Thesis--Auburn University, 2009. / Abstract. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 49).

Thesis (M.S.)--Naval Postgraduate School, Sept. 2004. / Title from title screen (viewed June 24, 2005). "September 2004." Includes bibliographical references (p. 73-74). Also issued in paper format.

Thesis (M.S.)--California Polytechnic State University, 2009. / Title from PDF title page; viewed on August 11, 2009. Major professor: John Saghri, Ph.D. "Presented to the faculty of California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California." "In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree [of] Master of Science in Electrical Engineering." "May 2009." Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-85). Will also be available on microfiche.

Thesis (M.S.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 85-89).

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains ix, 68 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-41).

Thesis (M.S. in Modeling, Virtual Environment, and Simulation (MOVES))--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2007. / Thesis Advisor(s): Christian Darken. "March 2007." Includes bibliographical references (p. 115). Also available in print.

Visual target acquisition is performed during several daily tasks, often requmng time¬dependent behavioural responses towards stimuli. Information processing during such tasks is subject to bottom-up as well top-down influences, which results in an integrated processing mechanism. It follows that if the underlying neural mechanisms can be elucidated, behaviour towards visual stimuli will be better understood, allowing for the development of visual environments that facilitates desired behavioural response. The current study aimed to develop a systems-level approach according to which the mechanisms that underlie visual target acquisition can be understood, by interpreting psychophysical data in terms of the structural and functional organization of the visual system. Empirical work entailed psychophysical experiments and elaborated on previous studies regarding conspicuity areas around and response time towards visual targets. The rationale was that these two measures can be used as an indication of the conspicuity of a target within a specific background, which in turn can be related to the nature of information processing during a target acquisition task. Results showed that a proportional relationship exists between the size of the conspicuity area and a target's perceived conspicuity, with the most conspicuous targets being associated with the largest conspicuity areas. Response time trends showed that target detectability at different positions within the conspicuity area is equal, but that detection performance at positions outside the conspicuity area is greatly influenced by the nature of the background surrounding the target. Interpretation of the results points to the importance of visual attention during target acquisition, which in turn is supported by the structural and functional organization of the visual system. Findings from the psychophysical study presented here, along with the proposed framework of information processing, emphasise that behavioural outcome during visual target acquisition cannot be explained without considering the structural and functional organization of the visual system. / Dissertation (MSc (Human Physiology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Physiology / unrestricted

Unmanned vehicles are increasingly being used for mobile sensing missions. These missions can range from target acquisition to chemical and biological sensing. The reason why these vehicles are increasingly being used is because they can carry many different types of sensors and can function as a cheap platform for carrying these sensors. The sensing that will be explained in this thesis is target acquisition. Target acquisition is the act of locating the exact position of an "area of interest." Currently this task can be completed with different types of complex range sensors. This thesis presents a type of target acquisition scheme for unmanned vehicles that will use a combination of cheap, simple vision sensors and robot inertial navigation data in order to accurately measure the location of a target in real world coordinates. This thesis will first develop an accurate waypoint driving algorithm that will either use dead reckoning or GPS/ compass sensors. We will then develop a robust target extraction algorithm that will be able to pick out a target in an image. After this is completed we will develop an algorithm that will be used to find the distance to the target from the robot. This algorithm will be based on a type of active vision system. Finally we will integrate all of these algorithms together in order to develop a target extraction technique that will be able to accurately find the distance to the target. With the distance we can then find the real world location of the target. / Master of Science

Thesis--School of Advanced Airpower Studies, AY 2001-2002. / Title from title screen (viewed on Apr. 17, 2007). "September 2004." Includes bibliographical references (p. 88-97). Full text document available on public STINET.

A passive radar systems opportunistic ability to exploit ambient radio signal reflections makes it ideal for covert target tracking. This strategy, referred to as passive covert radar (PCR) or passive coherent location (PCL), typically exploits FM radio or television signals from powerful local transmitters. In addition to covertness, the absence of a dedicated transmitter helps reduce costs and overall system complexity. While a variety of measurements can be used to estimate a targets position and velocity, such as time difference of arrival (TDOA) and direction of arrival (DOA), this thesis focuses on using only Doppler shift measurements to estimate a targets state. The work presented in this thesis examines the use of Doppler shift measurements from multiple receivers to solve the target tracking and association problem. A nonlinear least squares error (NLSE) estimation technique, called the Levenberg-Marquardt (L-M) algorithm, is used to determine a targets state (position, velocity) from these Doppler shift measurements. More than one target state can potentially produce identical Doppler shift profiles. In a single-receiver, single-target scenario, it is shown that three additional ghost targets caused by symmetry produce the same Doppler shift response. These ghosts may make state estimation impossible if receive antennas are not physically positioned to block out ghost targets. While the NLSE technique tends to give an accurate solution in one quadrant, three other solutions will symmetrically exist in each of the remaining three quadrants. The addition of either another receiver or another measurement (such as DOA) is needed to break this quadrant ambiguity. This thesis considers adding multiple receivers to accurately associate and track multiple targets. Two target association methods (sequential and simultaneous) are developed, and their computational requirements and accuracy are compared. A grid-aided L-M search technique is investigated in an attempt to provide a better initial target state guess to these association and tracking algorithms. The analysis and simulation results suggest it is feasible to perform multi-target association and tracking using Doppler shift as the sole measurement. Both of the proposed methods gave optimal target association and converged to reasonably accurate state estimates in most of the Monte Carlo runs.