Signal Image Processing (SIP). The top priorities for SIP are:
· Improving techniques for conditioning, transmission, storage, and processing of sensed signals
· Determining and refining methods that support the extraction of information from sensed signals to support
Ø The “Kill Chain”
Ø Homeland Security
Ø Information Superiority
SIP will concentrate on:
· New algorithm designs for conditioning, processing and information extraction that exploit both signal processing and phenomena
· Incorporating life cycle software tools to manage exploration, design, implementation, and deployment using a common framework
· Improved processing speed in the design, simulation, verification and implementation phases (including real-time requirements)
· Improved data transmission and storage, because sensors produce increasingly overwhelming amounts of data
· Increased use of COTS tools
· Training in new software tools and methodologies (Core)
SIP project tasks for FY03 include:
· SIP-03-001: High Productivity Computing for Signal and Image Processing (PI: Stan Ahalt, The Ohio State University [OSU])
· SIP-03-002: Signal Formation, Compression, Access, and Analysis (PI: John Nehrbass, OSU)
The strategic roadmap for SIP is as follows:
FY04-07 project areas for SIP include:
· SIP-ATR: SIP/HPC algorithms for ATR — A long-standing and essential task in many tactical and strategic situations, including both battlefield and surveillance missions, is detection (Is there something interesting there?), classification (Is it a missile?) and recognition (Is it a SCUD missile?) of targets in signals from a variety of sensors such as radar, sonar, IR, and hyperspectral data. To make Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) a reality, the DoD must develop and test a range of new and more powerful signal and image processing algorithms that can recognize targets of interest in very low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) signals. Further, in many cases, it is vital to detect targets even when they are camouflaged or hidden (such as tanks under trees). The development and deployment of more advanced ATR algorithms will inevitably require the computational power and memory capacity of high performance computers (HPC), and some of these algorithms will ultimately be ported to embedded HPC for field application and real-time response. Further, these algorithms must exploit sensor physics and incorporate adaptive signal processing methods.
· SIP-IE: Information Exploitation — One of the most pressing needs in the SIP community is addressing the challenge of exploiting all the information that is present in the myriad of signals harvested from deployed DoD sensors. These signal sources include data such as acoustic, synthetic aperture radar (SAR), hyperspectral, and visual imagery collected by the DoD. Extracting and transforming the information that is extant in these rich data sources is essential if the collected data are to be exploited by our soldiers, officers, security personnel, and senior civilian decision makers. Applications to be addressed include long- and short-range surveillance, individual identification, biometrics, voice modification, and sensor webs. These applications will require that we develop efficient new techniques in distributed computing, data mining and understanding, cognitive processing, and embedded computing.
· SIP-FCA: Signal and Image data formation, compression, and access — A common set of fundamental processing steps constitutes the foundation of virtually every SIP application. Data are 1) collected and formatted for use, 2) compressed for efficient and/or robust handling, and then 3) organized for access further downstream in the processing chain. Recent developments in each of these foundational processing steps offer the DoD an opportunity to reap significant advantages in applications such as 3D SAR, collection and annotation of video surveillance and Unmanned Air Vehicle (UAV) ATR data, and general sensor-fusion tasks.
· SIP-HPdC: High Productivity Computing — The warfighter’s need to confirm the identity of any target before attack often requires real-time matching to occur on onboard computer architectures which are often space, power, and cycle-limited. However, the new generation of petabyte sized databases — which are required for identification in many complex search spaces — are more efficiently created via traditional HPC. This “gap” in the two required processing architectures necessitates innovations in structuring, accessing, and processing data, and the software that is used in these applications. Fortunately, recent advances in software techniques (XML and object-oriented and graphical languages) hold promise for 1) optimized architecture-specific code, 2) maximum code reuse, and 3) efficient incorporation of technology advancements. Further, life-cycle software has the potential to greatly increase productivity, shorten development time, and reduce overall costs. Advancing these goals through development of, for example, parallel MATLAB and Simulink tools while adapting technologies for reuse (Vector/Signal/Image Processing Library — VSIPL) offer immediate gains for the DoD. Integrated with these tools, Java and Java Server Pages (JSP) can be employed to portably manipulate data sets across departments, agencies, and centers. Finally, portable graphical programming languages, such as the Visual Toolkit (VTK), can be used to provide custom displays of filtered and compressed information to high-resolution 3D stereographic devices, PC terminals, secure web ports, or PDAs located on the battlefield.
· SIP-IS: Infrastructure Software for SIP — An emerging trend in the SIP community is the appearance of middleware and middleware standards. High performance computing (HPC) and High Performance Embedded Computing (HPEC) DoD applications will significantly benefit from highly efficient and portable computational middleware for signal and image processing. Open middleware standards such as VSIPL, CORBA and SOAP, as well as the emergence of powerful COTS hardware, offer a unique opportunity for the rapid development of easily maintained HPEC codes that combine portability and flexibility across a number of applications. Thus the timely transfer of these technologies to the DoD community is a critical task, and one that is in its infancy. This middleware infrastructure will support the rapid development and deployment of portable, efficient SIP-critical applications of immediate benefit to the warfighter.
The SIP UAP includes:
· Andy Sullivan (ARL/Adelphi, Govt CTA Lead)
· Keith Bromley (SPAWAR)
· Rich Linderman (Rome)
· Mike Bryant (Wright-Patterson Air Force Base [WPAFB])
· Gary Stolovy (ARL/Adelphi)