Threat-based sensor management for target tracking

Abstract

A sensor management scheme that focuses on managing the uncertainty in the threat level of targets is proposed. The scheme selects the best sensing mode such that the uncertainty in the threat level of targets is minimized. The main advantage of the proposed scheme is that it opens the possibility for incorporation of the operational context when performing Bayes-optimal sensor management. Different aspects of threat can be meaningfully aggregated making this flexible approach a favorite choice for multifunctional systems. The proposed scheme is demonstrated in simulated scenarios, both simple and advanced, where the data association problem is taken into account. In the multitarget example, the proposed scheme outperforms the other schemes considered in this manuscript, both naive and adaptive. The proposed scheme can be used in target tracking applications, such as air traffic management or area surveillance.