Optimal nonlinear estimation for a class of discrete-time stochastic systems

Recursive estimation for nonlinear discrete-time stochastic systems with additive white Gaussian observation noise is investigated. It is proved that for certain classes of systems, described either by finite Volterra series expansions or by state-linear realizations under certain algebraic conditions, the optimal conditional mean estimator is recursive and of fixed finite dimension. An example is presented to illustrate the structure of the estimators.