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Wide-Area Motion Imagery (WAMI)
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'''Wide-area motion imagery (WAMI)''' is an approach to [[surveillance]], [[reconnaissance]], and [[Military intelligence|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.<ref>Marion, John. "[https://ift.tt/2Ilcihy Wide-Area Motion Imagery Systems: Evolution, Capabilities and Mission Sets]." RUSI Defence Systems. 5 January 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2018. </ref><ref>Goure, Dan. "[https://ift.tt/2k0bQuE Wide Area Persistent Surveillance Revolutionizes Tactical ISR]." Lexington Institute. 28 November 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> For this reason, WAMI is sometimes referred to as wide-area persistent surveillance or wide-area airborne surveillance. <ref>"[https://ift.tt/2InPi1r A Primer for Dissemination Services for Wide Area Motion Imagery]." Open Geospatial Consortium. 5 December 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
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. <ref> Marion, John. "[https://ift.tt/2Ilcihy Wide-Area Motion Imagery Systems: Evolution, Capabilities and Mission Sets]." Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
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. <ref>"[https://ift.tt/2aetkyY Kestrel: Wide-Area Motion Imagery for Aerostats]." Logos Technologies. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>However, WAMI systems can also be used for [[disaster response]], traffic pattern analysis, [[wildlife protection]], and law enforcement. <ref>"[https://ift.tt/2IrOjxj HawkEye II]." Persistent Surveillance Systems. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
==Capabilities and enabling technologies==
The typical WAMI sensor produces imagery at an update rate of 1 Hz or faster <ref> Porter, Reid, etal. "[https://ift.tt/2jXgnxQ Wide-Area Motion Imagery]." IEEE Signal Processing Magazine. Volume 27, Issue 5. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> from one or more multiple megapixel cameras. <ref> Hambling, David. "[https://ift.tt/2IrIL5y New Army Camera Promises Super-Wide Surveillance]." WIRED. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> The system then seamlessly stitches together the collected images and applies algorithms to [[Georeferencing|geo-register]] them, ensuring that the sensor picture represents [[ground truth]]. <ref>"[https://ift.tt/2InPi1r A Primer for Dissemination Services for Wide Area Motion Imagery]." Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> <ref>"[https://ift.tt/2IF65QO IDEX 2017: Logos Technologies Double WAMI]." Monch Publishing Group. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
As far as resolution goes, WAMI systems usually have a 0.5 meter [[Ground sample distance|ground sample distance (GSD)]]—enough to detect and track moving targets throughout the scene <ref> Porter, Reid, etal. "[https://ift.tt/2jXgnxQ Wide-Area Motion Imagery]." Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> <ref> Colucci, Frank. "[https://ift.tt/2IlK9qx Persistence on Patrol]." Aviation Today. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>. 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 <ref>"[ https://ift.tt/2jXgo4S Corvuseye: Intelligent Wide-Area Motion Imagery from the Air Any Time Day or Night]." Harris Corporation. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> and, with the help of advanced data compression techniques, watch them live on their computer screens or handheld devices. <ref> "[https://ift.tt/2lMQEuM Redkite: Lightweight Wide-Area Motion Imagery for Manned and Unmanned Aircraft]." Logos Technologies. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> In some systems, user can also designate "watchboxes" within the sensor's field of view to provide automated alerts should the system detect movement in the area. <ref> Osborn, Kris. "[https://ift.tt/2eHzUi2 Army weighs new lightweight wide area motion imagery sensor]." Defense Systems. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
All WAMI is tagged for time and location before being stored in an airborne or ground-based database. <ref>"[https://ift.tt/2IoPfT5 Multi-Sensor, Wide-Area Persistent Surveillance]." Logos Technologies. Retrieved 15 May 2018.</ref> 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. <ref> Melendez, Steven. "[https://ift.tt/2awIwdf An All-Seeing Eye In The Sky Will Watch Over The Rio Olympics]." Fast Company. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
==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 <ref>"[ https://ift.tt/2IrhpwM From Video to Knowledge]." [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories]]. S&TR April/May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>, 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. <ref>"[https://ift.tt/2jXgqd0 Shorts 360 Constant Hawk system heads for Iraqi theatre]." FlightGlobal. 22 August 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> 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 <ref> [Colucci, Frank. "https://ift.tt/2IlK9qx Persistence on Patrol]." Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>. This payload was later upgraded to six 16-megapixel cameras. <ref> Ratches, James A., etal. "[https://ift.tt/2IrOicJ Some Recent Sensor-Related Army Critical Technology Events]." Center for Technology and National Security Policy, National Defense University. February 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
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. <ref> Endres, Günter. ["https://ift.tt/2k0LWa4 IDEX 2017: Bird's eye view]." Jane's 360. 19 February 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref><ref>"[https://ift.tt/2Immg28 Kestrel Block II: Day-Night, Lightweight Wide-Area Motion Imagery for Aerostats]." Logos Technologies. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
==List of WAMI systems==
* [[Constant Hawk]]
* Angel Fire
* Blue Devil
* Lightweight Expeditionary Airborne Persistent Surveillance (LEAPS)
* Airborne Wide Area Persistent Surveillance Sensor (AWAPPS)
* [[Kestrel]]
* [[Autonomous Real-Time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance Imaging System (ARGUS-IS)]]
* [[Gorgon Stare]]
* Redkite
* Simera
* CorvusEye
* SkyEye
* Kestrel Block II (formerly KS-200)
==References==
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. <ref> Marion, John. "[https://ift.tt/2Ilcihy Wide-Area Motion Imagery Systems: Evolution, Capabilities and Mission Sets]." Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
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. <ref>"[https://ift.tt/2aetkyY Kestrel: Wide-Area Motion Imagery for Aerostats]." Logos Technologies. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>However, WAMI systems can also be used for [[disaster response]], traffic pattern analysis, [[wildlife protection]], and law enforcement. <ref>"[https://ift.tt/2IrOjxj HawkEye II]." Persistent Surveillance Systems. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
==Capabilities and enabling technologies==
The typical WAMI sensor produces imagery at an update rate of 1 Hz or faster <ref> Porter, Reid, etal. "[https://ift.tt/2jXgnxQ Wide-Area Motion Imagery]." IEEE Signal Processing Magazine. Volume 27, Issue 5. 2 September 2010. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> from one or more multiple megapixel cameras. <ref> Hambling, David. "[https://ift.tt/2IrIL5y New Army Camera Promises Super-Wide Surveillance]." WIRED. 19 August 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> The system then seamlessly stitches together the collected images and applies algorithms to [[Georeferencing|geo-register]] them, ensuring that the sensor picture represents [[ground truth]]. <ref>"[https://ift.tt/2InPi1r A Primer for Dissemination Services for Wide Area Motion Imagery]." Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> <ref>"[https://ift.tt/2IF65QO IDEX 2017: Logos Technologies Double WAMI]." Monch Publishing Group. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
As far as resolution goes, WAMI systems usually have a 0.5 meter [[Ground sample distance|ground sample distance (GSD)]]—enough to detect and track moving targets throughout the scene <ref> Porter, Reid, etal. "[https://ift.tt/2jXgnxQ Wide-Area Motion Imagery]." Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> <ref> Colucci, Frank. "[https://ift.tt/2IlK9qx Persistence on Patrol]." Aviation Today. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>. 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 <ref>"[ https://ift.tt/2jXgo4S Corvuseye: Intelligent Wide-Area Motion Imagery from the Air Any Time Day or Night]." Harris Corporation. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> and, with the help of advanced data compression techniques, watch them live on their computer screens or handheld devices. <ref> "[https://ift.tt/2lMQEuM Redkite: Lightweight Wide-Area Motion Imagery for Manned and Unmanned Aircraft]." Logos Technologies. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> In some systems, user can also designate "watchboxes" within the sensor's field of view to provide automated alerts should the system detect movement in the area. <ref> Osborn, Kris. "[https://ift.tt/2eHzUi2 Army weighs new lightweight wide area motion imagery sensor]." Defense Systems. 26 October 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
All WAMI is tagged for time and location before being stored in an airborne or ground-based database. <ref>"[https://ift.tt/2IoPfT5 Multi-Sensor, Wide-Area Persistent Surveillance]." Logos Technologies. Retrieved 15 May 2018.</ref> 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. <ref> Melendez, Steven. "[https://ift.tt/2awIwdf An All-Seeing Eye In The Sky Will Watch Over The Rio Olympics]." Fast Company. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
==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 <ref>"[ https://ift.tt/2IrhpwM From Video to Knowledge]." [[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories]]. S&TR April/May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>, 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. <ref>"[https://ift.tt/2jXgqd0 Shorts 360 Constant Hawk system heads for Iraqi theatre]." FlightGlobal. 22 August 2006. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref> 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 <ref> [Colucci, Frank. "https://ift.tt/2IlK9qx Persistence on Patrol]." Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>. This payload was later upgraded to six 16-megapixel cameras. <ref> Ratches, James A., etal. "[https://ift.tt/2IrOicJ Some Recent Sensor-Related Army Critical Technology Events]." Center for Technology and National Security Policy, National Defense University. February 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
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. <ref> Endres, Günter. ["https://ift.tt/2k0LWa4 IDEX 2017: Bird's eye view]." Jane's 360. 19 February 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref><ref>"[https://ift.tt/2Immg28 Kestrel Block II: Day-Night, Lightweight Wide-Area Motion Imagery for Aerostats]." Logos Technologies. Retrieved 12 May 2018.</ref>
==List of WAMI systems==
* [[Constant Hawk]]
* Angel Fire
* Blue Devil
* Lightweight Expeditionary Airborne Persistent Surveillance (LEAPS)
* Airborne Wide Area Persistent Surveillance Sensor (AWAPPS)
* [[Kestrel]]
* [[Autonomous Real-Time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance Imaging System (ARGUS-IS)]]
* [[Gorgon Stare]]
* Redkite
* Simera
* CorvusEye
* SkyEye
* Kestrel Block II (formerly KS-200)
==References==
May 16, 2018 at 07:10AM
