Harbour Protection Through Data Fusion Technologies

An Advanced Research Workshop (ARW) “Data Fusion Technologies for Harbour Protection” was held in Tallinn, Estonia 27 June–1 July, 2005. This workshop was organized by request of the NATO Security Through Science Programme and the Defence Investment Division. An ARW is one of many types of funded group support mechanisms established by the NATO Science Committee to contribute to the critical assessment of existing knowledge on new important topics, to identify directions for future research, and to promote close working relationships between scientists from different countries and with different professional experiences. The NATO Science Committee was approved at a meeting of the Heads of Government of the Alliance in December 1957, subsequent to the 1956 recommendation of “Three Wise Men” – Foreign Ministers Lange (Norway), Martino (Italy) and Pearson (Canada) on Non-Military Cooperation in NATO. The NATO Science Committee established the NATO Science Programme in 1958 to encourage and support scientific collaboration between individual scientists and to foster scientific development in its member states. In 1999, following the end of the Cold War, the Science Programme was transformed so that support is now devoted to collaboration between Partner-country and NATO-country scientists or to contributing towards research support in Partner countries. Since 2004, the Science Programme was further modified to focus exclusively on NATO Priority Research Topics (i. e. Defence Against Terrorism or Countering Other Threats to Security) and also preferably on a Partner country priority area.

Multisensor Data Fusion: From Algorithms and Architectural Design to Applications covers the contemporary theory and practice of multisensor data fusion, from fundamental concepts to cutting-edge techniques drawn from a broad array of disciplines. Featuring contributions from the world’s leading data fusion researchers and academicians, this authoritative book: Presents state-of-the-art advances in the design of multisensor data fusion algorithms, addressing issues related to the nature, location, and computational ability of the sensors Describes new materials and achievements in optimal fusion and multisensor filters Discusses the advantages and challenges associated with multisensor data fusion, from extended spatial and temporal coverage to imperfection and diversity in sensor technologies Explores the topology, communication structure, computational resources, fusion level, goals, and optimization of multisensor data fusion system architectures Showcases applications of multisensor data fusion in fields such as medicine, transportation's traffic, defense, and navigation Multisensor Data Fusion: From Algorithms and Architectural Design to Applications is a robust collection of modern multisensor data fusion methodologies. The book instills a deeper understanding of the basics of multisensor data fusion as well as a practical knowledge of the problems that can be faced during its execution.

This text reviews the fundamental theory and latest methods for including contextual information in fusion process design and implementation. Chapters are contributed by the foremost international experts, spanning numerous developments and applications. The book highlights high- and low-level information fusion problems, performance evaluation under highly demanding conditions, and design principles. A particular focus is placed on approaches that integrate research from different communities, emphasizing the benefit of combining different techniques to overcome the limitations of a single perspective. Features: introduces the terminology and core elements in information fusion and context; presents key themes for context-enhanced information fusion; discusses design issues in developing context-aware fusion systems; provides mathematical grounds for modeling the contextual influences in representative fusion problems; describes the fusion of hard and soft data; reviews a diverse range of applications.

Maritime piracy is the cause of widespread international concern, and the number of pirate attacks has increased substantially in recent years. Many commercial vessels are inherently vulnerable to attack because of their size and relative slowness, and technological improvements have resulted in smaller crews on large vessels, whilst the absence of enforcement agencies in international waters has served only to make pirates more daring. Collaborative human-centric information support systems can significantly improve the ability of every nation to predict and prevent pirate attacks, or to recognize the nature and size of an attack rapidly when prevention fails, and improve the collective response to an emergency. This book presents the papers delivered at the NATO Advanced Study Institute (ASI) Prediction and Recognition of Piracy Efforts Using Collaborative Human-Centric Information Systems, held in Salamanca, Spain, in September 2011. A significant observation from previous NATO Advanced Study Institutes and Workshops was that domain experts responsible for maritime security were not fully aware of the wide variety of technological solutions available to enhance their support systems, and that although technology experts have a general understanding of the requirements in security systems, they often lacked knowledge concerning the operational constraints affecting those who implement security procedures. This ASI involved both technology and domain experts, as well as students from related fields of study. It offered an opportunity for them to discuss the issues surrounding the prediction, recognition and deterrence of maritime piracy, and will be of interest to all those whose work is related to this internationally important issue.

The Workshop Proceedings reflect problems of advanced geo-information science as far as they are specifically concerned with the maritime environment at large. The Proceedings incorporate papers presented by leading scientists researching in the considered professional area and by practitioners engaged in GIS and GIS applications development. They pay close attention to the problems of scientific and technological innovations and the ensuing opportunities to make seas safer and cleaner. Furthermore, they periodically measure the ground covered and new challenges with respect to economic and shipping trends as related to Artificial Intelligence; GIS ontologies; GIS data integration and modelling; Underwater acoustics; GIS data fusion; GIS and corporate information systems; GIS and real-time monitoring systems; GIS algorithms and computational issues; Novel and emerging marine GIS research areas; Monitoring of maritime terrorist threat; Maritime and environmental GIS; Navigation-based and maritime transportation GIS; Human factors in maritime GIS; Coastal and environmental GIS.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Convergence and Hybrid Information Technology, ICHIT 2011, held in Daejeon, Korea, in September 2011. The 85 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 144 submissions. The papers are organized in topical sections on communications and networking; motion, video, image processing; security systems; cloud, RFID and robotics; industrial application of software systems; hardware and software engineering; healthcare, EEG and e-learning; HCI and data mining; software system and its applications.

Port Cybersecurity: Securing Critical Information Infrastructures and Supply Chains examines a paradigm shift in the way ports assess cyber risks and vulnerabilities, as well as relevant risk management methodologies, by focusing on initiatives and efforts that attempt to deal with the risks and vulnerabilities of port Critical Information Infrastructures (CII) ecosystems. Modern commercial shipping ports are highly dependent on the operation of complex, dynamic ICT systems and ICT-based maritime supply chains, making these central points in the maritime supply chain vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. Identifies barriers and gaps in existing port and supply chain security standards, policies, legislation and regulatory frameworks Identifies port threat scenarios and analyzes cascading effects in their supply chains Analyzes risk assessment methodologies and tools, identifying their open problems when applied to a port’s CIIs