An Automated System for Observer Probability of Detection Experiments

Abstract

The Army is looking at signature management as a way of increasing the survivability of combat vehicles for upcoming programs such as the Future Combat System. As part of the Army's work in this areas, the TACOM Survivability Technology Area has the mission of integrating and maturing advanced survivability technologies for combat vehicle systems. In order to determine the real world effectiveness of new camouflage technologies, it is sometimes necessary to do Observer Probability of Detection (Pd) experiments on military targets. In These experiments multiple military observers are asked to search for a military target positioned within a field of regard on a test range. When a target is detected the time of the detection is logged, and then it is verified whether the target is actual target of interest or a false detection. Early Pd tests used paper log sheets, range maps, stopwatches, and a variety of other manual devices to complete the experiment. This kind of data collection was very manpower intensive and had many opportunities for errors during the data collection and analysis. In order to reduce the manpower requirements and improve the reliability of the data from Pd experiments, TACOM as developed an automated system for Pd data collection. This new system has a master control system, an instrumented station for each observer, and adds the ability review results immediately after completing a Pd run. This paper presents an overview of this new Pd data collection system and discuses plans for the continued development of the system.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 2002
Accession Number
ADP023088

Entities

People

  • Robert Mantey

Organizations

  • Tank-automotive and Armaments Command

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Binoculars
  • Calibration
  • Combat Vehicles
  • Computer Programming
  • Computers
  • Control Systems
  • Detection
  • Detectors
  • Elevation
  • Instrumentation
  • Observers
  • Probability
  • Programming Languages
  • Spreadsheet Software
  • Targeting
  • Targets
  • Validation

Readers

  • Military Science
  • Sensor Fusion and Tracking Systems.
  • Software Engineering.