Underwater tracking of multiple objects

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GeoSpectrum Technologies Inc., the supporting organization for this project, is an industry leader in underwater acoustic transducers and sonar processing. Their team has expertise and experience in detection, classification, localization and tracking of marine mammals, ships, and submarines. GeoSpectrum has started to develop innovative manned and autonomous underwater acoustic surveillance systems. GeoSpectrum has identified there is a growing international market for such systems that is not well serviced. The first companies that provide proven solutions in this market niche will gain significant competitive advantage. The company has developed a robust software system that conducts multi-object tracking based on sonar data. The software maintains trajectories that describe how many objects are present, their recent movement, and their current position and velocity. The software performs extremely well, but does not currently incorporate state-of-the-art nonlinear filtering technology. In this project we will extend the capabilities of the software by incorporating novel tracking technology. We will provide the following enhancements: (i) multi-object multi-sensor tracking using particle filters and particle flow filters; and (ii) distributed, in-network processing to minimize communication overhead. We will deliver algorithms that will be incorporated into Geospectrum's software solutions. These enhancements will lead to a faster time-to-market of a state-of-the-art surveillance solution, improving Geospectrum's competitiveness in the growing maritime monitoring market. It is vital to monitor Canada's vast maritime boundary to ensure that resource extraction and marine traffic do not damage a fragile environment. The development of Canadian companies that can provide maritime surveillance technology and systems is of increasing importance. This project will help Geospectrum to develop into a world leader in the provision of acoustic underwater monitoring systems and strengthen a valuable sector of Canadian industry.