Nonlinear aircraft tracking filter utilizing a point mass flight dynamics model

Abstract

A nonlinear aircraft tracking filter using a point mass flight dynamics model with three degrees of freedom is presented. While the models used by conventional air traffic control tracking filters are based on simple kinematics, the model for the present filter is based not only on kinematic relations but also on three-dimensional aircraft translational force equations and control variables. This allows for practical and sophisticated implementation of the attitude effects on translational acceleration. The control variables, which consist of the angle of attack, roll angle, and thrust setting, are treated as states with random processes. Tracking with simulation data indicates that the present filter is superior to other single and multiple model-based filters in terms of position and course accuracy, and the model associated with it is insensitive to flight motion types and design parameters. The results of tracking with real flight data also correspond well with those found by tracking with the simulation data.

Distributed asynchronous multiple sensor fusion with nonlinear multiple models

“…In Sections 4.3 and 4.4, simulations for a nonlinear model and multiple models are performed, respectively. A nonlinear point mass flight dynamics (PMFD) model [14], which implements the complicated nonlinear flight dynamics relations in the system model, is adopted to verify the estimation fusion algorithm with a single nonlinear model in Section 4.3. In Section 4.4, the IMM approach-which includes typical two-system models, constant velocity (CV), and constant turn (CT)-is used for the fusion algorithm with multiple nonlinear models.…”

“…For example, the targets to be tracked in air traffic control environments cannot be well defined with a single linear model. This is why a more comprehensive nonlinear model [14] or multiple models [21,3,19] are used for target tracking. In addition to position-only measurements, further information that has recently become available in ADS-B, MLAT, and mode-S radar for air traffic control also supports the need for more sophisticated models.…”

Regulated Point Mass Flight Dynamics Model for a Nonlinear Aircraft Tracking Filter

“…Both of the errors in heading angle and roll angle are assumed to be 2 . The intervals between the samples are 1 s. The continuous-discrete unscented Kalman filter 4) that consists of the measurement equations and covariance adopted in Jeon et al 3) is used for the tracking. The PMFD model, which is used as a reference model in this study, is modified as Eqs.…”

“…The PMFD model for nonlinear aircraft target tracking is defined by, with state vector x ¼ X;Y; Z;V ;; ;;; T f  à T , 3)…”

“…Andrisani et al 1) and Mook and Shyu 2) proposed typical six-degrees-of-freedom (DOF) flight dynamics models for their tracking problems, which assumed velocity and attitude observations. Jeon et al 3) extended these studies by proposing a three-DOF point mass flight dynamics (PMFD) model to account for the attitude effects on translational acceleration with a limited number of states. However, there were still several unknown aircraft parameters to be set, even though they are limited in quantity and their impact on the estimation of meaningful states is small.…”