Test and training range applications often require sensor fusion capabilities that leverage multiple sensors' data possibly arriving on separate real-time data streams to enhance the data values' accuracy. NetAcquire systems support a variety of types of sensor fusion and offer unique capabilities when the input data consists of time-space position information (TSPI).

TSPI data collection is supported from a wide variety of sensors, including radar, telemetry, GPS, laser ranging, and video camera tracking systems. Each sensor has its own strengths and weaknesses, including varying accuracies in different target geographical locations, weather conditions, target orientation, RF interference, and line of sight physical obstructions. In addition, sensor data varies based on the type of sensor with regards to coordinate systems, update rate, resolution, presence and accuracy of time stamping, etc.

Multiple Radar TSPI Converter (Click to see larger image)

Sensor selection and fusion seek to ingest multiple data streams while filtering out sources not relevant to the mission, extract TSPI data, perform coordinate transformations to normalize the coordinate systems of all sensors to a single type, timestamp or adjust packet-embedded time for latency, add identification data missing from the input stream, select "good" sources to use for subsequent processing, and perform optional data smoothing and filtering. The enhanced results are available in multiple formats, such as TENA, for uses such as target acquisition, radar pointing, range safety, customer data delivery, etc.

When the data streams contain identically formatted data from the same type of sensor or numerous receivers of the same telemetry stream, the data can also be combined in a highly sophisticated manner using NetAcquire's Correlating Source Selector to achieve an orders of magnitude decrease in data stream errors.

Powered by NetAcquire™

Every NetAcquire sensor acquisition system is built on top of the advanced network-centric NetAcquire software architecture. Thusus, many standard and optional capabilities are available including configuration and monitoring using any standard Web browser from anywhere on the network, decommutation, real-time parameter monitoring and graphing, correlating source selection, data archiving, data reformatting, publish/subscribe, BERT, simulation, and time synchronization.

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