Knowledge-based resource management for multifunction radar: a look at scheduling and task prioritization

In this article, we consider two related aspects of radar resource management, scheduling and task prioritization. Two different methods of scheduling are examined and compared and their differences and similarities highlighted. The comparison suggests that prioritization of tasks plays a dominant role in determining performance. A prioritization scheme based on fuzzy logic is subsequently contrasted and compared with a hard logic approach as a basis for task prioritization. The setting of priorities is shown to be critically dependent on prior expert knowledge. By assessing the priorities of targets and sectors of surveillance according to a set of rules it is attempted to imitate the human decision-making process such that the resource manager can distribute the radar resources in a more effective way. Results suggest that the fuzzy approach is a valid means of evaluating the relative importance of the radar tasks; the resulting priorities have been adapted by the fuzzy logic prioritization method, according to how the radar system perceived the surrounding environment.