Decentralized Estimation for Multisensor Systems
Arthur G.O. Mutambara · 2019
This chapter addresses the multisensor estimation problem for both linear and nonlinear systems in a fully connected decentralized sensing architecture. An overview of multisensor systems and their attributes is presented in order to provide an understanding of the background to, and motivation for multisensor systems. The chapter explains fully connected decentralized estimation algorithms in both state and information spaces. All sensors may also be put into two general categories depending on whether they are passive or active. Passive Sensors directly generate an electric signal in response to an external stimulus. In contrast to passive sensors, active sensors require external power for their operation, which is called an excitation signal. Electrical signals from the sensors are fed into a multiplexer. In a single sensor system one sensor is selected to monitor the system or its surrounding environment. A multisensor system employs several sensors to obtain information in a real world environment full of uncertainty and change.