Maritime Surveillance Sensor Clusters for Detection and Classification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional maritime surveillance systems relying on long-range radars are costly, difficult to reconfigure, and ineffective in detecting and classifying non-cooperative objects, limiting their versatility and adaptability to evolving threats.
Innovation Solution
A maritime surveillance system utilizing clusters of combined sensors positioned at sea, with a Processing and Control Centre to manage and fuse data from multi-sensor platforms, enabling rapid deployment and improved detection and classification capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of stationary object
If long range radars are used for maritime surveillance, then detection distance is improved, but system cost and difficulty of reconfiguration increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the surveillance system into multiple distributed sensor nodes positioned at different locations along the coast. Each node performs local detection and classification, with results correlated at a central operations center. This segmentation allows the system to achieve long-range detection capability while maintaining flexibility in reconfiguration, as individual nodes can be added, removed, or repositioned without affecting the entire system.
2Length of stationary object
If long range radars are used for maritime surveillance, then detection distance is improved, but adaptability to evolving threats decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic sensor network where detection parameters, sensor activation, and data processing priorities can be adjusted in real-time based on threat assessments. The system can dynamically reconfigure which sensors are active, how data is correlated, and what classification algorithms are applied, allowing rapid adaptation to evolving threats while maintaining long-range detection capability.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If traditional radar systems are used, then detection capability is improved, but classification and identification of non-cooperative objects deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sensor types (radar, acoustic, electromagnetic, optical) at each distributed node to create a multi-sensory surveillance system. By merging data from different sensor modalities, the system achieves both strong detection capability from radar and improved classification precision through correlative analysis of multiple independent measurements, particularly for non-cooperative objects that do not transmit AIS signals.
4Adaptability or versatility
If clusters of combined sensors are deployed at sea, then versatility and adaptability are improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs each distributed sensor node as a universal, multi-functional platform capable of performing detection, classification, and identification across multiple sensor modalities. These standardized nodes can be deployed in various configurations and combinations depending on specific surveillance needs, providing versatility while managing complexity through standardization and modularity.
Data Source
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AI summary
Maritime surveillance systems traditionally rely on long range radars positioned on elevations on the coast. The invention relates to a new kind of Maritime surveillance system formed by clusters of platforms preferably comprising low cost radars and sonars borne for instance by buoys. The platforms normally overlap and data fusion of sensors of the same type within a cluster is performed to improve performance. To further improve performance, data from different sorts of sensors on a definite platform are fused.