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Wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) is an approach to
surveillance Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior, many activities, or information for the purpose of information gathering, influencing, managing or directing. This can include observation from a distance by means of electronic equipment, such as c ...
,
reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops (skirmisher ...
, and
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
-gathering that employs specialized software and a powerful camera system—usually airborne, and for extended periods of time—to detect and track hundreds of people and vehicles moving out in the open, over a city-sized area, kilometers in diameter. For this reason, WAMI is sometimes referred to as wide-area persistent surveillance (WAPS) or wide-area airborne surveillance (WAAS). A WAMI sensor images the entirety of its coverage area in real time. It also records and archives that imagery in a database for real-time and forensic analysis. WAMI operators can use this live and recorded imagery to spot activity otherwise missed by standard video cameras with narrower fields of view, analyze these activities in context, distinguish threats from normal patterns of behavior, and perform the work of a larger force. Military and security personnel are the typical users of WAMI, employing the technology for such missions as force protection, base security, route reconnaissance, border security, counter-terrorism, and event security. However, WAMI systems can also be used for
disaster response Disaster response is the second phase of the disaster management cycle. It consists of a number of elements, for example; warning/evacuation, search and rescue, providing immediate assistance, assessing damage, continuing assistance and the imme ...
, traffic pattern analysis,
wildlife protection Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...
, and law enforcement.


Capabilities and enabling technologies

The typical WAMI sensor produces imagery at an update rate of 1 Hz or faster from one or more multiple megapixel cameras. The system then seamlessly stitches together the collected images and applies algorithms to geo-register them, ensuring that the sensor picture represents
ground truth Ground truth is information that is known to be real or true, provided by direct observation and measurement (i.e. empirical evidence) as opposed to information provided by inference. Etymology The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (s.v. "ground t ...
. As far as resolution goes, WAMI systems usually have a 0.5 meter ground sample distance (GSD)—enough to detect and track moving targets throughout the scene. Should a user need to take a closer look at a subject, the WAMI system can cue other available sensors, such as hi-res full-motion video cameras, to make the identification. Users can select different video streams pulled from the WAMI system's vast field of view and, with the help of advanced data compression techniques, watch them live on their computer screens or handheld devices. In some systems, users can also designate "watchboxes" within the sensor's field of view to provide automated alerts should the system detect movement in the area. All WAMI is tagged for time and location before being stored in an airborne or ground-based database. Users can remotely access this database and, similar to DVR functionality, can speed through or rewind the imagery to find specific incidents. In addition, just as with the real-time imagery, WAMI users can pan, tilt, and zoom within the archived imagery.


Evolution of WAMI systems

The very first WAMI system was developed in the early 2000s by a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory team led by John Marion, as part of the Sonoma Persistent Surveillance Program. In 2005, the sensor transitioned to the U.S. Department of Defense, and in 2006, the Army sent the system—dubbed
Constant Hawk Constant Hawk is a United States Army wide-area motion imagery system flown on manned reconnaissance aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan. Constant Hawk was the first airborne Wide Area Persistent Sensor developed and deployed by the United States. It ...
—to Iraq on Short 360-300 turboprop aircraft as part of a Quick Reaction Capability. Three years later, Constant Hawk also deployed to Afghanistan. Weighing 1500 pounds, Constant Hawk initially comprised six electro-optical 11-megapixel cameras that covered 25 square kilometers. This payload was later upgraded to six 16-megapixel cameras. Since the deployment of Constant Hawk, WAMI systems have gotten smaller, lighter, and more capable. The current generation Kestrel Block II, for instance, employs eight electro-optical/infrared cameras that, together, form a 440-megapixel mosaic and cover 113 square kilometers. Yet this WAMI system weighs less than 85 pounds—light enough to be mounted on a tethered blimp, or
aerostat An aerostat (, via French) is a lighter-than-air aircraft that gains its lift through the use of a buoyant gas. Aerostats include unpowered balloons and powered airships. A balloon may be free-flying or tethered. The average density of the cra ...
, which can be kept aloft for weeks at a time.Kestrel Block II: Day-Night, Lightweight Wide-Area Motion Imagery for Aerostats
" Logos Technologies. Retrieved 12 May 2018.


List of WAMI systems

*
Constant Hawk Constant Hawk is a United States Army wide-area motion imagery system flown on manned reconnaissance aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan. Constant Hawk was the first airborne Wide Area Persistent Sensor developed and deployed by the United States. It ...
* Angel Fire * Blue Devil * Lightweight Expeditionary Airborne Persistent Surveillance (LEAPS) * Airborne Wide Area Persistent Surveillance Sensor (AWAPPS) *
Kestrel The term kestrel (from french: crécerelle, derivative from , i.e. ratchet) is the common name given to several species of predatory birds from the falcon genus ''Falco''. Kestrels are most easily distinguished by their typical hunting behaviour ...
* Kestrel Block II (formerly KS-200) * Autonomous Real-Time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance Imaging System (ARGUS-IS) *
Gorgon Stare Gorgon Stare is a video capture technology developed by the United States military. It is a spherical array of nine cameras attached to an aerial drone. The US Air Force calls it "wide-area surveillance sensor system".
* Redkite * Simera * CorvusEye * SkEye * HawkEye II * WASP (IAI/TAMAM) * POPSTAR (IAI/TAMAM)


In Popular Culture

The history of WAMI systems initially in the US military and subsequently in domestic US law enforcement and commercial applications is covered in Arthur Holland Michel's 2019 book ''Eyes in the Sky: The Secret Rise of Gorgon Stare and How It Will Watch Us All''.


References

{{reflist Surveillance Reconnaissance Intelligence gathering disciplines Aerial photography Video