Of course, we have much work ahead of us, but I'm confident we will be able to apply our results to new ATR systems and also to use the results in other research applications, such as in bioengineering. Miller said the center in its first year has addressed the areas of variability of dynamic targets, cluttered image fields and performance algorithms and has come up with fundamental breakthroughs in each. The environment is dynamic, and the vehicles themselves are complicated visually. For instance, a tank running its engine gets hot, and when it's imaged, it looks very different to a computer than when the engine is cold. Miller spoke highly of advances in algorithms at the center.
Algorithms are mathematical programs that make the decisions for a machine to perform tasks.
Coupled with extremely high-speed computing exemplified by the University's MasPar, the most powerful parallel computer of its kind in the nation, algorithms are the lifeblood of imaging science research. This is important economically because the government could waste millions of taxpayers' dollars pursuing the wrong system. At the center, we've made significant improvements in metric performance standards, which allow for an accurate imaging decision. For instance, the Department of Defense is very interested in missile aim point, and we've been able to characterize the basics on any ATR system performing missile aim points. Miller compared the layers of problems the center researches with an onion.