This informal discussion driven session features brief introductions to recently published Perspectives papers (vol. 9, June 2026), serving as starting points for reflection on current and future directions in information fusion. The moderator will spark discussion, with strong audience engagement encouraged in a relaxed, collegial atmosphere.

This first session in 2026 offers a moment of introspection, looking back at the evolution of neural networks in data fusion while reflecting on where the field is heading. By combining historical insights, current advances, and a pragmatic perspective on data-driven methods, it invites participants to connect past lessons with future directions.

Speakers:

A Brief History of Neural Networks for Data Fusion
Chee-Yee Chong

Neural Networks Meet Bayesian Filtering: Current Trends for Neural Target Tracking
Marco Mari & Lauro Snidaro

Not All Problems Need a Neural Network: A Pragmatic Guide to Data-Driven Methods in Research
Isabel Schlangen

10:30 #304 MultiRAFT-Stereo: an Iterative Approach to Multi-baseline Stereo Fusion
Presenter: Eivind Sunde Eriksen
Authors: Eivind Sunde Eriksen, Edmund Brekke, Rudolf Mester, Annette Stahl

10:50 #297 A maritime dataset for multisensor-multimodal data fusion
Presenter: Peder Heiselberg
Authors: Peder Heiselberg, Hasse Pedersen, Szymon Derlecki, Kristian Sørensen, Rikke Uglebjerg, Henning Heiselberg

11:10 #255 Joint Weighted Average (JWA) Based Multimodal (Audio-Video) Fusion for ADHD Detection
Presenter: Yanxi Kuang
Authors: Dianthika Puteri Andini, Yanxi Kuang, Syed Mohsen Naqvi

11:30 #224 Seeing the Lines: Learning Discriminative Forehead Crease Patterns via Feature Fusion
Presenter: Raghavendra Ramachandra
Authors: Geetanjali Sharma, Gaurav Jaswal, Aditya Nigam, Raghavendra Ramachandra

11:50 #067 UADA-DETR: Uncertainty-Aware Domain Adaptation via Hierarchical Style Fusion for Few-Shot Remote Sensing
Presenter: Chan Yue Liew
Authors: Chan Yue Liew, Joanne Mun-Yee Lim, Chee Pin Tan, Raja Mazhar Mohar bin Tun Mohar, Shiv Mark Kumar

10:30 #268 A Low-Complexity 3D Direct Target Localization Algorithm Assisted by Reference Channels
Presenter: Yindong Wu
Authors: Yindong Wu, Qiyu Zhou, Ye Yuan, Wei Yi

10:50 #207 A Mixture Model for High-Grazing-Angle Sea-Clutter Amplitude Distribution with Tail-Aware Parameter Estimation
Presenter: Yuhang Pang
Authors: Yuhang Pang, Yaowen Li, Chuan Huang, Shengyi Zhang, Yu Liu

11:10 #198 Local Contrast Enhanced Hybrid CNN-Transformer for Radar Small Target Detection
Presenter: Haiyang Liu
Authors: Haiyang Liu, Wujun Li, Yuanhang Wu, Yiru Lin, Wei Yi

11:30 #160 Sparse Representation-Based Multi-Frame Track-Before-Detect for Weak Range Spread Targets with Unknown Scattering Centers
Presenter: Yunlian Tian
Authors: Yunlian Tian, Wujun Li, Cong Peng, Wei Yi

11:50 #161 Zone-Based Indoor Localization from Incomplete RSSI Fingerprints via Missing Data Marginalization
Presenter: Leon Winheim
Authors: Leon Winheim, Daniel Frisch, Uwe Hanebeck

10:30 #373 Adaptive Manifold-Aware Particle Filtering for High-Dimensional Nonlinear State Estimation
Presenter: Petar Djuric
Authors: Petar Djuric, Nahid Shirdel Abdolmaleki, Joaquin Miguez

10:50 #155 Learning Adaptive Parameter Policies for Nonlinear Bayesian Filtering
Presenter: Ondrej Straka
Authors: Ondrej Straka, Felipe Giraldo-Grueso, Renato Zanetti

11:10 #083 Simultaneous State Estimation and Online Model Learning in a Soft Robotic System
Presenter: Jan-Hendrik Ewering
Authors: Jan-Hendrik Ewering, Max Bartholdt, Simon F. G. Ehlers, Niklas Wahlstroem, Thomas B. Schön, Thomas Seel

11:30 #068 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Attitude Estimation: Comparing EKF With Plug-and-play Methods
Presenter: David Mueller
Authors: David Mueller, Daniel O.M. Weber, Ali Mjalled, Thomas Seel, Martin Moennigmann

10:30 #303 Accurate and Robust GNSS-VIO Localization through Covariance-Aware Pose Graphs
Presenter: Maximilian von Arnim
Authors: Maximilian von Arnim, César Debeunne, Yoko Watanabe, Damien Vivet

10:50 #221 LogDepth-VIO: Tightly Coupled Monocular Visual–Inertial Odometry with Log-Space Depth Anchors
Presenter: Xianmin Mo
Authors: 莫 民, Deqiang Han, Bolun Zhang

11:10 #107 Observability-Aware Segmentation and Selection Algorithm for Minimal Measurements of LiDAR-IMU Fusion
Presenter: Dongha Kwon
Authors: Dongha Kwon, Sangkyung Sung

11:30 #287 Real-time state prediction for digital twin support in maritime operation with eXogeneous Kalman filter, operator input and delay compensation
Presenter: Andreas Gudahl Tufte
Authors: Andreas Tufte, Alexander Brevad Rambech, Morten Breivik, Tor Johansen, Erik Veitch, Edmund Brekke

10:30 #343 Adaptive Learned State Estimation based on KalmanNet
Presenter: Arian Mehrfard
Authors: Arian Mehrfard, Bharanidhar Duraisamy, Stefan Haag, Florian Geiß, Mirko Mählisch

10:50 #005 Advances in MHT Calibration and Processing
Presenter: Stefano Coraluppi
Authors: Stefano Coraluppi, Peter Kingston, Andrew Hunter

11:10 #230 Dynamic Birth Rate Measurement Driven Birth Model for Labeled RFS Filters
Presenter: Stephen Braun
Authors: Stephen Braun, Anthony Murray, Donald J. Bucci Jr, Aidan Tweedy

11:30 #016 Joint Migration Compensation and Coherent Integration for Maneuvering Extended Targets in Wideband Radar
Presenter: Tao Fan
Authors: Qianzi Yuan, Tao Fan, Yuanhao Wu, Xianxiang Yu, Cui Guolong, Zishu He

11:50 #280 Probabilistic Association of Sonar Contacts Using Factor Graphs
Presenter: Erik Makino Bakken
Authors: Erik Bakken, Øivind Midtgaard, Trym Haavardsholm

10:30 #146 Distributed neural network enhanced alpha-divergence nonlinear filtering
Presenter: Yao Zhou
Authors: Yao Zhou, haiyang sun, Lin Gao, Jingling Li, Gaiyou Li, Ping Wei

10:50 #323 Extending a Nonlinear Bias Estimation Approach for Multisensor Multitarget Fusion for N Sensors
Presenter: Shaun Hoyt
Authors: Shaun Hoyt, William Blair, Aaron Lanterman

11:10 #081 Joint Average Fusion and Temporal Registration: GA-based Distributed Bernoulli Filtering
Presenter: Yuchen Zhang
Authors: Zhang Yuchen, Guchong Li, Li Tiancheng

11:30 #150 Model-Based GNN MARL for Joint Beampattern Design and Resource Allocation in LPI-Constrained Tracking Radar Systems
Presenter: Zechong Wang
Authors: Zechong Wang, Dongxu An, Yipeng Zhang, Maria Greco, Fulvio Gini

11:50 #026 Variational PMB filter via coordinate descent Kullback-Leibler divergence minimisation
Presenter: Ángel García-Fernández
Authors: Ángel García-Fernández, Yuxuan Xia

10:30 #228 Active Source Seeking in Spatio-Temporal Fields
Presenter: Nicola Forti
Authors: Nicola Forti, Giorgio Battistelli, Luigi Chisci

10:50 #056 Reducing the Sim-to-Real Gap in Underwater Vehicles with Residual Dynamics Modelling
Presenter: Oscar Hermansson
Authors: Oscar Hermansson, Albin Gunnarsson, Jesper Knobe

11:10 #014 Tracking Time-Varying Multipath Channels for Active Sonar Applications
Presenter: Ashwani Koul
Authors: Ashwani Koul, Gustaf Hendeby, Isaac Skog

11:30 #163 An Improved Bound on the Accuracy of Scan-Based Emitter Passive Positioning
Presenter: Christopher Funk
Authors: Christopher Funk, Taruna Tiwari, Benjamin Noack