A Bayesian Approach to Multiple Target Detection and Tracking

This paper considers the problem of simultaneously detecting and tracking multiple targets. The problem can be formulated in a Bayesian framework and solved, in principle, by computation of the joint multitarget probability density (JMPD). In practice, exact computation of the JMPD is impossible, and the predominant challenge is to arrive at a computationally tractable approximation. A particle filtering scheme is developed for this purpose in which each particle is a hypothesis on the number of targets present and the states of those targets. The importance density for the particle filter is designed in such a way that the measurements can guide sampling of both the target number and the target states. Simulation results, with measurements generated from real target trajectories, demonstrate the ability of the proposed procedure to simultaneously detect and track ten targets with a reasonable sample size