The US Navy plans to fit Multi-Mode Sensor Seeker (MMSS) to the Fire Scout for use in anti-piracy operations.
The Multi-Mode Sensor Seeker (MMSS) is a mix of high-definition cameras, mid-wave infrared sensors and laser-radar (LADAR) technology that will be able to pick out pirates hiding among other boats.
Combined with advanced automatic target recognition software, the sensor will allow the helicopter to autonomously identify small boats on the water, reducing the workload of sailors operating it from control stations aboard Navy ships, researchers said.
“Sailors who control robotic systems can become overloaded with data, often sifting through hours of streaming video searching for a single ship,” said Ken Heeke, programme officer in ONR’s Naval Air Warfare and Weapons Department.
“The 3-D data gives you a leg up on target identification,” said Dean Cook, a researcher at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division said. “Infrared and visible cameras produce 2-D pictures, and objects in them can be difficult to automatically identify.”
The automatic target recognition software gives Fire Scout the ability to distinguish target boats in congested coastal waters using LADAR, and it sends that information to human operators, who can then analyse those vessels in a 3-D picture.’
Navy-developed target recognition algorithms aboard Fire Scout will exploit the 3D data collected by the LADAR, utilising a long-range, high-res, eye-safe laser.
The software compares the 3D imagery to vessel templates or schematics stored in the system’s memory.
Source: Daily Mail