after coalescence - this happens when two objects become sufficiently close (in angular terms) that they can no longer be resolved by the EO sensor. Some moments later they de-coalesce and the resulting detections must be associated with the existing tracks in the EO sensor. Traditionally this would be solved by making use of the velocity vectors of the objects prior to coalescence. This approach can work well for crossing objects, but when the objects are largely moving in a direction radial to the sensor it becomes problematic. Here we investigate the use of data fusion to combine Radar range with a brightness measure derived from an EO sensor to enhance the accuracy of data association. We present a number of results on the performance of this approach taking into account target motion, atmospheric conditions and sensor noise.

Citation Download Citation

Philip G. Whitehead, Mark Bernhardt, Duncan Hickman, and Christopher Dent "Range and brightness fusion: using radar and electro-optical data association for tracking small objects", Proc. SPIE 5096, Signal Processing, Sensor Fusion, and Target Recognition XII, (25 August 2003); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.487002

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