USE OF A KINEMATIC CONSTRAINT IN TRACKING CONSTANT-SPEED, MANEUVERING TARGETS

The use of a kinematic constraint as a pseudomeasurement in the tracking of constant speed, maneuvering targets is considered in this note. The kinematic constraint provides additional information about the target motion that can be processed to improve tracking performance. A new formulation of the constraint equation is presented, and the rationale for the new formulation is discussed. The filter using the kinematic constraint as a pseudomeasurement is shown to be unbiased and sufficient conditions for stochastic stability of the filter are given. Simulated tracking results are given to demonstrate the potential that the new formulation provides for improving tracking performance.