Toward more robust exploitation of the asymmetric threat: binary fusion class extensions

The paper defines three distinct classes of binary fusion, extending an evolving first-principles-based theoretical fusion framework under development for several years. The paper focuses on non-traditional data sources due to its relevance to the development of a comprehensive fusion theory. Three fusion classes are defined and discussed relative to both conventional hard target and text-based information fusion applications. The concept of entity specificity is then introduced to generalize the three-class binary fusion problem. Finally, fusion class 1 and 2 products from a prototype fusion system developed for the US Department of the Army are presented to clarify the concepts; class-3 fusion applications to soft data will be addressed in a future paper.