SBIR-STTR Award

Although situational awareness is required for effective decision making, aircrews operating in sophisticated, information-rich, tactical environments need to progress beyond an awareness and attain a higher-ordered situational assessment. Multisensor information fusion architectures and techniques, for use on-board an air vehicle is one promising approach which can significantly increase confidence and reliability of target detection and identification, leading to enhanced aircrew situation assessment, increased platform survivability, and optimal mission effectiveness. These three conditions result in a force multiplier, something which is critical in today's air-warfighting (and budget) environments. Based on the Joint Directors of Laboratories Data Fusion Process Model, Wright Laboratory/Avionics Directorate is underway on an effort to develop a generalized open, non-proprietary avionics information fusion architecture. This approach will produce an architectural standard which defines the different functional areas, the underlying components/techniques for each functional area, and the high level interfaces between each component. The SYMVIONICS work plan under this SBIR activity will seek to promote concepts and solutions which will support the evolving WL/AA Avionics Information Fusion Architecture (AIFA). Specifically, our work plan focuses directly on on-board/off-board information fusion solutions which utilize a "Blackboard" approach.

Keywords:
SENSOR FUSION SITUATIONAL ASSESSMENT SENSORS DATA LINKS

Although situation awareness is required for effective decision making, aircrews operating in sophisticated, information-rich, tactical environments need to progress beyond an awareness and attain a higher order situation assessment. The problem to be addressed in this Phase II product introduction remains unchanged: supporting this improved mission situation assessment through improvements in the use of mixed offboard and onboard sources for Information Fusion processing.In the Phase I research, a blackboard-based implementation of the Wright Laboratories Avionics Inoformation Fusion Architecture was hypothesized, assessed, and refined. It was determined that such a method is suitable and desirable as a robust and maintainable solution. During Phase II, the Phase I proofs will be extended to complete the R&D and technology transition of three distinct innovations: the implementation of an information fusion blackboard assa core software product/toolkit and as a manufacturable virtual Prototype; an initial introduction of a robust simulation-based (information fusion blackboard) development and evaluation environment; and an adaptation of an advanced computing method - Time Warp - to resolve temporal differences and relevance in the general domain of multiple source, geographically dispersed information fusion.