N151-005 TITLE: Real-Time Exploitation of Video Synthetic Aperture Radar Imagery

TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Air Platform, Sensors

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMA 299

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws.

OBJECTIVE: Develop innovative techniques to exploit Video Synthetic Aperture Radar (Video-SAR) imagery using a signature-aided non-coherent (NCD) approach in order to provide real-time detection, tracking and classification support for very slow moving targets.

DESCRIPTION: Video-SAR has proven to be a very valuable tactical tool for remote monitoring of activity in an area of interest such as a port or harbor facility. With sufficient spatial resolution it is possible to observe the movement of vehicles and even humans. However, significant operator attention and experience is required to discern the movement of slowly walking humans. Automated detection and tracking of all moving objects in the scene, but in particular a robust approach for slow walking humans, is needed. The application of Video-SAR and signature-aided NCD should facilitate the robust detection and tracking of very slow moving targets that have spatially changed their positions as a result of movement. NCD algorithms are relatively simple to implement onboard real-time processing, as well as having the potential of being fairly robust. However, the main drawback to NCD, particularly for detection of low radar cross section (RCS) targets such as humans, is the potential for high false alarm rates. On the other hand, coherent change detection should provide the complementary capability to detect dismounts, but is very difficult to implement in a robust fashion. To mitigate potential false alarms, a signature-aided tracking approach that exploits high resolution features within the NCD detections is suggested to help correlate real target tracks. The techniques should be able to leverage somewhat similar approaches used in video tracking.

PHASE I: Develop a video-SAR exploitation approach and demonstrate initial feasibility using open-source or other available radar collections. Develop a plan addressing performance metrics and integration tasks for a use on the MH-60R.

PHASE II: Develop and refine a real-time implementation of the approach suitable for demonstration on the MH-60R APS-153 radar system. Assess the performance of the approach on open-source or other suitable data collections. Complete the integration plan and include the definition of all interfaces.

PHASE III: Test and fully integrate the approach in the APS-153 radar system, as well as other candidate radar systems, and transition the technology to the Fleet and commercial applications.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: The general methods developed could be applicable to a wide range of surveillance applications, including homeland security.

REFERENCES:
1. Henke, D., Magnard, C., Frioud, M., Small, D., Meier, E. & Schaepman, M. E. (2012). Moving-Target Tracking in Single-Channel Wide-Beam SAR. IEEE Transactions On Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 50(11), 4735-4747.

2. Bovolo, F., Marin, C. & Bruzzone, L. (2012). A Novel Hierarchical Approach to Change Detection With Very High Resolution Sar Images for Surveillance Applications. IEEE IGARSS, 1992-1995.

3. Nawaz, T., Poiesi, F. & Cavallaro, A. (2014). Measures of Effective Video Tracking. Image Processing, IEEE Transactions, 23(1), 376-387.

KEYWORDS: Target Detection; Synthetic Aperture Radar; Target Tracking; Radar Surveillance; Video Synthetic Aperture Radar; Non-Coherent Change Detection

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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