Dynamic Targeting
Description
In this approach, called Dynamic Targeting (DT), traditional broad swath instruments are supplemented by more focused instruments with narrow swath and/or limited duty cycle. These instruments use tracking information from other instruments to rapidly and continuously adjust their targeting and configuration to optimize their science.
Detailed example
identify critical areas of interest (e.g. plumes, thermal anomalies) or avoidance (e.g. clouds)
AI / analytics pattern
Agentic AI: AI systems that perform tasks or make decisions autonomously with minimal human intervention.
Automation level / stage
a) Pre-deployment – The use case is in a development or acquisition status.
Expected benefit
We aim to develop the onboard technology necessary to allow the instruments to autonomously identify critical areas of interest (e.g. plumes, thermal anomalies) or avoidance (e.g. clouds) and retarget/reconfigure to increase science productivity while accounting for instrument operations constraints such as pointing/slewing, energy, thermal, and setup. With DT, missions could control viewing geometry to extract stereo and smart instruments could autonomously track an event during an overflight to gain a more complete picture of geophysical and other events as they evolve through time and space. DT could even be used with a single instrument to map out the extent of a plume by tracing across the outer edge of the plume distinguishing between plume and non plume signals.
Controls / human review
ATO: Not reported; PIA: Not published