Visual Moving Target Indicator

• Highlights Moving Objects - Detects, tracks and highlights moving objects from a moving camera.
• Mosaicing - Generates image mosaics to provide a wider visual context.
• Geo-referencing with Metadata - Determines the geographic position of the mosaic and tracked objects.
• Databasing - Moving target information and mosaicked imagery is databased so that it can be updated and queried by multiple users.
• Reduced Bandwidth - Processing can be done on-board the aircraft so only the results and highly compressed imagery need to be sent to ground
• High-level Analysis of Ground Motion - With the tracks plotted onto the mosaic, higher level analysis (such as determining abnormal motion) can be performed either manually or automatically.
• Infrared or Visible Band - Visual MTI is able to operate on both visible band and infrared imagery.

There are many potential applications for a Visual MTI system. The following are a few examples:

Pursuit of a Target

The geographic information about a target, that Visual MTI provides, can be used to ensure that troops maintain full awareness of the target's position. For example, information about the target's direction of motion can be used to control the aircraft to ensure that the target remains in the field of view of the camera. The geolocation of the target can be relayed to troops on the ground to allow them to accurately follow the target through difficult conditions.

Abnormal Motion Detection

The real-time track information from Visual MTI can be used to automatically detect, and alert operators to, any unusual events. For example, Visual MTI track information from a UAV which loiters over an area, or returns to an area regularly, can be input into high level analysis algorithms. These algorithms can build up a statistical picture of what is normal movement and, when they detect behaviour which is out of the ordinary, alert this to an operator. This can allow suspicious behaviour to be identified and investigated promptly.

Increased Situational Awareness

The output from Visual MTI can be put into a database so that multiple users can access the information, allowing them to gain an increased awareness of any occurring events. For example, the object tracks can be presented to the users, via interactive web services, by overlaying them onto a geographic map. Users can then select the tracks, view the video clip of the object, and tag the track with further information. This could, for example, be whether the object is a threat, friendly or neutral. This tag information is input into the database and updated on any additional users’ displays. This ‘whiteboard’ approach helps to ensure that all users have an up-to-date picture of the status of the area under surveillance.

Wide Area Photography

Visual MTI can mosaic together aerial images from full motion video to produce a wide area photograph of an area. This could be used, for example, for photographing crash sites.