This textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the concepts and idea of multisensor data fusion. It is an extensively revised second edition of the author's successful book: "Multi-Sensor Data Fusion: An Introduction" which was originally published by Springer-Verlag in 2007. The main changes in the new book are: New Material: Apart from one new chapter there are approximately 30 new sections, 50 new examples and 100 new references. At the same time, material which is out-of-date has been eliminated and the remaining text has been rewritten for added clarity. Altogether, the new book is nearly 70 pages longer than the original book. Matlab code: Where appropriate we have given details of Matlab code which may be downloaded from the worldwide web. In a few places, where such code is not readily available, we have included Matlab code in the body of the text. Layout. The layout and typography has been revised. Examples and Matlab code now appear on a gray background for easy identification and advancd material is marked with an asterisk. The book is intended to be self-contained. No previous knowledge of multi-sensor data fusion is assumed, although some familarity with the basic tools of linear algebra, calculus and simple probability is recommended. Although conceptually simple, the study of mult-sensor data fusion presents challenges that are unique within the education of the electrical engineer or computer scientist. To become competent in the field the student must become familiar with tools taken from a wide range of diverse subjects including: neural networks, signal processing, statistical estimation, tracking algorithms, computer vision and control theory. All too often, the student views multi-sensor data fusion as a miscellaneous assortment of different processes which bear no relationship to each other. In contrast, in this book the processes are unified by using a common statistical framework. As a consequence, the underlying pattern of relationships that exists between the different methodologies is made evident. The book is illustrated with many real-life examples taken from a diverse range of applications and contains an extensive list of modern references.

The book explores object and situation fusion processes with an appropriate handling of uncertainties, and applies cutting-edge artificial intelligence and emerging technologies like particle filtering, spatiotemporal clustering, net-centricity, agent formalism, and distributed fusion together with essential Level 1 techniques and Level 1/2 interactions.

This textbook provides a comprehensive introduction to the theories and techniques of multi-sensor data fusion. It is aimed at advanced undergraduate and first-year graduate students in electrical engineering and computer science, as well as researchers and professional engineers. The book is intended to be self-contained. No previous knowledge of multi-sensor data fusion is assumed, although some familiarity with the basic tools of linear algebra, calculus and simple probability theory is recommended.

Data Fusion Methodology and Applications explores the data-driven discovery paradigm in science and the need to handle large amounts of diverse data. Drivers of this change include the increased availability and accessibility of hyphenated analytical platforms, imaging techniques, the explosion of omics data, and the development of information technology. As data-driven research deals with an inductive attitude that aims to extract information and build models capable of inferring the underlying phenomena from the data itself, this book explores the challenges and methodologies used to integrate data from multiple sources, analytical platforms, different modalities, and varying timescales. Presents the first comprehensive textbook on data fusion, focusing on all aspects of data-driven discovery Includes comprehensible, theoretical chapters written for large and diverse audiences Provides a wealth of selected application to the topics included

The science associated with the development of artificial sen sory systems is occupied primarily with determining how information about the world can be extracted from sensory data. For example, computational vision is, for the most part, concerned with the de velopment of algorithms for distilling information about the world and recognition of various objects in the environ (e. g. localization ment) from visual images (e. g. photographs or video frames). There are often a multitude of ways in which a specific piece of informa tion about the world can be obtained from sensory data. A subarea of research into sensory systems has arisen which is concerned with methods for combining these various information sources. This field is known as data fusion, or sensor fusion. The literature on data fusion is extensive, indicating the intense interest in this topic, but is quite chaotic. There are no accepted approaches, save for a few special cases, and many of the best methods are ad hoc. This book represents our attempt at providing a mathematical foundation upon which data fusion algorithms can be constructed and analyzed. The methodology that we present in this text is mo tivated by a strong belief in the importance of constraints in sensory information processing systems. In our view, data fusion is best un derstood as the embedding of multiple constraints on the solution to a sensory information processing problem into the solution pro cess.

Data fusion or information fusion are names which have been primarily assigned to military-oriented problems. In military applications, typical data fusion problems are: multisensor, multitarget detection, object identification, tracking, threat assessment, mission assessment and mission planning, among many others. However, it is clear that the basic underlying concepts underlying such fusion procedures can often be used in nonmilitary applications as well. The purpose of this book is twofold: First, to point out present gaps in the way data fusion problems are conceptually treated. Second, to address this issue by exhibiting mathematical tools which treat combination of evidence in the presence of uncertainty in a more systematic and comprehensive way. These techniques are based essentially on two novel ideas relating to probability theory: the newly developed fields of random set theory and conditional and relational event algebra. This volume is intended to be both an update on research progress on data fusion and an introduction to potentially powerful new techniques: fuzzy logic, random set theory, and conditional and relational event algebra. Audience: This volume can be used as a reference book for researchers and practitioners in data fusion or expert systems theory, or for graduate students as text for a research seminar or graduate level course.

With the recent proliferation of service-oriented architectures (SOA), cloud computing technologies, and distributed-interconnected systems, distributed fusion is taking on a larger role in a variety of applications—from environmental monitoring and crisis management to intelligent buildings and defense. Drawing on the work of leading experts around the world, Distributed Data Fusion for Network-Centric Operations examines the state of the art of data fusion in a distributed sensing, communications, and computing environment. Get Insight into Designing and Implementing Data Fusion in a Distributed Network Addressing the entirety of information fusion, the contributors cover everything from signal and image processing, through estimation, to situation awareness. In particular, the work offers a timely look at the issues and solutions involving fusion within a distributed network enterprise. These include critical design problems, such as how to maintain a pedigree of agents or nodes that receive information, provide their contribution to the dataset, and pass to other network components. The book also tackles dynamic data sharing within a network-centric enterprise, distributed fusion effects on state estimation, graph-theoretic methods to optimize fusion performance, human engineering factors, and computer ontologies for higher levels of situation assessment. A comprehensive introduction to this emerging field and its challenges, the book explores how data fusion can be used within grid, distributed, and cloud computing architectures. Bringing together both theoretical and applied research perspectives, this is a valuable reference for fusion researchers and practitioners. It offers guidance and insight for those working on the complex issues of designing and implementing distributed, decentralized information fusion.