Wide-area motion imagery

Wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) is an approach to surveillance, reconnaissance, and intelligence-gathering that employs specialized software and a powerful camera system—usually airborne, and for extended periods of time—to detect and track hundreds of people and vehicles moving out in the open, over a city-sized area, kilometers in diameter.[1][2] For this reason, WAMI is sometimes referred to as wide-area persistent surveillance (WAPS) or wide-area airborne surveillance (WAAS).[3]

A WAMI sensor images the entirety of its coverage area in real time. It also records and archives that imagery in a database for real-time and forensic analysis. WAMI operators can use this live and recorded imagery to spot activity otherwise missed by standard video cameras with narrower fields of view, analyze these activities in context, distinguish threats from normal patterns of behavior, and perform the work of a larger force.[4]

Military and security personnel are the typical users of WAMI, employing the technology for such missions as force protection, base security, route reconnaissance, border security, counter-terrorism, and event security.[5] However, WAMI systems can also be used for disaster response, traffic pattern analysis, wildlife protection, and law enforcement.[6]

Capabilities and enabling technologies

The typical WAMI sensor produces imagery at an update rate of 1 Hz or faster[7] from one or more multiple megapixel cameras.[8] The system then seamlessly stitches together the collected images and applies algorithms to geo-register them, ensuring that the sensor picture represents ground truth.[9][10]

As far as resolution goes, WAMI systems usually have a 0.5 meter ground sample distance (GSD)—enough to detect and track moving targets throughout the scene.[11][12] Should a user need to take a closer look at a subject, the WAMI system can cue other available sensors, such as hi-res full-motion video cameras, to make the identification. Users can select different video streams pulled from the WAMI system's vast field of view[13] and, with the help of advanced data compression techniques, watch them live on their computer screens or handheld devices.[14] In some systems, users can also designate "watchboxes" within the sensor's field of view to provide automated alerts should the system detect movement in the area.[15]

All WAMI is tagged for time and location before being stored in an airborne or ground-based database.[16] Users can remotely access this database and, similar to DVR functionality, can speed through or rewind the imagery to find specific incidents. In addition, just as with the real-time imagery, WAMI users can pan, tilt, and zoom within the archived imagery.[17]

Evolution of WAMI systems

The very first WAMI system was developed in the early 2000s by a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory team led by John Marion, as part of the Sonoma Persistent Surveillance Program. In 2005, the sensor transitioned to the U.S. Department of Defense,[18] and in 2006, the Army sent the system—dubbed Constant Hawk—to Iraq on Short 360-300 turboprop aircraft as part of a Quick Reaction Capability.[19] Three years later, Constant Hawk also deployed to Afghanistan.

Weighing 1500 pounds, Constant Hawk initially comprised six electro-optical 11-megapixel cameras that covered 25 square kilometers.[20] This payload was later upgraded to six 16-megapixel cameras.[21]

Since the deployment of Constant Hawk, WAMI systems have gotten smaller, lighter, and more capable. The current generation Kestrel Block II, for instance, employs eight electro-optical/infrared cameras that, together, form a 440-megapixel mosaic and cover 113 square kilometers. Yet this WAMI system weighs less than 85 pounds—light enough to be mounted on a tethered blimp, or aerostat, which can be kept aloft for weeks at a time.[22][23]

List of WAMI systems
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References
  1. Marion, John. "Wide-Area Motion Imagery Systems: Evolution, Capabilities and Mission Sets." RUSI Defence Systems. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  2. Goure, Dan. "Wide Area Persistent Surveillance Revolutionizes Tactical ISR." Lexington Institute. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  3. "A Primer for Dissemination Services for Wide Area Motion Imagery." Open Geospatial Consortium. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  4. Marion, John. "Wide-Area Motion Imagery Systems: Evolution, Capabilities and Mission Sets." Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  5. "Kestrel: Wide-Area Motion Imagery for Aerostats." Logos Technologies. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  6. "HawkEye II." Persistent Surveillance Systems. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  7. Porter, Reid, etal. "Wide-Area Motion Imagery." IEEE Signal Processing Magazine. Volume 27, Issue 5. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  8. Hambling, David. "New Army Camera Promises Super-Wide Surveillance." WIRED. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  9. "A Primer for Dissemination Services for Wide Area Motion Imagery." Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  10. "IDEX 2017: Logos Technologies Double WAMI." Monch Publishing Group. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  11. Porter, Reid, etal. "Wide-Area Motion Imagery." Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  12. Colucci, Frank. "Persistence on Patrol." Aviation Today. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  13. "[ https://www.harris.com/sites/default/files/downloads/solutions/56254-d0861-corvuseye-datasheet-web.pdf Corvuseye: Intelligent Wide-Area Motion Imagery from the Air Any Time Day or Night]." Harris Corporation. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  14. "Redkite: Lightweight Wide-Area Motion Imagery for Manned and Unmanned Aircraft." Logos Technologies. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  15. Osborn, Kris. "Army weighs new lightweight wide area motion imagery sensor." Defense Systems. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  16. "Multi-Sensor, Wide-Area Persistent Surveillance." Logos Technologies. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  17. Melendez, Steven. "An All-Seeing Eye In The Sky Will Watch Over The Rio Olympics." Fast Company. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  18. "From Video to Knowledge." Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. S&TR April/May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  19. "Shorts 360 Constant Hawk system heads for Iraqi theatre." FlightGlobal. 22 August 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  20. Colucci, Frank. "Persistence on Patrol." Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  21. Ratches, James A., etal. "Some Recent Sensor-Related Army Critical Technology Events." Center for Technology and National Security Policy, National Defense University. February 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  22. Endres, Günter. "IDEX 2017: Bird's eye view." Jane's 360. 19 February 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  23. "Kestrel Block II: Day-Night, Lightweight Wide-Area Motion Imagery for Aerostats." Logos Technologies. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
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