CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS FOR USING COMPUTER VISION CAPABILITIES ON TACTICAL AIRCRAFT

Abstract

The integration of computer vision with existing naval aircraft sensors presents an opportunity to leverage data that is normally overlooked or discarded. Every day, sensors that are designed to aid aircrews in navigation or targeting collect thousands of hours of imagery that could be used for intelligence gathering. With no intended effect on aircraft mission and aircrew procedures, computer vision could be installed as an add-on capability. This thesis develops a basic concept of operations (CONOPS) for integrating computer vision onto tactical naval aircraft. It explores the capabilities of sample aircraft to check the feasibility of aviation-based computer vision. The procedures and demonstrated capabilities of the Surveillance, Persistent Observation, and Target Recognition (SPOTR) system were used as a starting point for the CONOPS. Subject matter experts were solicited for their initial thoughts and feedback of draft CONOPS. The basic engineering process was used as a framework in which to develop the CONOPS. The comparatively short timeline and low cost that an add-on computer vision feature could be added to aircraft make systems like SPOTR a viable option to bring a new capability to the warfighter.