Kalman Filtering With State Constraints: A Survey of Linear and Nonlinear Algorithms

The Kalman filter is the minimum-variance state estimator for linear dynamic systems with Gaussian noise. Even if the noise is non-Gaussian, the Kalman filter is the best linear estimator. For nonlinear systems it is not possible, in general, to derive the optimal state estimator in closed form, but various modifications of the Kalman filter can be used to estimate the state. These modifications include the extended Kalman filter, the unscented Kalman filter, and the particle filter. Although the Kalman filter and its modifications are powerful tools for state estimation, we might have information about a system that the Kalman filter does not incorporate. For example, we may know that the states satisfy equality or inequality constraints. In this case we can modify the Kalman filter to exploit this additional information and get better filtering performance than the Kalman filter provides. This paper provides an overview of various ways to incorporate state constraints in the Kalman filter and its nonlinear modifications. If both the system and state constraints are linear, then all of these different approaches result in the same state estimate, which is the optimal constrained linear state estimate. If either the system or constraints are nonlinear, then constrained filtering is, in general, not optimal, and different approaches give different results

Kalman Filtering With State Constraints: A Survey of Linear and Nonlinear Algorithms

The Kalman filter is the minimum-variance state estimator for linear dynamic systems with Gaussian noise. Even if the noise is non-Gaussian, the Kalman filter is the best linear estimator. For nonlinear systems it is not possible, in general, to derive the optimal state estimator in closed form, but various modifications of the Kalman filter can be used to estimate the state. These modifications include the extended Kalman filter, the unscented Kalman filter, and the particle filter. Although the Kalman filter and its modifications are powerful tools for state estimation, we might have information about a system that the Kalman filter does not incorporate. For example, we may know that the states satisfy equality or inequality constraints. In this case we can modify the Kalman filter to exploit this additional information and get better filtering performance than the Kalman filter provides. This paper provides an overview of various ways to incorporate state constraints in the Kalman filter and its nonlinear modifications. If both the system and state constraints are linear, then all of these different approaches result in the same state estimate, which is the optimal constrained linear state estimate. If either the system or constraints are nonlinear, then constrained filtering is, in general, not optimal, and different approaches give different results

Completely Recursive Least Squares and Its Applications

The matrix-inversion-lemma based recursive least squares (RLS) approach is of a recursive form and free of matrix inversion, and has excellent performance regarding computation and memory in solving the classic least-squares (LS) problem. It is important to generalize RLS for generalized LS (GLS) problem. It is also of value to develop an efficient initialization for any RLS algorithm. In Chapter 2, we develop a unified RLS procedure to solve the unconstrained/linear-equality (LE) constrained GLS. We also show that the LE constraint is in essence a set of special error-free observations and further consider the GLS with implicit LE constraint in observations (ILE-constrained GLS). Chapter 3 treats the RLS initialization-related issues, including rank check, a convenient method to compute the involved matrix inverse/pseudoinverse, and resolution of underdetermined systems. Based on auxiliary-observations, the RLS recursion can start from the first real observation and possible LE constraints are also imposed recursively. The rank of the system is checked implicitly. If the rank is deficient, a set of refined non-redundant observations is determined alternatively. In Chapter 4, base on [Li07], we show that the linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE) estimator, as well as the optimal Kalman filter (KF) considering various correlations, can be calculated from solving an equivalent GLS using the unified RLS. In Chapters 5 & 6, an approach of joint state-and-parameter estimation (JSPE) in power system monitored by synchrophasors is adopted, where the original nonlinear parameter problem is reformulated as two loosely-coupled linear subproblems: state tracking and parameter tracking. Chapter 5 deals with the state tracking which determines the voltages in JSPE, where dynamic behavior of voltages under possible abrupt changes is studied. Chapter 6 focuses on the subproblem of parameter tracking in JSPE, where a new prediction model for parameters with moving means is introduced. Adaptive filters are developed for the above two subproblems, respectively, and both filters are based on the optimal KF accounting for various correlations. Simulations indicate that the proposed approach yields accurate parameter estimates and improves the accuracy of the state estimation, compared with existing methods

On the origin of the large scale structures of the universe

We revise the statistical properties of the primordial cosmological density anisotropies that, at the time of matter radiation equality, seeded the gravitational development of large scale structures in the, otherwise, homogeneous and isotropic Friedmann-Robertson-Walker flat universe. Our analysis shows that random fluctuations of the density field at the same instant of equality and with comoving wavelength shorter than the causal horizon at that time can naturally account, when globally constrained to conserve the total mass (energy) of the system, for the observed scale invariance of the anisotropies over cosmologically large comoving volumes. Statistical systems with similar features are generically known as glass-like or lattice-like. Obviously, these conclusions conflict with the widely accepted understanding of the primordial structures reported in the literature, which requires an epoch of inflationary cosmology to precede the standard expansion of the universe. The origin of the conflict must be found in the widespread, but unjustified, claim that scale invariant mass (energy) anisotropies at the instant of equality over comoving volumes of cosmological size, larger than the causal horizon at the time, must be generated by fluctuations in the density field with comparably large comoving wavelength.Comment: New section added; final version to appear in Physical Review D; discussion extended and detailed with new calculations to support the claims of the paper; statistical properties of vacuum fluctuations now discussed in the context of FRW flat universe; new important conclussions adde

On the non-existence of unbiased estimators in constrained estimation problems

We address the problem of existence of unbiased constrained parameter estimators. We show that if the constrained set of parameters is compact and the hypothesized distributions are absolutely continuous with respect to one another, then there exists no unbiased estimator.Weaker conditions for the absence of unbiased constrained estimators are also specified. We provide several examples which demonstrate the utility of these conditions