Sensors, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition

Below is a small sample of the numerous studies IDA's Studies and Analyses Center conducts in the area of sensors, surveillance, and target acquisition.

Vertically Interconnected Sensor Array

The Vertically Interconnected Sensor Array (VISA) program is developing new focal plane array readout technology with expanded spectral range, faster frame rates, and improved resolution. Layers of detectors, analog circuits and digital circuits are stacked, enabling electronic signals in one layer to be routed to other layers using vertical pathways, thereby allowing a near 100% detector fill factor. Also, detector signals in each pixel are read in parallel without using row-column multiplexers, thus achieving fast frame rates with high image resolution.

In support of the VISA program, IDA is generating and evaluating technical approaches and identifying potential military applications enabled by the new technology. One possible application involved real-time signal processing at the focal plane. We found that the higher power requirements and the resulting heat dissipation needed at the focal plane would be particularly challenging for this application.

Sensor Integrated Fusion Technology

DoD’s Sensor Integrated Fusion Technology (SIFT) program is developing autonomous sensor management techniques to improve the timeliness and tactical relevance of threat information provided by intelligence collection systems. SIFT includes automated data correlation and payload management, enabled by advanced on-board processing.

Our researchers showed that most of the operational advantages sought by the SIFT program could be achieved by having one sensor automatically cue another, thus eliminating an operator step and speeding the flow of information. With the accelerated data rates, intelligence collectors might be able to carry out missions such as “track and hold” of high-value targets. For this mission, we found that sensor algorithms that prioritize candidate targets by likelihood of interest would be sufficient to achieve useful operational performance and would be easier to implement than a fully automatic target recognition capability.

An additional IDA paper outlined considerations for a SIFT flight demonstration, including space, weight, and power characteristics of candidate unmanned aerial vehicles and performance specifications for sensor packages.

Urban Resolve 2015 Experiments

IDA researchers developed a concept for a new intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) system using sensor payloads on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and tagging technologies to provide persistent surveillance and tracking in urban areas. The concept was simulated as part of the U.S. Joint Forces Command’s Urban Resolve 2015 (UR2015) experiment.

We refined the concept by developing specific UAV and sensor designs, and estimated the operational performance of individual sensors. Through testing and monitoring of the experiment, our researchers ensured the system simulation was consistent with the design.

As a result of the UR2015 experiment, JFCOM partnered with other DoD organizations to field the Angel Fire persistent surveillance system, which provides real-time, wide field-of-view imagery to units on the ground.