A classification system such as an Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) system might yield better performance when fused sequentially than in parallel. Most fused systems have parallel architecture, but, the medical community often uses sequential tests due to costs constraints. We define the different types of sequential fusion and investigate their characteristics. We compare parallel fused systems with sequential fused systems. Another goal of this paper is to compare competing sequential fused systems to arrive at an optimal architecture design given the systems at hand. These systems may be legacy systems whose performances are well known. If these systems have known Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves/manifolds then we derive a formula that yields the ROC curve/manifold for the resultant sequentially fused system, thus, enabling one to make these comparisons. This formula is distribution free. We give an example to demonstrate the utility of our method, and show that one can play "what if" scenarios.

Date Published: 5 May 2011
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 8050, Signal Processing, Sensor Fusion, and Target Recognition XX, 80500V (5 May 2011); doi: 10.1117/12.884702

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8050:
Signal Processing, Sensor Fusion, and Target Recognition XX
Ivan Kadar, Editor(s)