<title>Sled tracking system</title>

Abstract

The Sled Tracking System (STS) represents the successful merger of several technologies, including IR and visual sensors, real-time image processing, and real-time data processing and control. STS was developed to solve the dynamics of tracking seat ejection and vehicle tests at the Air Force's High Speed Test Track Facility at Holloman AFB, New Mexico. The system has the ability to track vehicles at transverse speeds exceeding Mach 1, while ignoring momentary loss of track due to background clutter. STS can discriminate among up to four seats sequentially ejected from a single vehicle and track only the event of interest. The system also maintains the track point of interest in the primary sensor's field-of-view while tracking an offset aim point and transitions from a transverse trajectory to a vertical trajectory while maintaining track through seat-mannequin separation and chute deployment. This paper discusses the hardware and software architectures implemented to solve these problems.