CALL FOR PRESENTATIONS AND PARTICIPATION • CTFG Workshop 2013
The Third Canadian Tracking and Fusion Group Workshop
10-12 September 2013, Ottawa

Canadian researchers and practitioners working on target tracking and sensor fusion for surveillance, with applications in civilian and defence domains, are invited to present  their work describing advances, applications, and ideas. Presentations on all aspects of multitarget tracking and multi-sensor/multi-source information fusion, both theory and application, with submissions on both established and emerging topics, are encouraged. Accepted presentations will be included in the workshop CD. This workshop will also feature keynote speeches by distinguished experts in the field and new technology demonstrations by industry participants.

The Group:
The Canadian Tracking and Fusion Group (CTFG) is a group of professionals working in the field of target tracking and data fusion. Currently, there are over 70 members from government, industry, and academia. For more information about the group please visit its website at www.ctfg.ca. To join, please visit the Google Groups site referenced below.

Objectives:
Participation in the CTFG provides members from different sectors in Canada with a forum for discussing technologies that have a common relevance across many application domains, including land, air, space, maritime, underwater, cyber, etc. The discussions among various participants at the workshop will not only help exchange information on the state-of-the-art in Canada, but also foster collaboration among various groups working on tracking and fusion. Specifically, the objectives of the workshop are as follows: 1) discussing current topics of interest in various application areas; 2) understanding the needs of government and industry groups and linking them with the capabilities of university groups; 3) establishing sub-groups and benchmark problems to evaluate new and established technologies; and 4) identifying future directions for R&D in view of Canada’s priorities.

Topics:
Unclassified presentations on any aspect of target tracking and data and information fusion for civilian and defence applications are acceptable. They may cover any aspect of target tracking and fusion, including, but not limited to, sensors, signal processing, detection, tracking, low-level fusion, high-level fusion, classification, resource management, information flow, performance evaluation, fusion architectures, decision systems, registration, software, data sets, benchmark problems, and data modeling. This year’s focus area is multi-domain awareness in surveillance systems and presentations on this topic are encouraged.

Submissions:
Please submit a 300 to 400 word abstract of your 20 minute presentation to Thia Kirubarajan (Kiruba) at kiruba@mcmaster.ca. Proposals for presentations on research, development, software demonstrations, experiments, benchmark problems, research collaborations and ideas on emerging problems are actively solicited. Proposals for extended panel discussions, tutorials, or demonstrations are also encouraged. Participation without presentation is also strongly welcomed.

Location:
Technical presentations on September 10 and 11 at the Carling Campus, 3500 Carling Avenue, Ottawa will be open to everybody. The demonstrations on September 12 at the DRDC Shirley’s Bay Campus, 3701 Carling Avenue, Ottawa will be restricted to Canadian citizens. As the DRDC Shirley’s Bay Campus is a secure facility you will require a assport or equivalent ID when you arrive.

Accommodation:
A block of rooms has been reserved at the Days Inn Ottawa West at a nightly rate of $118. The hotel is at 350 Moodie Drive in Nepean, and can be reached at (613) 726-1717. A  no-host dinner will be held on the first evening of the workshop.

Registration:
There is no fee for this workshop, but the number of participants is limited. Register by sending your name, phone number, email and postal addresses to Thia Kirubarajan (Kiruba) at kiruba@mcmaster.ca. Please include your government, corporate or university affiliation. For more information, contact any of the organizers.

Organizers:
Rami Abielmona, Larus Technologies, rami.abielmona@larus.com or (613) 244-8916 x202
Jack Ding, DRDC Ottawa, zhen.ding@drdc-rddc.gc.ca or (613) 990-7553
Anne-Laure Jousselme, DRDC Valcartier, Anne-Laure.Jousselme@drdc-rddc.gc.ca or (418) 844-4000 x4817
Thia Kirubarajan, McMaster University, kiruba@mcmaster.ca or (905) 525-9140 x24305
Garfield Mellema, DRDC Atlantic, garfield.mellema@drdc-rddc.gc.ca or (902) 426-3100 x252
Tony Ponsford, Raytheon Canada, tony_ponsford@raytheon.com or (613) 722-2997
Sreeraman Rajan, DRDC Ottawa, sreeraman.rajan@drdc-rddc.gc.ca or (613) 991-4138
Pierre Valin, DRDC Valcartier, pierre.valin@drdc-rddc.gc.ca or (418) 844-4000 x4428

Important dates:
Submission of proposals: 15 August 2013;

Decision on proposals: 20 August 2013;

Final presentations: 4 September 2013.

CTFG Workshop 2013 • http://groups.google.ca/group/ctfg • www.ctfg.ca