Performance Evaluation of Simultaneous Sensor Registration and Object Tracking Algorithm

Reliable object tracking with multiple sensors requires that sensors are registered correctly with respect to each other. When an environment is Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) denied or limited – such as underwater, or in hostile regions – this task is more challenging. This paper performs uncertainty quantification on a simultaneous tracking and registration algorithm for sensor networks that does not require access to a GNSS. The method uses a particle filter combined with a bank of augmented state extended Kalman filters (EKFs). The particles represent hypotheses of registration errors between sensors, with associated weights. The EKFs are responsible for the tracking procedure and for contributing to particle state and weight updates. This is achieved through the evaluation of a likelihood. Registration errors in this paper are spatial, orientation, and temporal biases: seven distinct sensor errors are estimated alongside the tracking procedure. Monte Carlo trials are conducted for the uncertainty quantification. Since performance of particle filters is dependent on initialisation, a comparison is made between more and less favourable particle (hypothesis) initialisation. The results demonstrate the importance of initialisation, and the method is shown to perform well in tracking a fast (marginally sub-sonic) object following a bow-like trajectory (mimicking a representative scenario). Final results show the algorithm is capable of achieving angular bias estimation error of 0.0034 o , temporal bias estimation error of 0.0067 s, and spatial error of 0.021m

Optimal Filters with Multiple Packet Losses and its Application in Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper is concerned with the filtering problem for both discrete-time stochastic linear (DTSL) systems and discrete-time stochastic nonlinear (DTSN) systems. In DTSL systems, an linear optimal filter with multiple packet losses is designed based on the orthogonal principle analysis approach over unreliable wireless sensor networks (WSNs), and the experience result verifies feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed linear filter; in DTSN systems, an extended minimum variance filter with multiple packet losses is derived, and the filter is extended to the nonlinear case by the first order Taylor series approximation, which is successfully applied to unreliable WSNs. An application example is given and the corresponding simulation results show that, compared with extended Kalman filter (EKF), the proposed extended minimum variance filter is feasible and effective in WSNs

Continuous Human Activity Tracking over a Large Area with Multiple Kinect Sensors

In recent years, researchers had been inquisitive about the use of technology to enhance the healthcare and wellness of patients with dementia. Dementia symptoms are associated with the decline in thinking skills and memory severe enough to reduce a person’s ability to pay attention and perform daily activities. Progression of dementia can be assessed by monitoring the daily activities of the patients. This thesis encompasses continuous localization and behavioral analysis of patient’s motion pattern over a wide area indoor living space using multiple calibrated Kinect sensors connected over the network. The skeleton data from all the sensor is transferred to the host computer via TCP sockets into Unity software where it is integrated into a single world coordinate system using calibration technique. Multiple cameras are placed with some overlap in the field of view for the successful calibration of the cameras and continuous tracking of the patients. Localization and behavioral data are stored in a CSV file for further analysis

Modelling and Simulation of Multi-target Multi-sensor Data Fusion for Trajectory Tracking

An implementation of track fusion using various algorthims has been demonstrated . The sensor measurements of these targets are modelled using Kalman filter (KF) and interacting multiple models (IMM) filter. The joint probabilistic data association filter (JPDAF) and neural network fusion (NNF) algorithms were used for tracking multiple man-euvring targets. Track association and fusion algorithm are executed to get the fused track data for various scenarios, two sensors tracking a single target to three sensors tracking three targets, to evaluate the effects of multiple and dispersed sensors for single target, two targets, and multiple targets. The targets chosen were distantly spaced, closely spaced and crossing. Performance of different filters was compared and fused trajectory is found to be closer to the true target trajectory as compared to that for any of the sensor measurements of that target.Defence Science Journal, 2009, 59(3), pp.205-214, DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.14429/dsj.59.151

Adaptive sampling in autonomous marine sensor networks

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution June 2006In this thesis, an innovative architecture for real-time adaptive and cooperative control of autonomous sensor platforms in a marine sensor network is described in the context of the autonomous oceanographic network scenario. This architecture has three major components, an intelligent, logical sensor that provides high-level environmental state information to a behavior-based autonomous vehicle control system, a new approach to behavior-based control of autonomous vehicles using multiple objective functions that allows reactive control in complex environments with multiple constraints, and an approach to cooperative robotics that is a hybrid between the swarm cooperation and intentional cooperation approaches. The mobility of the sensor platforms is a key advantage of this strategy, allowing dynamic optimization of the sensor locations with respect to the classification or localization of a process of interest including processes which can be time varying, not spatially isotropic and for which action is required in real-time. Experimental results are presented for a 2-D target tracking application in which fully autonomous surface craft using simulated bearing sensors acquire and track a moving target in open water. In the first example, a single sensor vehicle adaptively tracks a target while simultaneously relaying the estimated track to a second vehicle acting as a classification platform. In the second example, two spatially distributed sensor vehicles adaptively track a moving target by fusing their sensor information to form a single target track estimate. In both cases the goal is to adapt the platform motion to minimize the uncertainty of the target track parameter estimates. The link between the sensor platform motion and the target track estimate uncertainty is fully derived and this information is used to develop the behaviors for the sensor platform control system. The experimental results clearly illustrate the significant processing gain that spatially distributed sensors can achieve over a single sensor when observing a dynamic phenomenon as well as the viability of behavior-based control for dealing with uncertainty in complex situations in marine sensor networks.Supported by the Office of Naval Research, with a 3-year National Defense Science and Engineering Grant Fellowship and research assistantships through the Generic Ocean Array Technology Sonar (GOATS) project, contract N00014-97-1-0202 and contract N00014-05-G-0106 Delivery Order 008, PLUSNET: Persistent Littoral Undersea Surveillance Network

Bayesian Filtering With Random Finite Set Observations

This paper presents a novel and mathematically rigorous Bayes’ recursion for tracking a target that generates multiple measurements with state dependent sensor field of view and clutter. Our Bayesian formulation is mathematically well-founded due to our use of a consistent likelihood function derived from random finite set theory. It is established that under certain assumptions, the proposed Bayes’ recursion reduces to the cardinalized probability hypothesis density (CPHD) recursion for a single target. A particle implementation of the proposed recursion is given. Under linear Gaussian and constant sensor field of view assumptions, an exact closed-form solution to the proposed recursion is derived, and efficient implementations are given. Extensions of the closed-form recursion to accommodate mild nonlinearities are also given using linearization and unscented transforms

Statistical Estimation of Wild Animal Population in Finland: A Multiple Target Tracking Approach

Control and management of wild animals, especially large carnivores, is an important task for game and wildlife management authorities all over the world. Central to the scheme of wild animal conservation is the population size estimation methodology which depends on the used data sampling technique. The index based data sampling method has been found suitable in the case of large carnivores. On the other hand, telemetry data has been used to learn the individual movement of animals. Subsequently, mathematical modeling is utilized in order to learn both animal population dynamics and animal movement behavior. In that context, stochastic state-space models have proved to be appropriate for handling uncertainty that occurs in the process and observation models. This thesis provides a novel approach for the estimation of wild animal population. We utilize the state-space modeling framework as well as animal movement models on an unconventional observation and index based dataset. We formulate the problem as a conditionally linear Gaussian state-space model and recursively estimate the state of the animals. More specifically, we reformulate the problem as a special case of multiple target tracking, which can be solved by using Bayesian optimal filtering methodology. The solution to the problem of tracking an unknown number of targets is exactly applicable to our animal observation datasets