Least squares estimation of nonstationary covariance parameters in linear systems

Abstract

Least squares estimation techniques are employed to overcome previous difficulties encountered in accurately estimating the state and measurement noise covariance parameters in linear stochastic systems. In the past accurate and rapidly converging covariance parameter estimates have been achieved with complex estimation algorithms only after specifying the statistical nature of the noise in the system and constraining the time variation of the covariance parameters. Weighted least squares estimation allows these restrictions to be removed while achieving near optimal accuracy using a filter on the same order of complexity as a Kalman filter. Allowing the covariance parameters to vary in as general a manner in time as the state in a linear discrete time stochastic system, and assuming that a Kalman filter is applied to this system using incorrect knowledge of the a priori statistics, it is shown how a covariance system is developed similar to the original system. Unbiased least squares estimates of the covariance parameters and of the original state are obtained without the necessity of specifying the distribution on the noise in either system. The accuracy of these estimates approaches optimal accuracy with increasing measurements when adaptive Kalman filters are applied to each system.