Tracking ballistic missile warheads using a generalized motion model

Abstract

Neutralizing the threat of an incoming ballistic missile is a difficult task. Often the missile disintegrates, leaving the warhead surrounded by a number of ballistic fragments. Thus, the challenge is for the interceptor to identify and track the targets so that a successful strike can be achieved. This paper addresses the problem of using noisy image sequence data captured by on-board sensors in the nose cone of the interceptor to track target fragments. We propose an approach based on a generalized motion model that can accurately represent motion caused by rotation, translation, and scaling. An efficient iterative estimation algorithm is presented to calculate motion parameters and the computational complexity of the tracking system is evaluated. Results show the proposed scheme performs significantly better than simple block-based motion estimation approaches.

<title>Spatiotemporal wavelets and tracking in noisy environments</title>

“…Its region of support can be appropriately located around a particular velocity plane, v, = [1,0]' in our case. The…”

A new motion parameter estimation algorithm based on the continuous wavelet transform

“…For a steady object (2) and for a linearly moving object (3) where, in general, denotes the Fourier transform of a (2 + 1)D signal the wavenumber vector, represents the spatial frequencies, and and the frequency variable corresponds to the temporal frequency. Equations (2) and (3) state how the wavenumber-frequency energy of a motionless object is redistributed with linear motion.…”

“…Block matching (BM) is the simplest technique of this type. It exploits block correspondences between subsequent frames of an incoming video signal to derive a displacement vector for each block [1]- [3]. BM is the most popular technique used for motion compensated video coding, where the intrinsic inaccuracies of the motion estimates are compensated by a residual signal embedded in the coded bit stream.…”