Neuromorphic computing, neural networks, fuzzy-logic algorithms, adaptive antennae, and mutispectral imagery–sound like a collection of terms from the latest sci-fi movie? It isn't. It is a collection of some of the names used to describe the dizzying array of technological advances that are providing today's system designers with new opportunities to ensure the United States' continued leadership in sensors and signal processing technologies for military and civil applications.

Signal processing advances are profoundly influencing system design. Intelligent data-adaptive systems are emerging to recognize targets on the battlefield. Engineers and scientists are exploiting nontraditional signals for communications and signals intelligence, designing adaptive antennae, and detecting anomalies in multi-spectral imagery.

Rapid advances in computing software and hardware capabilities as well as the development of sophisticated systems have fueled progress. While traditional models rely on statistical frameworks that allow for variability or uncertainty in the data, biologically inspired processing models adapt to and learn from input and/or exhibit emergent, complex behavior from simple underlying mechanisms. Neural networks and fuzzy-logic algorithms have found applications in military and commercial systems. Some examples include sonar/radar clutter and noise suppression, fingerprint analysis, aircraft cockpit noise cancellation, and nonlinear robotic control. At the hardware level, the emerging area of neuromorphic computing has begun to harness the power of analog computation at the cell level as an alternative to digital processing when only approximate answers to complex problems are required.

Aware of the trends in sensors and signal processing, MITRE's sponsors are rapidly shifting their attention to finding ways to exploit these new ideas. Examples can be found in the Army's commitment to digitizing the battlefield; the Navy's focus on full Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I) connectivity; the Air Force's focus on multisensor intelligence fusion; the Federal Aviation Administration's focus on the integration of multisensor assets for Air Traffic Management (ATM); and the Internal Revenue Service's commitment to integrate signal processing, information technology, and operational processes in their modernization effort.

The articles in this issue cover the spectrum in sensors and signal processing from an overview of radar to the application of neuroscience. The innovations described in this special issue not only are having an impact today but also changing the way we will think about the future of sensors and signal processing.

For more information, please contact guest editor Garry Jacyna using the employee directory.