TARGET CUEING AND TRACKING SYSTEM FOR SAFEGUARDS AND SECURITY

There are many Safeguards applications which have a need for a reliable system that uses stateof- the-art image processing techniques to detect and track targets moving through a scene. A general purpose Target Cueing and Tracking System (TCATS), which is independent of the application and the user interface, is under development. The TCATS algorithms were developed and evaluated with commercially available image processing boards and a VME bus based microcomputer. The TCATS algorithms have successfully demonstrated a high detection capability and the ability to ignore exterior environmental conditions, such as cloud shadows moving through the scene, snow, blowing dust, rain, and moderate camera motion. These algorithms remove camera motion and perform target detection and tracking at near real time. The algorithms can handle many targets and retain the identity of each object from one frame to the next. Special ruggedized hardware is also under development to reduce the size, cost, and power consumption, and to increase the processing rate, reliability, and environmental operating capability of the TCATS. Field evaluations are underway specifically for Exterior Fixed Site Security applications. Testing includes nuisance alarm data gathering and detection capability evaluation of human targets crossing perimeter zones. This paper describes the detection and tracking techniques, custom hardware, and future development plans for the TCATS.