INTRUSION PATH ANALYSIS

Intrusion Path Analysis (IPA) is performed by computer analysis to alert personnel stationed at guard workstations of certain combinationsof events that indicate a need for heightened awareness. These combinations of events, which are called Path Alerts, are displayed to the guard on graphics workstations. A realtime analysis task considers current field sensor status as well as a time-window of sensor state history. IPA uses a tree structure of determine the physical location of sensors and their relationships to each other. The algorithm is based on the concept of concentric rings of protection, and Path Alerts are issued when more than a definable number of these rings are considered breached. The tree structure allows for easy inclusion or exclusion of individual or groups of sensors in the anlysis. The graphical representation of Path Alerts involves a fill pattern over the involved sensor, which does not interfere with presentation of the true sensor state color. Also, an alert is placed in the operator's pending action queue and a report is available.