Automatic programming for rapid development of tracking systems

The authors discuss an approach, called ATTACK (automated tracking taxonomy and coding knowledge), which uses knowledge-based technologies to support the automated synthesis of new target tracking systems for the investigation of new tracking algorithms. In this approach, users are prompted for tracking system characteristics on a series of dynamic, interactive forms. Design rules are applied to the user-applied characteristics in order to derive executable code satisfying those characteristics. The key to ATTACK is the structuring of the knowledge base, which encourages completeness and consistency, and is suitable for automated analysis. The structure, in concert with suitable processing software, guides a user through the system specification process in a natural, organized fashion, and permits informed short cuts, through default settings, for prototyping exercises. The structure is flexible, permitting corrections and amendments on a routine basis, thereby allowing the body of knowledge to evolve naturally