Autonomous target reacquisition after image disturbance

Abstract

Many Command-to-Line-of-Sight missile systems use ground-based electro-optic sensors to track their targets. Both optical and Infra-Red systems can be affected by launch effects, which can include camera shake on launch and target obscuration due to the missile exhaust plume. Further effects can be encountered during flight including aimpoint disturbance, launch debris and countermeasures. An automatic video tracking system (AVT) is required to cope with all of these distractions, whilst maintaining track on the primary target. If track is broken during the engagement, the AVT needs to employ a strategy that will enable reacquisition of the primary target with the minimum of delay. This task can be significantly more complicated in a cluttered scene. This paper details such a reacquisition algorithm, the primary purpose of which is to correctly identify the primary target whilst reducing the reacquisition timeline. Results are presented against synthetic imagery and actual missile firings.