SBIR-STTR Award

Using ATR/C on a UAV is a general innovation which addresses the problems of data volume, complexity and timeliness. The opportunity is to use UAVs and provide on-board ATR/C algorithms which could be implemented in the hardware as an integral part of the sensor system and be programmable to focus on specific targets, backgrounds or applications. The capability would make available, for a wide variety of problems, complex but information-intensive MSI data products for broad and general use by modestly-trained users. The Phase I objectives are to identify, characterize, catalogue, and verify (through simulation using available imagery) existing algorithms for imagery exploitation and ATR/C. A special emphasis will be on the spectral mixing analysis (SMA) algorithms developed by SETS, including the application of SMA to ATR/C using Visual-Infrared MSI; the extension of SMA to millimeter-wave, synthetic aperture radar (SAR)/radiometer, and multi-sensor data; and the investigation of incorporating spatial ATR/C algorithms with SMA algorithms.

This Phase II proposal respond to Technical Subtopic N93-234; exploratory Development: signal Processing, Data Fusion. The overall objective is to investigate the feasibility of using automatic target recognition and cueing (ATR/C) algorithms with multispectral/hyperspectral (MSI/HSI) sensors for UAV applications. While the value of Advanced Airborne Hyperspectral Imaging System (AAHIS) data was demonstrated in Phase I, it is critical to augment the visible/near-infrared (VIS/NIR) for enhanced utility. The following low risk, high payoff Phase II approach is chosen: (1) at no cost to the government, incorporate AAHIS for VIS/NIR HIS, (2) build a state-of-the-art thermal infrared (T/IR) HSI sensor (permitting day/night operation) (3) apply real-time ATR/C algorithms demonstrated in Phase I to both AAHIS and T/IR HSI data, (4) incorporate sensor fusion techniques to the dual mode data, (5) conduct airborne test, (6) evaluate ATR/C performance for both military and commercial applications, and (7) develop a plan for implementing Phase III of the program: incorporation of a dual mode HSI sensor and ATR/C system on board a UAV. Phase II will, in effect, be a "proof of concept" for UAV applications and would be a first-of-its-kind development. This dual mode sensor will represent a major advance in remote sensing technology.