Closing the loop in sensor fusion systems: stochastic dynamic programming approaches

This paper provides an overview of the problem of managing sensor resources in a closed-loop sensor fusion system. We formulate the problem in a stochastic dynamic programming framework. In so doing, we expose structure in the problem resulting from target dynamics being independent and discuss how this can be exploited in solution strategies. We illustrate situations in which we believe such sensor management techniques are especially beneficial with two examples. One example is the management of a single sensor, and the other is the management of multiple sensors. The focus of both examples is on air-to-ground tracking.