Patent ID: 7020046

Claim:
A method for generating a range, bearing, course and speed of contact target motion analysis (TMA) solution based upon a bearing β 1 measured at an initial-time T 1 and a bearing β 2 measured at an end-time T 2 from an observation platform traveling along a single-leg trajectory, a range of said contact being unobservable from said observation platform during said single-leg trajectory except for a best estimation of an initial range R 1 at said initial-time T 1 , comprising: define a two dimensional grid plot whose orthogonal dimensional axis comprise a potential maximum and a minimum of said initial range R 1 from the observation platform at said initial-time T 1 and a potential maximum and a minimum of an end-time range R 2 from the observation platform at said end-time T 2 , and further define within said grid plot a trial-track sampling space based upon at least one kinematics constraint upon the motion of the contact; within said trial-track sampling space, define a pattern of location of a first plurality of R 1 -R 2 coordinates to sample trial-tracks which at least to a significant degree, distribute the coordinates throughout the trial-track sampling space; define a geographic plot which includes the single-leg trajectory of the observation platform and second and third reference lines along bearings β 1 and β 2 , respectively, and mapping said first plurality of R 1 -R 2 coordinates onto the geographic plot as a corresponding first plurality of trial-tracks of the contact; and compiling a sequence of bearing measurements Z n over a time sequence at least inclusive of times T 1 and T 2 , and for each corresponding trial-track of said first plurality of trial-tracks calculating a goodness-of-fit cost function at least based upon the goodness-of-fit of the trial-tracks to said sequence of measurements Z n .