Algorithm comparison for autonomous distributed fusion

The concept of network centric operations is a process the military is just beginning to struggle with. Distributed information and data fusion provides the foundation to determine target track state estimation within a network centric structure. This paper addresses the overall effectiveness of two popular fusion approaches - the information filter and the channel filter for selected network architectures. Specifically, we compare algorithm performance for two special network cases - the cyclic network and the broadcast network. We will show the scalability of the channel filter when agents are added to the cyclic network and provide an assessment under conditions of random link failure between agents.