ESCAPE Data Collection for Multi-Modal Data Fusion Research

Over the last decade there has been a technological explosion of advanced, digital, solid state, software controlled, and low size, weight, power and cost (SWaPC) sensors and payloads. The sensor advancement allowed engineering practitioners the ability to easily perform a variety of remote sensing operations and consider a wide range of modalities measuring the environment simultaneously. However, there has not been a common multi-modal data set to compare data fusion methods. This paper describes a multi-mode data set performed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, Information Directorate, to enable multi-modal signature data-fusion research. The Experiments, Scenarios, Concept of Operations, and Prototype Engineering (ESCAPE)collection brings together electro-optical, infrared, distributed passive radio-frequency, radar, acoustic and seismic data in a common scenario for the application of advanced fusion methods for aerospace systems. The paper details hardware, scenarios, and data collection specifics. Scenarios involved disparate moving emitting ground vehicles, challenging vehicle path patterns, and differing vehicle noise profiles. The purpose of the data collection, and the resulting data sets, is to engage the data fusion community in advanced upstream heterogeneous data analytics, design, and understanding.