Automatic target recognition (ATR), is the ability for an algorithm or device to recognize targets or objects based on data obtained from sensors.

The application of automatic target recognition technology is a critical element of robotic warfare. ATR systems are used in unmanned aerial vehicle

Unmanned aerial vehicle

An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...

s and cruise missile

Cruise missile

A cruise missile is a guided missile that carries an explosive payload and is propelled, usually by a jet engine, towards a land-based or sea-based target. Cruise missiles are designed to deliver a large warhead over long distances with high accuracy...

s. General Electric

General Electric

General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...

 provides an Automatic Target Recognition Unit (ATRU) for the Standoff Land Attack Missile

Standoff Land Attack Missile

The Standoff Land Attack Missile or SLAM is a subsonic, over-the-horizon, all-weather standoff cruise missile which grew out of the United States Navy's Harpoon anti-ship missile in the 1970s.-Original SLAM:...

, which processes pre-launch and post-launch targeting data, allows high speed video comparison, and enables the SLAM-ER (Stand-Off Land Attack Missile - Expanded Response) Missile to be truly "Fire and Forget".

The simplest version of an ATR system is the IFF transponder

Identification friend or foe

In telecommunications, identification, friend or foe is an identification system designed for command and control. It is a system that enables military and national interrogation systems to identify aircraft, vehicles, or forces as friendly and to determine their bearing and range from the...

.

Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...

 with the support of DARPA have shown that it is possible to build a synthetic aperture radar

Synthetic aperture radar

Synthetic-aperture radar is a form of radar whose defining characteristic is its use of relative motion between an antenna and its target region to provide distinctive long-term coherent-signal variations that are exploited to obtain finer spatial resolution than is possible with conventional...

image of an aircraft target using passive multistatic radar, possibly detailed enough to enable Automatic Target Recognition (ATR).