Central level fusion of radar and IRST contacts and the choice of coordinate system

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Abstract
The target tracking case, where radar and IRST contacts are fused at the central level fusion architecture, with special attention to the coordinate system, has been analyzed in this presentation. Tracking targets by fusing contacts from dissimilar sensors in a central level fusion process is acknowledged to be the most powerful tracking technique. This approach maximizes the synergy among the data, consequently the accuracy of the tracking. Among the various tactical possibilities offered by data fusion, this approach permits to perform accurate tracking when the platform is 'almost' electromagnetically silent. Tracking targets with sparse use of radar is possible only if the angle contacts obtained from passive sensors are fused optimally with the parsimonious and intermittent radar contact. Usually, the range and angle data provided by a surveillance radar permit to use cartesian coordinates and track with a conventional Kalman filter using linear target model and measurement model equations. On the other hand the nature of the angle-only data provided by a passive sensor does not permit to take advantage of the linear models and the IRST tracker provides ambiguous angle tracks. To benefit from central level fusion, the state estimation process in the fusion function must be performed in a coordinate system that accommodates the radar as well as the IRST contacts. A simple simulation is done in three dimensions and in three different coordinate systems: cartesian, spherical and modified spherical. The analysis shows the feasibility of data fusion in all three coordinate systems.

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