Maneuvering Target Tracking in Clutter Using VSIMM-PDA

Variable Structure Multiple Model (VSMM) estimation generalizes Multiple Model (MM) estimation by assuming that the set of models used for MM estimation is time varying. By using VSMM estimation, a large model set which may cover all possible target maneuvers can be used without significant increase of computational load, while maintaining a reasonable estimation accuracy. Various implementable VSMM algorithms, like Model Group Switching (MGS), Likely Model Set (LMS) and Minimal Sub-Model-Set Switching (MSMSS) using the Interacting Multiple Model (IMM) algorithm with a sub-model-set adaptation logic have appeared in the recent literature. However, the use of these algorithms for tracking maneuvering target in clutter has not been explored. In presence of clutter, one need to use data association technique to differentiate target originated measurement from clutter. The probabilistic data association (PDA) has been popularly adopted to many algorithms for tracking in clutter. In this paper, we integrate PDA technique with MSMSS and propose a VSIMM-PDA algorithm for maneuvering target tracking in clutter. A new gating technique to account for potential model errors is used. A numeric example via multiple Monte Carlo runs, which compares the performance of the new algorithm to a standard IMM-PDA in terms of Root Mean Squared error (RMS) and percentage of track loss, is presented.