Optimal detection in a distributed multisensor architecture

A detector defines a subset of inputs for which a detection is declared, as such, the performance of a detector is limited by the input set. The optimal detector which is presented in this paper defines the detection set which provides the maximum probability of detection for a given probability of false alarm. Further improvements in detection performance require a change to the input set. Inclusion of additional measurements insures that performance will not decrease. This paper considers the performance of the optimal detector when the input set is the union of measurements made by multiple sensors which maybe distributed across several platforms.