Multiple model target tracking with variable rate particle filters

Fixed rate state space models are the conventional models used to track the maneuvering objects. In contrast to fixed rate models, recently introduced variable rate particle filter (VRPF) is capable of tracking the target with a small number of states by imposing a Gamma distribution on the state arrival times while the object trajectory is approached by a single dynamic motion model. Using a single dynamic motion model limits the capability of estimating the characteristics of maneuvering and smooth regions of the trajectory. To overcome this weakness we introduce an adaptive tracking method which incorporates multiple model approach with the variable rate model structure. The proposed model referred to as multiple model variable rate particle filter (MM-VRPF) adaptively locates frequent state points to the maneuvering regions resulting in a much more accurate tracking while preserving the parsimonious representation for the smooth regions of the trajectory. This is achieved by including a mode variable into the conventional variable rate state vector that enables us to define different sojourn and motion parameters for each motion mode using the multiple model structure. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms the conventional variable rate particle filter, fixed rate multiple model particle filter and interacting multiple model.