Dave English is the technical director at Lockheed Martin's Information Systems & Global Solutions business serving space ground customers in the defense and intelligence communities.
Ever wonder how a decision-maker interprets information collected by unmanned aircraft, fighter jet, ships, spacecraft, antennas, ground sensors and radars? Multiple Intelligence Data Fusion. Multi-INT data fusion is the process of comparing and correlating data from multiple sources and disparate types, including human inputs, collected signals, measurements and imagery, and generating more useful observations.
Having access to massive amounts of data or intelligence from the satellites in the sky, sensors on UAVs and ground stations is akin to having access to some pieces of a puzzle. We never have all of the pieces. For optimal situational awareness we combine our pieces of information and perform multi-INT data fusion and analysis to convert our partial picture into a deduced complete picture or observation.
Real-life multi-INT
The uses of this technology are limitless and scalable, from military applications to physical security to safer air traffic management.
Take for instance security guards monitoring a large multi-building complex. Instead of 20 guards watching 20 monitors, one for every camera installed on the building, one or two guards may have a handful of screens. Motion detectors in the building trigger the screens to show a particular camera view. Perhaps a low-resolution wide field of view motion detector notifies a high-resolution day/night camera to slew to a moving object until a guard acknowledges the object. The system can learn or be told what "normal behavior" looks like, and alert the guard when unusual combinations occur. Automatic alerts supplement human intelligence. Aggregating multiple sensors into a single view allows for quicker, more confident decisions by fewer guards.
Countering threats
The same scenario is employed on a wider scale to protect our troops and our nation. Fusing satellite and aerial collections, and human observations provides the ability to predict potential harm. For example, data fusion has the potential to predict harmful protestors approaching a military base gate; identify incoming weapon attacks from ground and sea-based systems; and locate a terrorist vehicle from a vague starting point. In the end, we act and make the decision to send a message to an embassy, or engage our troops, or activate a missile defense system, and keep ourselves safe and ahead of an adversary.
The ability to fuse information from several vantage points is highly advantageous to war fighters, and also to leaders on home soil. Using platform-based systems and ground-based systems, a developing weather event such as a hurricane or blizzard can be detected early, allowing more time for preparation and ensuring resources are in place. The origins of the storm can be detected from satellites, regional antennas and sensors and fused by our weather systems to alert national and state organizations to take appropriate precautions.
Growing need for data fusion
Data fusion and multi-INT analysis solutions are a growing trend both in defense organizations and commercial industries. They are used by analysts tracking cyber threats to better identify and characterize an adversary. They are used to track terrorist organizations and predict actions. They are used by advertisers to de-mystify consumer buying patterns.
Our thirst for "truth" is unbounded. Just like everyone expects an accurate weather forecast without thinking of the complex computer models that analyze images from multiple satellite sensors and ground measurements to create isobar maps, our leaders demand ever-increasingly complete and precise identification and prediction of remote objects and activities. It is up to us to provide increasingly more sophisticated multi-INT fusion capabilities to provide actionable information.
Multi-INT data fusion and analytics improves our decisions and improves the speed of our actions. For more information, find out how Lockheed Martin manages the digital landscape.
