IMM/MHT applications to radar and IR multitarget tracking

Interacting Multiple Model (IMM) Filtering and Multiple Hypothesis Tracking (MHT) represent the most accurate methods currently available for tracking multiple maneuvering targets in cluttered environments. Although these methods are complex, modem computational capabilities make their combined implementation feasible for modern tracking systems. This pager discusses alternative approaches for developing a combined IMM/MHT tracking system and describes specific implementations that have been developed for radar and IRST applications. Simulation results for both radar and IRST systems are presented. Track maintenance and accuracy performance for the IMM/MHT system is compared with that obtained from an MI-IT tracker using a conventional filtering approach. Results indicate that the improvements in data association derived from the use of IMM filtering with MKT may be comparable to the well known IMM improvements in track accuracy. The addition of multiple filter models to MHT data association has the potential to significantly increase computational requirements. Thus, several compromises, described in this paper, have been developed in order to assure computational feasibility. Preliminary estimates of computational requirements are given in order to demonstrate implementation feasibility.