Predicting a Mission Objective

Many have used Kalman filter techniques based on the equations of vehicle motion; these techniques most accurately predict shortterm motion. With intelligent path prediction, the long-term mission objective of the vehicle is being predicted in addition to the short-term motion. Thus, when applied to predicting the motion of a car, an intelligent predictor will attempt to predict the final destination--say, for example, the vehicle appears to be going to the post office or the art museum--in addition to predicting which streets will be used. The theory is also applicable to predicting air vehicle travel, so that for a military application, the target (from a set of plausible targets) and the threat-avoidance policy (from a set of plausible policies), in addition to the route, can be predicted. The first investigation is to develop a method for identifying a decisionmaking strategy that seemingly explains the vehicle's motion.