Networked Sensors

1
Networked Sensors for the Objective Force
No Place To Hide
Mr. John Eicke U.S. Army Research Laboratory
John Eicke U.S. Army Research Laboratory 301-394-5
000 jeicke_at_arl.army.mil
2
Objective
Demonstrate a family of low cost sensors
utilizing a wide range of sensor types, to enable
overarching situational awareness provide a
common operational picture across all echelons of
the future Army.
Networks of ubiquitous, low cost sensors can
see where we currently cannot!
3
Networked Sensors Technology Enablers
Sensors
Sensor Fusion Node Level Network Level
Decision Support Tools
Robust Comms Links
Self-Organizing, Ad-Hoc Networks
4
Whats the Concept ?
The Network is the Sensor!
UGS UGVs UAVs
5
The Army Vision for Networked UGS
Long Haul Comms to C2 Network
UGS UGVs UAVs
Tripwire Nodes
Gateway
Imaging Smart Nodes
Non-Imaging Smart Nodes
The network is the sensor !
6
Uses of Networked Sensors
Complex Terrain
Perimeter Security
Homeland Defense
Personnel Detection
MOUT Operations
7
Node Employment

• Hand emplaced
• Artillery / mortar
• Aircraft / helicopters
• Mine dispensers
• Autonomous platforms
• Small robots
• Small UAVs

Small, autonomous platforms will allow sensors to
position themselves to optimize sensing and/or
communications
8
What Does All This Mean to the Warfighter ?

• High fidelity sensor information for
• Targeting
• Threat detection
• Battle damage assessment
• Affordable, organic sensing at the small unit
  soldier level
• Multi-mission target threat information for a
  wide range of needs
• Integrated with other sensors to provide a more
  complete picture of the environment

9
Who are the key Players?

• Army
• FCS, NSfOF, APLA, . . .
• Navy
• Air Force
• ARGUS
• NATO
• France, Netherlands, UK, Norway, Germany,
• Others
• Australia

10
What Is It ?
11
Acoustic / Seismic Sensors

• 360O, NLOS monitoring
• Classifies target
• May ID target
• Provides LOB to targets
• Multiple nodes locate targets
• Detect ID
• Vehicles
• Helicopters
• Artillery, mortar, gunfire
• Excellent cueing for imagers

Simple ID vector messages
12
Magnetic Sensors

• 360O, NLOS monitoring
• Very low cost
• Very simple
• All weather
• Detect
• Vehicles
• Small arms
• Excellent tripwire sensor to cue other sensors

Simple detect message
13
IR Sensor

• Low cost imager
• Low power / size
• 90 grams (including optic)
• 600 mW _at_ 3.5V
• Excellent target identification

Detection of Walking Man Target
Target Walking Man (0.75m/2.0o C) 50
Detection/0.75 cycles on target Atmosphere 80/km
Using ATR - Simple ID messages
Send images only when essential
14
Moving Target Indicator (MTI) Radar Sensor

• 360O, NLOS monitoring
• Low cost
• Small, low power
• Detection of moving targets based on Doppler
• Excellent target range information out to
  gt 500m
• Concepts based on Army proximity fuzes
• Simple- multi range cell design

3
2
1
Simple detect message
15
RF Energy Sensor

• Low cost
• Non-line of sight
• Small, low power
• Detection of unintentional RF emissions such as
  engine noise
• Detection classification of intentional radio
  signals

Simple detect message
16
Sensor Fusion
17
Sensor Fusion Results
HIND Helicopter
More than the sum of its parts
(n-los)
Light Truck
T-72
Heavy Truck
Tank
Dismounted
18
Communications

• Provide robust communications in highly energy
  bandwidth-constrained environment
• Self-organizing ad hoc networks adapting to
• Various delivery mechanisms
• Node failures
• Intermittent connectivity
• Mobility
• Operate over noisy wireless channels
• Local short haul radios
• Long haul radios
• Protection of the sensor information while
  forward-deployed under energy/bandwidth
  constraints

19
Radios

• Short Haul inter-cluster Blue
• Short range 400 meters
• Low bandwidth - lt10Khz
• Self-configuring, energy-aware
• ComSec, LPI/LPD, anti-jam
• Receiver energy can dominate power budget!
• Long Haul cluster to C2 network Orange
• Selectable bandwidth 1 khz data to video
• Long range 10 km or more
• ComSec, LPI/LPD, anti-jam

Compact near-ground antenna prototype
20
Self-Configuring Routing Control

• Linked Cluster Ad Hoc Routing Algorithm
• Network self-organizes under a variety of
  delivery mechanisms without prior knowledge of
  network
• Adapts to mobility, channel effects, node
  destruction or failure
• Energy-aware routing reconfiguration
• Control Architecture
• Autonomously establishes maintains the sensor
  network
• Supports range of operationalscenarios
• Enables low-overhead security

Modified Ephremides Linked Cluster Routing
Algorithm
21
Key Communications Issues for UGS

• The Bad News
• Antennas close to the ground
• Cost of radios must be low
• No fixed infrastructure possible
• Some level of LPI / LPD needed
• Node dropouts failures are likley
• The Good News
• Low bandwidth (.1 10 khz) data streams
• Smarter nodes can minimize transmissions
• Short range (lt500m for Blue Radio)
• All nodes need not function all the time
• Robots small UAVs may help comms problems

22
Tradeoffs The 3 Bs
Batteries
Bucks
Bandwidth
Performance tradeoffs within nodes between
sensors comms are complex require a careful
consideration
23
Networked Sensors for the Objective Force ATD
Sensors for the Close Fight BSAT Inside the
extended Red Zone
Organic Low Cost Unmanned Sensors for the
Battlefield Commander
Networked Sensors for the Objective Force ATD(p)
Long Range Surveillance
Mounted Sensor Hub
Sensors for Organic small- UAV
MOUT
DCGSA IPB Updates/ GAP ID
Dismounted Sensor Control
Reachback

Scouts
Low Cost UGV Sensor Payload
Networked Sensors and Communications at levels
below the Tactical Internet
Networked Unattended Ground Sensors
Distributed Sensors Fill the Battlefield
Situational Awareness Gap and Provide BLOS
Targeting Complement Global Surveillance
24
Benefits of the Approach

• Provide warfighter with organic capabilities down
  to individual level
• Internetted, multi-sensor approach insures
  robust, reliable target information
• Range of employment mechanisms (hand, air,
  munitions, robots) enables diverse uses
• Range of low cost technologies will allow their
  rapid re-use to meet new requirements

25
Challenges

• Communications
• Energy-efficient, miniature radios
• Energy-aware, ad hoc networking
• Processing
• Power conservation
• Sensor data fusion reduced data bandwidth
• Sensors
• Acoustic , seismic, magnetic not mature
• New sensing modalities ?
• Cost reduction
• Highly integrated electronics exploit COTS
• Packaging

26
The Bottom Line

• Many of the enabling technologies already exist
  but key challenges remain
• Up front integration of all elements of nodes are
  needed to be successful
• All services will benefit from fielding networked
  unattended sensors
• Comms networking is the key to success !

Not an evolution, but . . . a revolution in
battlefield sensing