Test and Evaluation of Distributed Data and Information Fusion Systems and Processes

The baseline distributed fusion output is the consistent tactical picture (CTP). The sensor track file “consistency” is computed at each time point as the average over time of the percentage of matching CTP tracks in the track files of each platform. Information fusion can generally be thought of as an association and estimation process, yielding estimates ranging from attributes of an entity to an estimate of a complex, dynamic, multi-entity situational picture. The value chain has three major quality dimensions: data/information quality, quality of share-ability/reachability, and quality of interactions. Considerations become yet more complex in the distributed fusion application since there are different state estimates being produced at various nodes and shared and further fused across the intermodal network. Moving information fusion processes and algorithms into the context of a distributed or networked architecture has many potential operational benefits but can add considerable complexity to the framing of a Test and evaluation activity.