Multi-sensor Information Fusion Technology Applied to the Development of Smart Aircraft

This paper explores the possibility of applying multi-sensor information fusion technology to the development of smart aircraft. This technology integrates information from multiple sensors and extracts tactical information to detect, track and identify time critical targets at any time, in any place and under all weather conditions. Such target information will help the war fighter avoid fratricide and deploy weapon systems for surgical strike. Finally, the smart aircraft helps the war fighter establish air superiority in the air, on the land and at sea. The architecture of a smart aircraft includes the pilot and flight crew, vehicle interface unit, multi-sensor correlation processor, multi-sensor image fusion model, multi-sensor track fusion model, multiple target identification fusion model and multiple sensors such as: Radar, CNI, EW, IFF Visual, Electro Optic and IR. The multi-sensor track fusion model computes a fused track from the sensor trackers. A Multiple Target Identification Fusion model creates integrated target identifications from identification of multiple targets. Similarly, a Multi-Sensor Image Fusion model creates an integrated target image from multiple sensor images. In traditional aircraft, the pilot and crew extract tactical information from a huge amount of multi-sensor information. This processing is time consuming and subject to human error. A future smart aircraft with Multi-Sensor Information Fusion technology will have access to accurately correlated fused information. Fused information assists the pilot and crew to detect, track and identify targets more rapidly and accurately. Such platforms are truly smart aircraft.