ApolloCore™ by Tocaro Blue is a processing software platform designed to enhance marine EO/IR PTZ cameras with stabilization, real-time detection and tracking, classification, monocular ranging, and radar fusion capabilities.
Developed for Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) builders and autonomy developers, ApolloCore acts as a bridge between commercial off-the-shelf PTZ cameras and maritime autonomy systems, enabling true perception using existing camera hardware.
ApolloCore provides IMU-driven stabilization that preemptively counteracts vessel motion to maintain stable imagery, even at high zoom levels. The software continuously detects and tracks waterborne objects while maintaining track continuity over time.
ApolloCore detects waterborne objects frame by frame and tracks them over time to inform the autonomous navigation system
The platform supports 15 marine object classes, including eight COLREGS (Rule 18) vessel categories, floating and fixed markers, and five specialized classes. ApolloCore also detects shoreline and horizon features to isolate waterborne objects and provides ML-based monocular range estimates at mounting heights as low as three meters.
ApolloCore includes Search-and-Scan and Fix-and-Follow operating modes for surveillance and target tracking applications. Search-and-Scan mode searches for new objects while continuously updating existing detections and automatically adjusts camera aim and zoom to maximize area coverage. Fix-and-Follow mode maintains a stable lock on a selected target vessel and automatically reacquires targets that are temporarily lost from view.
ApolloCore also integrates with Tocaro Blue’s ProteusCore™ radar processing platform, combining EO camera, IR camera, and marine radar detections into a complete, fused tactical picture. The combined system leverages radar ranging precision together with camera-based classification and tracking.
ProteusCore™ radar fusion enables centralized fusion of measurements from EO/IR cameras and marine radar rather than track-to-track correlation. The system captures and catalogs images of detected objects while supporting precise tracking and Closest Point of Approach (CPA) calculations derived from radar measurements.
ApolloCore’s stabilization system reads vessel attitude directly and mechanically and electronically stabilizes the PTZ platform while maintaining camera alignment with the horizon. The controller uses native camera drivers to minimize latency and incorporates a Sea State Predictive Controller validated with hardware-in-the-loop simulations.
The platform continuously detects, classifies, ranges, and tracks waterborne objects over time using object classes selected for navigation and ISR applications.
To learn more about ApolloCore, visit the Tocaro Blue website.
