Managing heterogeneous networks of mobile and stationary sensors

Protecting critical infrastructure against intrusion, sabotage or vandalism is a task that requires a comprehensive situation picture. Modern security systems should provide a total solution including sensors, software, hardware, and a "control unit" to ensure complete security. Incorporating unmanned mobile sensors can significantly help to close information gaps and gain an ad hoc picture of areas where no pre-installed supervision infrastructure is available or damaged after an incident. Fraunhofer IOSB has developed the generic ground control station AMFIS which is capable of managing sensor data acquisition with all kinds of unattended stationary sensors, mobile ad hoc sensor networks, and mobile sensor platforms. The system is highly mobile and able to control various mobile platforms such as small UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and UGVs (Unmanned Ground Vehicles). In order to establish a real-time situation picture, also an image exploitation process is used. In this process, video frames from different sources (mainly from small UAVs) are georeferenced by means of a system of image registration methods. Relevant information can be obtained by a motion detection module. Thus, the image exploitation process can accelerate the situation assessment significantly.