Interacting multiple model estimators for tracking thousands of interacting, small targets in a complex plasma
Neil P. Oxtoby, Jason F. Ralph, Céline Durniak, D. Samsonov · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2011
Tracking a large number of small targets is a challenging task. This work considers tracking approximately 3000 micron-sized particles in a complex plasma. Inter-particle screened-Coulomb interactions increase the complexity of the tracking problem, which is further complicated by highly nonlinear dynamics - a shock wave. Subsets of the particles are tracked concurrently by Interacting Multiple Model estimators, with the results combined off-line. State estimation is performed by an extended Kalman filter. Estimator performance is quantified on synthetic data, with discussion focussing on aspects of the Interacting Multiple Model.