Multi-Maneuvering Target Tracking Based on a Gaussian Process

Abstract

Aiming at the uncertainty of target motion and observation models in multi-maneuvering target tracking (MMTT), this study presents an innovative data-driven approach based on a Gaussian process (GP). Traditional multi-model (MM) methods rely on a predefined set of motion models to describe target maneuvering. However, these methods are limited by the finite number of available models, making them unsuitable for handling highly complex and dynamic real-world scenarios, which, in turn, restricts the adaptability and flexibility of the filter. In addition, traditional methods often assume that observation models follow ideal linear or simple nonlinear relationships. However, these assumptions may be biased in actual application and so lead to degradation in tracking performance. To overcome these limitations, this study presents a learning-based algorithm-leveraging GP. This non-parametric GP approach enables learning an unlimited range of target motion and observation models, effectively mitigating the problems of model overload and mismatch. This improves the algorithm’s adaptability in complex environments. When the motion and observation models of multiple targets are unknown, the learned models are incorporated into the cubature Kalman probability hypothesis density (PHD) filter to achieve an accurate MMTT estimate. Our simulation results show that the presented approach delivers high-precision tracking of complex multi-maneuvering target scenarios, validating its effectiveness in addressing model uncertainty.