<title>Automated targeting data fusion (ATDF)</title>

Abstract

Automated all source data fusion primarily fuses analyst generated messages. The Automated Targeting Data Fusion (ATDF) effort created an application that rapidly associated very diverse information sources automatically. In recent military conflict situations, enormous amounts of multi-source data have been made available to war-fighters. These data include imagery, signals intelligence, acoustic information, input from human analysts, and other sources. The significant magnitude of collected intelligence overwhelms analysts, operators, collection managers and commanders. Complicating matters further is that the data is collected, transmitted, processed, exploited and disseminated via multiple stovepipe architectures involving different types of intelligence and support personnel. It is difficult for diverse users to maintain situational awareness over the battle-space. This is an extremely crucial issue with rapid targeting decisions. This ATDF capability offers an alternative to automatically support each individual user as well as decision makers who must use all of their collective command-level decisions. ATDF rapidly associates diverse intelligence products as they are collected and fuses it into actionable knowledge in near real-time.