Use of Entropy for Optimal Radar Resource Management and Control

摘要

The use of information entropy as a quantitative measure of uncertainty for radar resource management and control objectives is explored and applied to issues of current interest. It is seen to be rigorous and objective, and therefore potentially superior to heuristic, rule-based approaches for problems that can be formulated in probabilistic terms. It is particularly appropriate for sensor systems in general that have as their objective the acquisition of information, but which are dominated by uncertainty and subject to time and resource constraints. Two applications of this control and management methodology are presented in this paper: the optimal scheduling of track updates in a multifunction phased array radar (PAR), and the optimal tasking of a constellation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites for tracking maritime targets.