Multi-Target Tracking for High Frequency Active Systems

The purpose of the effort reported here is to investigate modern multi-target tracking algorithms for high frequency active applications. High frequency active sensor systems are currently being evaluated by the Navy to meet the Sea Power 21 Sea Shield objectives for force protection and port security. These systems have elementary baseline tracking capabilities and could benefit from incorporating an advanced acoustic multi-target tracking algorithm designed for distributed active sensors. The incorporation of an improved tracking capability is aimed at reducing the high rate of false tracks being reported during system testing. This effort used active measurements from prototype actve sonar sensors to demonstrate true multi-target tracking on structured test data provided by ARL/UT, assess overall tracking performance and identify areas requiring algorithm improvements.