Grading smart sensors: Performance assessment and ranking using familiar scores like A+ to D-

摘要

Starting with the supposition that the product of smart sensors—whether autonomous, networked, or fused—is in all cases information, it is shown here using information theory how a metric Q, ranging between 0 and 100%, can be derived to assess the quality of the information provided. The analogy with student grades is immediately evident and elaborated. As with student grades, numerical percentages suggest more precision than can be justified, so a conversion to letter grades A+ to D- is desirable. Owing to the close analogy with familiar academic grades, moreover, the new grade is a measure of effectiveness (MOE) that commanders and decision makers should immediately appreciate and find quite natural, even if they do not care to follow the methodology behind the performance test, as they focus on higher-level strategic matters of sensor deployment or procurement. The metric is illustrated by translating three specialist performance tests—the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve, the Constant False Alarm Rate (CFAR) approach, and confusion matrices—into letter grades for use then by strategists. Actual military and security systems are included among the examples.