Probabilistic Multiple Hypothesis Tracking Research Articles

Multiple maneuvering target tracking based on hierarchical Dirichlet process and hidden Markov model

This paper is concerned with multiple maneuvering target tracking problems. Although the interacting multiple model (IMM) algorithm can be used for maneuvering targets tracking, the performance is limited as the motion mode set of the target is fixed in advance. In this paper, we address the problem of multiple maneuvering targets with unknown maneuvering models in cluttered environments. A finite hidden Markov model (HMM) is developed with truncated Hierarchical Dirichlet process (HDP) to recognize the unknown and changing motion modes. Further, the HDP-HMM is introduced into multiple hypothesis tracking (MHT) and probabilistic multiple hypothesis tracking (PMHT) approaches for multiple maneuvering targets tracking with data association uncertainty. To joint estimate the HDP-HMM parameters and target states, the particle learning and variational inference approaches are used, and the solutions of HDP-HMM-MHT and HDP-HMM-PMHT algorithms are obtained based on Rao-Blackwellized particle filter and variational Bayesian methods, respectively. As the changes of maneuver models can be learned using HDP, the multi-target tracking accuracy of the proposed algorithm is improved. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithms outperform the traditional IMM-MHT method with fixed model sets.

Multistatic Passive Radar Multi-target Tracking Under Target-measurement-illuminator Data Association Uncertainty

Different from the traditional multi-target tracking problem which has the measurements to targets data association uncertainty problem, the multistatic passive radar multi-target tacking system has the additional measurements to illuminators data association uncertainty problem, which means the data association relationship is three dimensional. A novel target-measurement-illuminator Probabilistic Multiple Hypothesis Tracking (PMHT) algorithm is proposed, which introduces a new data association variable to represent the data association relationship. The proposed algorithm is based on the Expectation-Maximization (EM). To handle the nonlinear problem of range-Doppler measurements, the Unscented Kalman Smoother (UKS) is used to get the multi-targets’ estimated states. To increase the data association accuracy, the measurements are set to mixture Gaussian distribution. Simulation results show that for the FKIE passive radar data set, the proposed algorithm can track multi-targets effectively in dense clutter environment.

Underwater Bearing-Only Multitarget Tracking in Dense Clutter Environment Based on PMHT

Underwater bearing-only multitarget tracking in clutter environment is challenging because of the measurement nonlinearity, range unobservability, and data association uncertainty. In terms of the principle of expectation maximization, combining the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and unscented Kalman filter algorithm(UKF), a new bearing-only multi-sensor multitarget tracking via probabilistic multiple hypothesis tracking(PMHT) algorithm is proposed. The PMHT algorithm introduces an association variable to deal with the data association uncertainty problem between the measurements and the targets. Furthermore, the EKF-based PMHT for multi-sensor multitarget system is simplified, which obviate the need to "stack" the synthetic measurements and can reduce the computation cost. The estimation accuracy of the EKF based on PMHT approach and UKF based on PMHT approach in simulation experiments for underwater bearing-only cross-moving targets and closely spaced targets for the case of stationary multiple observations and maneuvering single observation under dense clutter environment is analyzed. The experimental results demonstrate that the present algorithm is very well in a highly clutter environment and its computational load is low, which confirms the effectiveness of the algorithm to the bearing-only multitarget tracking in dense clutter.

Underwater Bearings-Only Multitarget Tracking Based on Modified PMHT in Dense-Cluttered Environment

Underwater bearings-only multitarget tracking has many advantages, and the probabilistic multiple hypothesis tracking (PMHT) is an elegant algorithm for multitarget tracking problem. However, the basic PMHT has following weakness: 1) the targets' posterior probability may convergent to the local maximum, which would degrade the tracking accuracy and 2) the tracking performance is sensitive to the targets' initialization. In order to overcome these weaknesses, this paper proposes a modified PMHT algorithm. The key idea of the modified PMHT algorithm is that it allows the bearings measurements at one scan come from any Gaussian density, which has the same mean and different covariance with the same target. In addition, the modified PMHT algorithm uses the deterministic annealing to reduce the dependence on the targets' initialization. To deal with the nonlinear bearings measurements, the paper uses the unscented Kalman smoother to update the target states. The simulation treats the cross moving targets and closely spaced targets for both multiple stationary sensors and single maneuvering sensor scenarios in a dense clutter environment. The simulation results show the superiority of the modified PMHT algorithm over the basic PMHT algorithm respect to accuracy and robustness for underwater bearings-only multitarget tracking problem when setting a relatively bad initialization value.

Book review: tracking and sensor data fusion; methodological framework and selected applications (koch, w.; 2014) [book review

This book is a welcome contribution to the growing number of texts in information fusion. The text is primarily focused on the areas in which the author has made direct contributions. This does not mean that the text is narrow in focus; indeed, the author proposes a broad historical, methodological, and algorithmic view of the field. The historical breadth includes a quite enjoyable introductory chapter that traces the origins of information fusion beginning with the seminal contributions of Gauss and Bayes. The discussion quickly brings us to present-day research, and there is a hopeful view of the future and the opportunities that await with the coming Internet of Sensors. There is methodological breadth as the author moves seamlessly between signal processing (level 0 fusion), multitarget multisensor tracking (level 1 fusion), and anomaly detection and situational awareness (higher level fusion). And there is algorithmic breadth. While the author focuses primarily on the multiple-hypothesis tracking (MHT) paradigm, there is a chapter on the expectation maximization (EM) based approach to multitarget tracking: probabilistic multiple hypothesis tracking (PMHT). The author has also conducted research related to the random set approach to tracking, though this paradigm is only mentioned briefly in the text. Chapter 2 takes the reader through the well-known topics of prior information, motion modeling, likelihood functions, and

Estimation of target states and signal strength in the probabilistic multiple hypothesis tracking framework

An approach is presented for simultaneously estimating target states and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) in the framework of the probabilistic multiple hypothesis tracking (PMHT). The approach, named PMHT-S, utilises the expectation-maximisation (EM) algorithm to obtain the maximum a posteriori estimates of target states and SNR's of multiple targets in the presence of false measurements. The missing data of the EM algorithm consists of measurement-to-target assignments as well as a set of fictitious geometric and signal strength measurements each associated with a target under the hypothesis that the target has been undetected. This formulation creates new algorithmic approaches for solving PMHT problems such that information on missed targets may be exploited. It is shown that the auxiliary function of the PMHT-S is additively separable as the sum of a function of target states and a function of target SNR's. The pair, as a result, can be independently maximised in each EM iteration to update target states and SNR's. The computational advantage of the separation is substantial even for a small number of targets. Explicit expressions of the auxiliary function of the PMHT-S are given. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to assess estimation performance of the PMHT-S for target tracking examples.

Efficient tracking of moving objects using a relational database

Tracking uncooperative moving objects by means of radar is a complex task due to clutter and association problems in multi-target scenarios. An approach to solve this problem is probabilistic multiple hypothesis tracking (PMHT). This method combines classical track filtering with a likelihood ratio test for the estimation of the plot-to-track association. The basics of PMHT and similar algorithms have gained much attention recently. However, the efficient implementation of real world applications of this technique still represents a challenging task. Since a common requirement in this context is the reliable storage of track data in a database, an implementation of the tracker's calculation inside a database management system (DBMS) using SQL views is desirable. A naive implementation of PMHT using a commercial DBMS, however, usually leads to performance problems because of the high frequency of measurement updates. In this paper, we propose possible optimizations for solving these performance problems. Their usage leads to a dramatic run-time improvement in our sample case and makes the implementation of PMHT in a database context feasible.

Point target probabilistic multiple hypothesis tracking

Probabilistic Multiple Hypothesis Tracking (PMHT) is an algorithm for multi-target tracking in clutter with computational requirements, which are linear in the number of targets and the number of measurements. In order to achieve this, the PMHT removes the point target constraint, and uses the expectation maximisation procedure to optimise both data association probabilities and the target trajectory state estimates. However, PMHT is known to have high track-loss percentage in comparison with Probabilistic Data Association, at least in point target tracking. The authors propose a new PMHT-like algorithm to solve some problems of PMHT. In this study they revert the point target constraint. The authors call the new algorithm Point target PMHT. Simulation results show the efficiency of this method.

On Sequential Track Extraction within the PMHT Framework

Tracking multiple targets in a cluttered environment is a challenging task. Probabilistic multiple hypothesis tracking (PMHT) is an efficient approach for dealing with it. Essentially PMHT is based on expectation-maximization for handling with association conflicts. Linearity in the number of targets and measurements is the main motivation for a further development and extension of this methodology. In particular, the problem of track extraction and deletion is apparently not yet satisfactorily solved within this framework. A sequential likelihood-ratio (LR) test for track extraction has been developed and integrated into the framework of traditional Bayesian multiple hypothesis tracking by Gunter van Keuk in 1998. As PMHT is a multiscan approach as well, it also has the potential for track extraction. In this paper, an analogous integration of a sequential LR test into the PMHT framework is proposed. We present an LR formula for track extraction and deletion using the PMHT update formulae. The LR is thus a by-product of the PMHT iteration process, as PMHT provides all required ingredients for a sequential LR calculation. Therefore, the resulting update formula for the sequential LR test affords the development of track-before-detect algorithms for PMHT. The approach is illustrated by a simple example.

A Combined PMHT and IMM Approach to Multiple-Point Target Tracking in Infrared Image Sequence

Data association and model selection are important factors for tracking multiple targets in a dense clutter environment. In this paper, we provide an effective solution to the tracking of multiple single-pixel maneuvering targets in a sequence of infrared images by developing an algorithm that combines a sequential probabilistic multiple hypothesis tracking (PMHT) and interacting multiple model (IMM). We explicitly model maneuver as a change in the target's motion model and demonstrate its effectiveness in our tracking application discussed in this paper. We show that inclusion of IMM enables tracking of any arbitrary trajectory in a sequence of infrared images without any a priori special information about the target dynamics. IMM allows us to incorporate different dynamic models for the targets and PMHT helps to avoid the uncertainty about the observation origin. It operates in an iterative mode using expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. The proposed algorithm uses observation association as missing data.

Recovery of the trajectories of multiple moving objects in an image sequence with a PMHT approach

This paper is concerned with the tracking of multiple moving objects in an image sequence and the reconstruction of the entire trajectories of these objects all over the sequence. More specifically, we address the joint issue of trajectory estimation and measurement-to-trajectory associations, which is the key problem in that context due to the occurrence of object occlusions or crossings. An original and efficient scheme is proposed, that adapts the probabilistic multiple hypothesis tracking (PMHT) technique to the case of tracking of regions in video, for which geometry and motion models can be introduced. Moreover, reliable partial associations can be obtained as an initialization. Data association and trajectory estimation are conducted within a probabilistic framework. The latter relies on Kalman filtering, while the former is solved with an EM algorithm for which a suitable initial configuration can be defined. The proposed tracking method is validated by experiments carried out on real image sequences depicting complex situations.

A formulation of multitarget tracking as an incomplete data problem

Traditional multihypothesis tracking methods rely upon an enumeration of all the assignments of measurements to tracks. Pruning and gating are used to retain only the most likely hypotheses in order to drastically limit the set of feasible associations. The main risk is to eliminate correct measurement sequences. The probabilistic multiple hypothesis tracking (PMHT) method has been developed by Streit and Luginbuhl in order to reduce the drawbacks of "strong" assignments. The PMHT method is presented in a general mixture densities perspective. The Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm is the basic ingredient for estimating mixture parameters. This approach is then extended and applied to multitarget tracking for nonlinear measurement models in the passive sonar perspective.