Integration and management of sensors in networks

Modern combat platforms have many sensors but little integration of data from them. This causes problems for operators in situation awareness tasks, since they must take time for maneuvering and fusion of the sensors. Another problem is that the high degree of flexibility in modern sensor systems requires high level operator support for fast sensor control. Knowledge is now being established about how to use platform-based sensors in an time-effective way, that is how to effectively use them when many sub systems and operators simultaneously call for them. A tool has been developed to study these problems. The main principle has been to exploit the OODA loop concept (Observe/Orient/Decide/ Act). The tool can simultaneously process a number of OODA loops, generated autonomously or by operators. It interacts with operators and sensor systems on board the platform, and is a data fusion node. It may also interact with other platforms of the same or different type (ship, plane, ground vehicle). Sensor integration, situation analyses, threat assessment and sensor control are performed during the OODA loop processing. Two examples show that it can interact with other platforms for efficient resource exploitation. Finally, it is shown how the node may be used in a network where users may ask for services that use sensors whose existence the users may not be aware of.