Distributed Extended Object Tracking Using Coupled Velocity Model from WLS Perspective

This study proposes a coupled velocity model (CVM) that establishes the relation between the orientation and velocity using their correlation, avoiding that the existing extended object tracking (EOT) models treat them as two independent quantities. As a result, CVM detects the mismatch between the prior dynamic model and actual motion pattern to correct the filtering gain, and simultaneously becomes a nonlinear and state-coupled model with multiplicative noise. The study considers CVM to design a feasible distributed weighted least squares (WLS) filter. The WLS criterion requires a linear state-space model containing only additive noise about the estimated state. To meet the requirement, we derive such two separate pseudo-linearized models by using the first-order Taylor series expansion. The separation is merely in form, and the estimates of interested states are embedded as parameters into each other's model, which implies that their interdependency is still preserved in the iterative operation of two linear filters. With the two models, we first propose a centralized WLS filter by converting the measurements from all nodes into a summation form. Then, a distributed consensus scheme, which directly performs an inner iteration on the priors across different nodes, is proposed to incorporate the cross-covariances between nodes. Under the consensus scheme, a distributed WLS filter over a realistic network with 'naive' node is developed by proper weighting of the priors and measurements. Finally, the performance of proposed filters in terms of accuracy, robustness, and consistency is testified under different prior situations.