Performance-based sensor selection for optimal target tracking

In current sensor management concepts sensor selection is usually based on the probability of detection of each sensor. Although this detection probability is based on certain environmental and sensor related parameters, it does not necessarily mean that the sensor with the highest detection probability also yields the best performance. A new sensor selection method was proposed for optimising the target tracking process that compares the available sensors by the best expected performance. This performance evaluation is based on the modified Riccati equation (MRE) and includes the detection probability and the sensor measurement accuracies. Also, different performance-based selection criteria are proposed, depending on the sensor task and the stage of a military operation. In this paper we allocate sensors for target tracking based on the outcome of the MRE selection algorithm and criteria. The results are compared with the current concept of selecting the sensor with the highest probability of detection.