Probabilistic Data Association Techniques for Target Tracking in Clutter

In tracking targets with less-than-unity probability of detection in the presence of false alarms (FAs), data association-deciding which of the received multiple measurements to use to update each track-is crucial. Most algorithms that make a hard decision on the origin of the true measurement begin to fail as the FA rate increases or with low observable (low probability of target detection) maneuvering targets. Instead of using only one measurement among the received ones and discarding the others, an alternative approach is to use all of the validated measurements with different weights (probabilities), known as probabilistic data association (PDA). This paper presents an overview of the PDA technique and its application for different target tracking scenarios. First, it describes the use of the PDA technique for tracking low observable targets with passive sonar measurements. This target motion analysis is an application of the PDA technique, in conjunction with the maximum-likelihood approach, for target motion parameter estimation via a batch procedure. Then, the PDA technique for tracking highly maneuvering targets and for radar resource management is illustrated with recursive state estimation using the interacting multiple model estimator combined with PDA. Finally, a sliding window (which can also expand and contract) parameter estimator using the PDA approach for tracking the state of a maneuvering target using measurements from an electrooptical sensor is presented.