Efficient multi-sensor data fusion for space surveillance

Multi-sensor networks can extend the sensing region of a single sensor in order to provide a more geometrically diverse and comprehensive view of the state of a dynamical system. The use of a multi-sensor network gives rise to the need for a fusion step that combines the outputs of all sensor nodes into a single probabilistic state description. This paper examines a fusion method based on logarithmic opinion pools and develops algorithms for multi-sensor data fusion as well as investigates weight selection schemes for the opinion pool using efficient quadrature integration methods. The proposed fusion rules are applied to the tracking of a space object using multiple ground-based optical sensors. It is shown that the multi-sensor fusion rule leads to an increase of nearly two orders of magnitude in the position tracking accuracy as compared to the traditional single-sensor tracking method.