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As an important component of autonomous intelligent systems, the research on autonomous positioning algorithms used by UAVs is of great significance. In order to resolve the problem whereby the GNSS signal is interrupted, and the visual sensor lacks sufficient feature points in complex scenes, which leads to difficulties in autonomous positioning, this paper proposes a new robust adaptive positioning algorithm that ensures the robustness and accuracy of autonomous navigation and positioning in UAVs. On the basis of the combined navigation model of vision/inertial navigation and satellite/inertial navigation, based on ESKF, a multi-source fusion model based on a federated Kalman filter is here established. Furthermore, a robust adaptive localization algorithm is proposed, which uses robust equivalent weights to estimate the sub-filters, and then uses the sub-filter state covariance to adaptively assign information sharing coefficients. After simulation experiments and dataset verification, the results show that the robust adaptive algorithm can effectively limit the impact of gross errors in observations and mathematical model deviations and can automatically update the information sharing coefficient online according to the sub-filter equivalent state covariance. Compared with the classical federated Kalman algorithm and the adaptive federated Kalman algorithm, our algorithm can meet the real-time requirements of navigation, and the accuracy of position, velocity, and attitude measurement is improved by 2–3 times. The robust adaptive localization algorithm proposed in this paper can effectively improve the reliability and accuracy of autonomous navigation systems in complex scenes. Moreover, the algorithm is general—it is not intended for a specific scene or a specific sensor combination– and is applicable to individual scenes with varied sensor combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of ultra-wide band (UWB) and inertial measurement unit (IMU) positioning is subject to random errors and non-line-of-sight errors, and in this paper, an improved positioning strategy is proposed to address this problem. The Kalman filter (KF) is used to pre-process the original UWB measurements, suppressing the effect of range mutation values of UWB on combined positioning, and the extended Kalman filter (EKF) is used to fuse the UWB measurements with the IMU measurements, with the difference between the two measurements used as the measurement information. The non-line-of-sight (NLOS) measurement information is also used. The optimal estimate is obtained by adjusting the system measurement noise covariance matrix in real time, according to the judgment result, and suppressing the interference of non-line-of-sight factors. The optimal estimate of the current state is fed back to the UWB range value in the next state, and the range value is dynamically adjusted after one-dimensional filtering pre-processing. Compared with conventional tightly coupled positioning, the positioning accuracy of the method in this paper is improved by 46.15% in the field experimental positioning results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual simultaneous localization and mapping is a widely used technology for mobile robots to carry out precise positioning in the environment of GNSS technology failure. However, as the robot moves around indoors, its position accuracy will gradually decrease over time due to common and unavoidable environmental factors. In this paper, we propose an improved method called RTABMAP-VIWO, which is based on RTABMAP. The basic idea is to use an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) framework for fusion attitude estimates from the wheel odometry and IMU, and provide new prediction values. This helps to reduce the local cumulative error of RTABMAP and make it more accurate. We compare and evaluate three kinds of SLAM methods using both public datasets and real indoor scenes. In the dataset experiments, our proposed method reduces the Root-Mean-Square Error (RMSE) coefficient by 48.1% compared to the RTABMAP, and the coefficient is also reduced by at least 29.4% in the real environment experiments. The results demonstrate that the improved method is feasible. By incorporating the IMU into the RTABMAP method, the trajectory and posture errors of the mobile robot are significantly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the realm of aviation, trajectory data play a crucial role in determining the target's flight intentions and guaranteeing flight safety. However, the data collection process can be hindered by noise or signal interruptions, thus diminishing the precision of the data. This paper uses the bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT) model to solve the problem by masking the high-precision automatic dependent survey broadcast (ADS-B) trajectory data and estimating the mask position value based on the front and rear trajectory points during BERT model training. Through this process, the model acquires knowledge of intricate motion patterns within the trajectory data and acquires the BERT pre-training Model. Afterwards, a refined particle filter algorithm is utilized to generate alternative trajectory sets for observation trajectory data that is prone to noise. Ultimately, the BERT trajectory pre-training model is supplied with the alternative trajectory set, and the optimal trajectory is determined by computing the maximum posterior probability. The results of the experiment show that the model has good performance and is stronger than traditional algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time acquisition of location information for agricultural robotic systems is a prerequisite for achieving high-precision intelligent navigation. This paper proposes a data filtering and combined positioning method, and establishes an active screening model. The dynamic and static positioning drift points of the carrier are eliminated or replaced, reducing the complexity of the original Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) output data in the positioning system. Compared with the traditional Kalman filter combined positioning method, the proposed active filtering–Kalman filter algorithm can reduce the maximum distance deviation of the carrier along a straight line from 0.145 m to 0.055 m and along a curve from 0.184 m to 0.0640 m. This study focuses on agricultural robot positioning technology, which has an important influence on the development of smart agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasingly widespread application of UAV intelligence, the need for autonomous navigation and positioning is becoming more and more important. To solve the problem that UAV cannot perform localization in complex scenes, a new multi-source fusion framework factor graph optimization algorithm is used for UAV localization state estimation in this paper, which is based on IMU/GNSS/VO multi-source sensors. Based on the factor graph model and the iSAM incremental inference algorithm, a multi-source fusion model of IMU/GNSS/VO is established, including the IMU pre-integration factor, IMU bias factor, GNSS factor, and VO factor. Mathematical simulations and validations on the EuRoC dataset show that, when the selected sliding window size is 30, the factor graph optimization (FGO) algorithm can not only meet the requirements of real time and accuracy at the same time, but it also achieves a plug-and-play function in the event of local sensor failures. Finally, compared with the traditional federated Kalman algorithm and the adaptive federated Kalman algorithm, the positioning accuracy of the FGO algorithm in this paper is improved by 1.5–2-fold, and can effectively improve autonomous navigation system robustness and flexibility in complex scenarios. Moreover, the multi-source fusion framework in this paper is a general algorithm framework that can satisfy other scenarios and other types of sensor combinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the widespread adoption of service-oriented architectures (SOA), services with the same functionality but the different Quality of Service (QoS) are proliferating, which is challenging the ability of users to build high-quality services. It is often costly for users to evaluate the QoS of all feasible services; therefore, it is necessary to investigate QoS prediction algorithms to help users find services that meet their needs. In this paper, we propose a QoS prediction algorithm called the MFDK model, which is able to fill in historical sparse QoS values by a non-negative matrix decomposition algorithm and predict future QoS values by a deep neural network. In addition, this model uses a Kalman filter algorithm to correct the model prediction values with real-time QoS observations to reduce its prediction error. Through extensive simulation experiments on the WS-DREAM dataset, we analytically validate that the MFDK model has better prediction accuracy compared to the baseline model, and it can maintain good prediction results under different tensor densities and observation densities. We further demonstrate the rationality of our proposed model and its prediction performance through model ablation experiments and parameter tuning experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the centralized fusion linear estimation problem in multi-sensor systems with multiple packet dropouts and correlated noises. Packet dropouts are modeled by independent Bernoulli distributed random variables. This problem is addressed in the tessarine domain under conditions of T 1 and T 2 -properness, which entails a reduction in the dimension of the problem and, consequently, computational savings. The methodology proposed enables us to provide an optimal (in the least-mean-squares sense) linear fusion filtering algorithm for estimating the tessarine state with a lower computational cost than the conventional one devised in the real field. Simulation results illustrate the performance and advantages of the solution proposed in different settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) play an increasingly essential role in the field of polar ocean exploration, and the Doppler velocity log (DVL)-aided strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) is widely used for it. Due to the rapid convergence of the meridians, traditional inertial navigation mechanisms fail in the polar region. To tackle this problem, a transverse inertial navigation mechanism based on the earth ellipsoidal model is designed in this paper. Influenced by the harsh environment of the polar regions, unknown and time-varying outlier noise appears in the output of DVL, which makes the performance of the standard Kalman filter degrade. To address this issue, a robust Kalman filter algorithm based on Mahalanobis distance is used to adaptively estimate measurement noise covariance; thus, the Kalman filter gain can be modified to weight the measurement. A trial ship experiment and semi-physical simulation experiment were carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. The results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can effectively resist the influence of DVL outliers and improve positioning accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of the harsh polar environment, the master strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) has low accuracy and the system model information becomes abnormal. In this case, existing polar transfer alignment (TA) algorithms which use the measurement information provided by master SINS would lose their effectiveness. In this paper, a new polar TA algorithm with the aid of a star sensor and based on an adaptive unscented Kalman filter (AUKF) is proposed to deal with the problems. Since the measurement information provided by master SINS is inaccurate, the accurate information provided by the star sensor is chosen as the measurement. With the compensation of lever-arm effect and the model of star sensor, the nonlinear navigation equations are derived. Combined with the attitude matching method, the filter models for polar TA are designed. An AUKF is introduced to solve the abnormal information of system model. Then, the AUKF is used to estimate the states of TA. Results have demonstrated that the performance of the new polar TA algorithm is better than the state-of-the-art polar TA algorithms. Therefore, the new polar TA algorithm proposed in this paper is effectively to ensure and improve the accuracy of TA in the harsh polar environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of modern industry, small UAVs have been widely used in agriculture, mapping, meteorology, and other fields. There is an increasing demand for the core attitude-solving algorithm of UAV flight control. In this paper, at first, a novel attitude solving algorithm is proposed by using quaternions to represent the attitude matrix and using Allan variance to analyze the gyroscope error and to quantify the trend of the error over time, so as to improve the traditional Mahony complementary filtering. Simulation results show that the six-axis data from the initial sensors (gyroscope and accelerometer) agree well with the measured nine-axis data with an extra magnetometer, which reduces the complexity of the system hardware. Second, based on the hardware platform, the six-axis data collected from MPU6050 are sent to FPGA for floating-point operation, transcendental function operation, and attitude solution module for processing through IIC communication, which effectively validates the attitude solution by using the proposed method. Finally, the proposed algorithm is applied to a practical scenario of a quadrotor UAV, and the test results show that the RMSE does not exceed 2° compared with the extended Kalman filter method. The proposed system simplifies the hardware but keeps the accuracy and speed of the solution, which may result in application in UAV flight control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most relevant problems related to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle's (UAV) autonomous navigation for industrial inspection is localization or pose estimation relative to significant elements of the environment. This paper analyzes two different approaches in this regard, focusing on its application to unstructured scenarios where objects of considerable size are present, such as a truck, a wind tower, an airplane, a building, etc. The presented methods require a previously developed Computer-Aided Design (CAD) model of the main object to be inspected. The first approach is based on an occupancy map built from a horizontal projection of this CAD model and the Adaptive Monte Carlo Localization (AMCL) algorithm to reach convergence by considering the likelihood field observation model between the 2D projection of 3D sensor data and the created map. The second approach uses a point cloud prior map of the 3D CAD model and a scan-matching algorithm based on the Iterative Closest Point Algorithm (ICP) and the Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF). The presented approaches have been extensively evaluated using simulated as well as previously recorded real flight data. We focus on aircraft inspection as a test example, but our results and conclusions can be directly extended to other applications. To support this assertion, a truck inspection has been performed. Our tests reflected that creating a 2D or 3D map from a standard CAD model and using a 3D laser scan on the created maps can optimize the processing time, resources and improve robustness. The techniques used to segment unexpected objects in 2D maps improved the performance of AMCL. In addition, we showed that moving around locations with relevant geometry after take-off when running AMCL enabled faster convergence and high accuracy. Hence, it could be used as an initial position estimation method for other localization algorithms. The ICP-NL method works well in environments with elements other than the object to inspect, but it can provide better results if some techniques to segment the new objects are applied. Furthermore, the proposed ICP-NL scan-matching method together with UKF performed faster, in a more robust manner, than NDT. Moreover, it is not affected by flight height. However, ICP-NL error may still be too high for applications requiring increased accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, accurate localization plays an essential role in many fields, such as target tracking and path planning. The challenges of indoor localization include inadequate localization accuracy, unreasonable anchor deployment in complex scenarios, lack of stability, and the high cost. So, the universal positioning technologies cannot meet the real application requirements scarcely. To overcome these shortcomings, a comprehensive ultra wide-band (UWB)-based real-time localization system (RTLS) is presented in this paper. We introduce the architecture of a real-time localization system, then propose a new wireless clock synchronization (WCS) scheme, and finally discuss the time difference of arrival (TDoA) algorithm. We define the time-base selection strategy for the TDoA algorithm, and we analyze the relationship between anchor deployment and positioning accuracy. The extended Kalman filter (EKF) method is presented for non-linear dynamic localization estimation, and it performs well in terms of stability and accuracy on moving targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of the fact the accuracy of the third-degree Cubature Kalman Filter (CKF) used for initial alignment under large misalignment angle conditions is insufficient, an improved fifth-degree CKF algorithm is proposed in this paper. In order to make full use of the innovation on filtering, the innovation covariance matrix is calculated recursively by an innovative sequence with an exponent fading factor. Then a new adaptive error covariance matrix scaling algorithm is proposed. The Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) method is used for improving the numerical stability of the fifth-degree CKF in this paper. In order to avoid the overshoot caused by excessive scaling of error covariance matrix during the convergence stage, the scaling scheme is terminated when the gradient of azimuth reaches the maximum. The experimental results show that the improved algorithm has better alignment accuracy with large misalignment angles than the traditional algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Navigation employing low cost MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS)sensors in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) is an uprising challenge. One important part of this navigation is the right estimation of the attitude angles. Most of the existent algorithms handle the sensor readings in a fixed way, leading to large errors in different mission stages like take-off aerobatic maneuvers. This paper presents an adaptive method to estimate these angles using off-the-shelf components. This paper introduces an Attitude Heading Reference System (AHRS) based on the Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) using the Fast Optimal Attitude Matrix (FOAM) algorithm as the observation model. The performance of the method is assessed through simulations. Moreover, field experiments are presented using a real fixed-wing UAV. The proposed low cost solution, implemented in a microcontroller, shows a satisfactory real time performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To solve the problem that the ship's strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) alignment accuracy decreases with the increase of the nonlinear filtering state dimension under mooring conditions, a method based on Kalman filter (KF) and Adaptive scale mini-skewness single line sampling Unscented Kalman Filter (ASMUKF) hybrid filtering algorithm is proposed in this paper. Three improvements are made as the following: (1) adopt a new sampling strategy. To obtain the ASMUKF filtering algorithm, scale mini-skewness single line sampling is used to replaced the traditional symmetrical sampling method and an adaptive scale factor is adapted into the Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) to correct the real-time transformation sampling process; (2) the improved ASMUKF algorithm is combined with KF to form KF-ASMUKF hybrid filtering model; (3) the hybrid filtering model is divided into linear and nonlinear parts. The linear filtering part adopts the KF filtering model and the nonlinear filtering part adopts the ASMUKF model. Then, the calculation steps of the hybrid filtering algorithm is designed in this paper. The simulation and experimental results show that the hybrid filtering algorithm proposed has certain advantages over the traditional algorithm, and it can reduce the ship's SINS calculation amount and improve alignment accuracy under mooring conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-depth analysis and performance evaluation of sensor fusion-based estimators may be critical when performed using real-world sensor data. For this reason, simulation is widely recognized as one of the most powerful tools for algorithm benchmarking. In this paper, we present a simulation framework suitable for assessing the performance of sensor fusion-based pose estimators. The systems used for implementing the framework were magnetic/inertial measurement units (MIMUs) and a camera, although the addition of further sensing modalities is straightforward. Typical nuisance factors were also included for each sensor. The proposed simulation environment was validated using real-life sensor data employed for motion tracking. The higher mismatch between real and simulated sensors was about 5% of the measured quantity (for the camera simulation), whereas a lower correlation was found for an axis of the gyroscope (0.90). In addition, a real benchmarking example of an extended Kalman filter for pose estimation from MIMU and camera data is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hand-intensive work is strongly associated with work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WMSDs) of the hand/wrist and other upper body regions across diverse occupations, including office work, manufacturing, services, and healthcare. Addressing the prevalence of WMSDs requires reliable and practical exposure measurements. Traditional methods like electrogoniometry and optical motion capture, while reliable, are expensive and impractical for field use. In contrast, small inertial measurement units (IMUs) may provide a cost-effective, time-efficient, and user-friendly alternative for measuring hand/wrist posture during real work. This study compared six orientation algorithms for estimating wrist angles with an electrogoniometer, the current gold standard in field settings. Six participants performed five simulated hand-intensive work tasks (involving considerable wrist velocity and/or hand force) and one standardised hand movement. Three multiplicative Kalman filter algorithms with different smoothers and constraints showed the highest agreement with the goniometer. These algorithms exhibited median correlation coefficients of 0.75–0.78 for flexion/extension and 0.64 for radial/ulnar deviation across the six subjects and five tasks. They also ranked in the top three for the lowest mean absolute differences from the goniometer at the 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles of wrist flexion/extension (9.3°, 2.9°, and 7.4°, respectively). Although the results of this study are not fully acceptable for practical field use, especially for some work tasks, they indicate that IMU-based wrist angle estimation may be useful in occupational risk assessments after further improvements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Received signal strength indication (RSSI) obtained by Medium Access Control (MAC) layer is widely used in range-based and fingerprint location systems due to its low cost and low complexity. However, RSS is affected by noise signals and multi-path, and its positioning performance is not stable. In recent years, many commercial WiFi devices support the acquisition of physical layer channel state information (CSI). CSI is an index that can characterize the signal characteristics with more fine granularity than RSS. Compared with RSS, CSI can avoid the effects of multi-path and noise by analyzing the characteristics of multi-channel sub-carriers. To improve the indoor location accuracy and algorithm efficiency, this paper proposes a hybrid fingerprint location technology based on RSS and CSI. In the off-line phase, to overcome the problems of low positioning accuracy and fingerprint drift caused by signal instability, a methodology based on the Kalman filter and a Gaussian function is proposed to preprocess the RSSI value and CSI amplitude value, and the improved CSI phase is incorporated after the linear transformation. The mutation and noisy data are then effectively eliminated, and the accurate and smoother outputs of the RSSI and CSI values can be achieved. Then, the accurate hybrid fingerprint database is established after dimensionality reduction of the obtained high-dimensional data values. The weighted k-nearest neighbor (WKNN) algorithm is applied to reduce the complexity of the algorithm during the online positioning stage, and the accurate indoor positioning algorithm is accomplished. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm exhibits good performance on anti-noise ability, fusion positioning accuracy, and real-time filtering. Compared with CSI-MIMO, FIFS, and RSSI-based methods, the proposed fusion correction method has higher positioning accuracy and smaller positioning error. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An integrated navigation algorithm based on a multiple fading factors Kalman filter (MFKF) is proposed to solve the problems that the Kalman filtering (KF) algorithm easily brings about diffusion when the model becomes a mismatched or noisy, and the MFKF accuracy is reduced when the fading factor is overused. Based on the innovation covariance theory, the algorithm designs an improved basis for judging filtering anomalies and makes the timing of the introduction of the fading factor more reasonable by switching the filtering state. Different from the traditional basis of filter abnormality judgment, the improved judgment basis adopts a recursive way to continuously update the estimated value of the innovation covariance to improve the estimation accuracy of the innovation covariance, and an empirical reserve factor for the judgment basis is introduced to adapt to practical engineering applications. By establishing an inertial navigation system (INS)/global navigation satellite system (GNSS) integrated navigation model, the results show that the average positioning accuracy of the proposed algorithm is improved by 26.52% and 7.48%, respectively, compared with the KF and MFKF, and shows better robustness and self-adaptability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The long-term objective of our research is to develop a method for infrastructure-free simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) and context recognition for tactical situational awareness. Localization will be realized by propagating motion measurements obtained using a monocular camera, a foot-mounted Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), sonar, and a barometer. Due to the size and weight requirements set by tactical applications, Micro-Electro-Mechanical (MEMS) sensors will be used. However, MEMS sensors suffer from biases and drift errors that may substantially decrease the position accuracy. Therefore, sophisticated error modelling and implementation of integration algorithms are key for providing a viable result. Algorithms used for multi-sensor fusion have traditionally been different versions of Kalman filters. However, Kalman filters are based on the assumptions that the state propagation and measurement models are linear with additive Gaussian noise. Neither of the assumptions is correct for tactical applications, especially for dismounted soldiers, or rescue personnel. Therefore, error modelling and implementation of advanced fusion algorithms are essential for providing a viable result. Our approach is to use particle filtering (PF), which is a sophisticated option for integrating measurements emerging from pedestrian motion having non-Gaussian error characteristics. This paper discusses the statistical modelling of the measurement errors from inertial sensors and vision based heading and translation measurements to include the correct error probability density functions (pdf) in the particle filter implementation. Then, model fitting is used to verify the pdfs of the measurement errors. Based on the deduced error models of the measurements, particle filtering method is developed to fuse all this information, where the weights of each particle are computed based on the specific models derived. The performance of the developed method is tested via two experiments, one at a university’s premises and another in realistic tactical conditions. The results show significant improvement on the horizontal localization when the measurement errors are carefully modelled and their inclusion into the particle filtering implementation correctly realized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the advancements in micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) technologies, magnetic and inertial sensors are becoming more and more accurate, lightweight, smaller in size as well as low-cost, which in turn boosts their applications in human movement analysis. However, challenges still exist in the field of sensor orientation estimation, where magnetic disturbance represents one of the obstacles limiting their practical application. The objective of this paper is to systematically analyze exactly how magnetic disturbances affects the attitude and heading estimation for a magnetic and inertial sensor. First, we reviewed four major components dealing with magnetic disturbance, namely decoupling attitude estimation from magnetic reading, gyro bias estimation, adaptive strategies of compensating magnetic disturbance and sensor fusion algorithms. We review and analyze the features of existing methods of each component. Second, to understand each component in magnetic disturbance rejection, four representative sensor fusion methods were implemented, including gradient descent algorithms, improved explicit complementary filter, dual-linear Kalman filter and extended Kalman filter. Finally, a new standardized testing procedure has been developed to objectively assess the performance of each method against magnetic disturbance. Based upon the testing results, the strength and weakness of the existing sensor fusion methods were easily examined, and suggestions were presented for selecting a proper sensor fusion algorithm or developing new sensor fusion method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a single sensor to determine the pose estimation of a device cannot give accurate results. This paper presents a fusion of an inertial sensor of six degrees of freedom (6-DoF) which comprises the 3-axis of an accelerometer and the 3-axis of a gyroscope, and a vision to determine a low-cost and accurate position for an autonomous mobile robot. For vision, a monocular vision-based object detection algorithm speeded-up robust feature (SURF) and random sample consensus (RANSAC) algorithms were integrated and used to recognize a sample object in several images taken. As against the conventional method that depend on point-tracking, RANSAC uses an iterative method to estimate the parameters of a mathematical model from a set of captured data which contains outliers. With SURF and RANSAC, improved accuracy is certain; this is because of their ability to find interest points (features) under different viewing conditions using a Hessain matrix. This approach is proposed because of its simple implementation, low cost, and improved accuracy. With an extended Kalman filter (EKF), data from inertial sensors and a camera were fused to estimate the position and orientation of the mobile robot. All these sensors were mounted on the mobile robot to obtain an accurate localization. An indoor experiment was carried out to validate and evaluate the performance. Experimental results show that the proposed method is fast in computation, reliable and robust, and can be considered for practical applications. The performance of the experiments was verified by the ground truth data and root mean square errors (RMSEs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current trend of the civil aviation technology is to modernize the legacy air traffic control (ATC) system that is mainly supported by many ground based navigation aids to be the new air traffic management (ATM) system that is enabled by global positioning system (GPS) technology. Due to the low receiving power of GPS signal, it is a major concern to aviation authorities that the operation of the ATM system might experience service interruption when the GPS signal is jammed by either intentional or unintentional radio-frequency interference. To maintain the normal operation of the ATM system during the period of GPS outage, the use of the current radar system is proposed in this paper. However, the tracking performance of the current radar system could not meet the required performance of the ATM system, and an enhanced tracking algorithm, the interacting multiple model and probabilistic data association filter (IMMPDAF), is therefore developed to support the navigation and surveillance services of the ATM system. The conventional radar tracking algorithm, the nearest neighbor Kalman filter (NNKF), is used as the baseline to evaluate the proposed radar tracking algorithm, and the real flight data is used to validate the IMMPDAF algorithm. As shown in the results, the proposed IMMPDAF algorithm could enhance the tracking performance of the current aviation radar system and meets the required performance of the new ATM system. Thus, the current radar system with the IMMPDAF algorithm could be used as an alternative system to continue aviation navigation and surveillance services of the ATM system during GPS outage periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with networked estimation, where sensor data are transmitted over a network of limited transmission rate. The transmission rate depends on the sampling periods and the quantization bit lengths. To investigate how the sampling periods and the quantization bit lengths affect the estimation performance, an equation to compute the estimation performance is provided. An algorithm is proposed to find sampling periods and quantization bit lengths combination, which gives good estimation performance while satisfying the transmission rate constraint. Through the numerical example, the proposed algorithm is verified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel auxiliary truncated unscented Kalman filtering (ATUKF) is proposed for bearings-only maneuvering target tracking in this paper. In the proposed algorithm, to deal with arbitrary changes in motion models, a modified prior probability density function (PDF) is derived based on some auxiliary target characteristics and current measurements. Then, the modified prior PDF is approximated as a Gaussian density by using the statistical linear regression (SLR) to estimate the mean and covariance. In order to track bearings-only maneuvering target, the posterior PDF is jointly estimated based on the prior probability density function and the modified prior probability density function, and a practical algorithm is developed. Finally, compared with other nonlinear filtering approaches, the experimental results of the proposed algorithm show a significant improvement for both the univariate nonstationary growth model (UNGM) case and bearings-only target tracking case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indoor positioning has grasped great attention in recent years. A number of efforts have been exerted to achieve high positioning accuracy. However, there exists no technology that proves its efficacy in various situations. In this paper, we propose a novel positioning method based on fusing trilateration and dead reckoning. We employ Kalman filtering as a position fusion algorithm. Moreover, we adopt an Android device with Bluetooth Low Energy modules as the communication platform to avoid excessive energy consumption and to improve the stability of the received signal strength. To further improve the positioning accuracy, we take the environmental context information into account while generating the position fixes. Extensive experiments in a testbed are conducted to examine the performance of three approaches: trilateration, dead reckoning and the fusion method. Additionally, the influence of the knowledge of the environmental context is also examined. Finally, our proposed fusion method outperforms both trilateration and dead reckoning in terms of accuracy: experimental results show that the Kalman-based fusion, for our settings, achieves a positioning accuracy of less than one meter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Real-time continuous localization is a key technology in the development of intelligent transportation systems. In these systems, it is very important to have accurate information about the position and heading angle of the vehicle at all times. The most widely implemented methods for positioning are the global positioning system (GPS), vision-based system, and magnetic marker system. Among these methods, the magnetic marker system is less vulnerable to indoor and outdoor environment conditions; moreover, it requires minimal maintenance expenses. In this paper, we present a position estimation scheme based on magnetic markers and odometry sensors for an all-wheel-steering vehicle. The heading angle of the vehicle is determined by using the position coordinates of the last two detected magnetic markers and odometer data. The instant position and heading angle of the vehicle are integrated with an extended Kalman filter to estimate the continuous position. GPS data with the real-time kinematics mode was obtained to evaluate the performance of the proposed position estimation system. The test results show that the performance of the proposed localization algorithm is accurate (mean error: 3 cm; max error: 9 cm) and reliable under unexpected missing markers or incorrect markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the existing wireless indoor positioning systems, UWB (ultra-wideband) is one of the most promising solutions. However, the single UWB positioning system is affected by factors such as non-line of sight and multipath, and the navigation accuracy will decrease. In order to make up for the shortcomings of a single UWB positioning system, this paper proposes a scheme based on binocular VO (visual odometer) and UWB sensor fusion. In this paper, the original distance measurement data of UWB and the position information of binocular VO are merged by adaptive Kalman filter, and the structural design of the fusion system and the realization of the fusion algorithm are elaborated. The experimental results show that compared with a single positioning system, the proposed data fusion method can significantly improve the positioning accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides algorithms to fuse relative and absolute microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) navigation sensors, suitable for micro planetary rovers, to provide a more accurate estimation of navigation information, specifically, attitude and position. Planetary rovers have extremely slow speed (~1 cm/s) and lack conventional navigation sensors/systems, hence the general methods of terrestrial navigation may not be applicable to these applications. While relative attitude and position can be tracked in a way similar to those for ground robots, absolute navigation information is hard to achieve on a remote celestial body, like Moon or Mars, in contrast to terrestrial applications. In this study, two absolute attitude estimation algorithms were developed and compared for accuracy and robustness. The estimated absolute attitude was fused with the relative attitude sensors in a framework of nonlinear filters. The nonlinear Extended Kalman filter (EKF) and Unscented Kalman filter (UKF) were compared in pursuit of better accuracy and reliability in this nonlinear estimation problem, using only on-board low cost MEMS sensors. Experimental results confirmed the viability of the proposed algorithms and the sensor suite, for low cost and low weight micro planetary rovers. It is demonstrated that integrating the relative and absolute navigation MEMS sensors reduces the navigation errors to the desired level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present a method for finding the enhanced heading and position of pedestrians by fusing the Zero velocity UPdaTe (ZUPT)-based pedestrian dead reckoning (PDR) and the kinematic constraints of the lower human body. ZUPT is a well known algorithm for PDR, and provides a sufficiently accurate position solution for short term periods, but it cannot guarantee a stable and reliable heading because it suffers from magnetic disturbance in determining heading angles, which degrades the overall position accuracy as time passes. The basic idea of the proposed algorithm is integrating the left and right foot positions obtained by ZUPTs with the heading and position information from an IMU mounted on the waist. To integrate this information, a kinematic model of the lower human body, which is calculated by using orientation sensors mounted on both thighs and calves, is adopted. We note that the position of the left and right feet cannot be apart because of the kinematic constraints of the body, so the kinematic model generates new measurements for the waist position. The Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) on the waist data that estimates and corrects error states uses these measurements and magnetic heading measurements, which enhances the heading accuracy. The updated position information is fed into the foot mounted sensors, and reupdate processes are performed to correct the position error of each foot. The proposed update-reupdate technique consequently ensures improved observability of error states and position accuracy. Moreover, the proposed method provides all the information about the lower human body, so that it can be applied more effectively to motion tracking. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is verified via experimental results, which show that a 1.25% Return Position Error (RPE) with respect to walking distance is achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An accurate vehicle driving state observer is a necessary condition for a safe automotive electronic control system. Vehicle driving state observer is challenged by unknown measurement noise and transient disturbances caused by complex working conditions and sensor failure. For the classical adaptive unscented Kalman filter (AUKF) algorithm, transient disturbances will cause the failure of state estimation and affect the subsequent process. This paper proposes an AUKF based on a modified Sage–Husa filter and divergence calculation technique for multi-dimensional vehicle driving state observation. Based on the seven-degrees-of-freedom vehicle model and the Dugoff tire model, the proposed algorithm corrects the measurement noise by using modified Sage–Husa maximum posteriori. To reduce the influence of transient disturbance on the subsequent process, covariance matrix is updated after divergence is detected. The effectiveness of the algorithm is tested on the double lane change and Sine Wave road conditions. The robustness of the algorithm is tested under severe transient disturbance. The results demonstrate that the modified Sage–Husa UKF algorithm can accurately detect transient disturbance and effectively reduce the resulted accumulated error. Compared to classical AUKF, our algorithm significantly improves the accuracy and robustness of vehicle driving state estimation. The research in this paper provides a reference for multi-dimensional data processing under changeable vehicle driving states. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human body motion tracking is a key technique in robotics, virtual reality and other human–computer interaction fields. This paper proposes a novel simple-structure Kalman filter to improve the accuracy of human body motion tracking, named the Second EStimator of the Optimal Quaternion Kalman Filter (E2QKF). The new algorithm is the combination of the Second Estimator of the Optimal Quaternion (ESOQ-2) algorithm, the linear Kalman filter and the joint angle constraint method. In the proposed filter, the ESOQ-2 algorithm is used to produce an observation quaternion by preprocessing accelerometer and magnetometer measurements. The compensation for the accelerometer added in the ESOQ-2 algorithm is to eliminate the influence of human body motion acceleration included in the results. The state vector of the filter is the quaternion, which is calculated with gyroscope measurements, and the Kalman filter is to calculate the optimal quaternion by fusing the state quaternion and the observation quaternion. Therefore, the filter becomes a simple first-order linear system model, which avoids the linearization error of measurement equations and reduces the computational complexity. Furthermore, the joint angle constraint is considered in the proposed algorithm, which makes the results more accurate. To verify the accuracy of the proposed algorithm, inertial/magnetic sensors are used to perform the upper limb motion experiment, and the result of E2QKF (without joint angle constraint) is compared with an optical motion capture system and two traditional methods. Test results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed filter: the root mean square error (RMSE) of E2QKF is less than 2.0° and the maximum error is less than 4.6°. The result of E2QKF (with joint angle constraint) is compared with E2QKF (without joint angle constraint). Test results demonstrate the superiority of E2QKF (with joint angle constraint): the joint angle constraint method can further improve the accuracy of human body motion tracking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital broadcasting signals represent a promising positioning signal for indoors applications. A novel positioning technology named Time & Code Division-Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (TC-OFDM) is mainly discussed in this paper, which is based on China mobile multimedia broadcasting (CMMB). Signal strength is an important factor that affects the carrier loop performance of the TC-OFDM receiver. In the case of weak TC-OFDM signals, the current carrier loop algorithm has large residual carrier errors, which limit the tracking sensitivity of the existing carrier loop in complex indoor environments. This paper proposes a novel carrier loop algorithm based on Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) and Kalman Filter (KF) to solve the above problem. The discriminator of the current carrier loop is replaced by the MLE discriminator function in the proposed algorithm. The Levenberg-Marquardt (LM) algorithm is utilized to obtain the MLE cost function consisting of signal amplitude, residual carrier frequency and carrier phase, and the MLE discriminator function is derived from the corresponding MLE cost function. The KF is used to smooth the MLE discriminator function results, which takes the carrier phase estimation, the angular frequency estimation and the angular frequency rate as the state vector. Theoretical analysis and simulation results show that the proposed algorithm can improve the tracking sensitivity of the TC-OFDM receiver by taking full advantage of the characteristics of the carrier loop parameters. Compared with the current carrier loop algorithms, the tracking sensitivity is effectively improved by 2–4 dB, and the better performance of the proposed algorithm is verified in the real environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The further development of X-ray pulsar-based NAVigation (XNAV) is hindered by its lack of accuracy, so accuracy improvement has become a critical issue for XNAV. In this paper, an XNAV augmentation method which utilizes both pulsar observation and X-ray ranging observation for navigation filtering is proposed to deal with this issue. As a newly emerged concept, X-ray communication (XCOM) shows great potential in space exploration. X-ray ranging, derived from XCOM, could achieve high accuracy in range measurement, which could provide accurate information for XNAV. For the proposed method, the measurement models of pulsar observation and range measurement observation are established, and a Kalman filtering algorithm based on the observations and orbit dynamics is proposed to estimate the position and velocity of a spacecraft. A performance comparison of the proposed method with the traditional pulsar observation method is conducted by numerical experiments. Besides, the parameters that influence the performance of the proposed method, such as the pulsar observation time, the SNR of the ranging signal, etc., are analyzed and evaluated by numerical experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) that uses a probabilistic model for autonomous front-on environmental sensing or photography of a target. The system is based on low-cost and readily-available sensor systems in dynamic environments and with the general intent of improving the capabilities of dynamic waypoint-based navigation systems for a low-cost UAS. The behavioural dynamics of target movement for the design of a Kalman filter and Markov model-based prediction algorithm are included. Geometrical concepts and the Haversine formula are applied to the maximum likelihood case in order to make a prediction regarding a future state of a target, thus delivering a new waypoint for autonomous navigation. The results of the application to aerial filming with low-cost UAS are presented, achieving the desired goal of maintained front-on perspective without significant constraint to the route or pace of target movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on suppressing spectral overlap for sub-band spectral estimation, with which we can greatly decrease the computational complexity of existing spectral estimation algorithms, such as nonlinear least squares spectral analysis and non-quadratic regularized sparse representation. Firstly, our study shows that the nominal ability of the high-order analysis filter to suppress spectral overlap is greatly weakened when filtering a finite-length sequence, because many meaningless zeros are used as samples in convolution operations. Next, an extrapolation-based filtering strategy is proposed to produce a series of estimates as the substitutions of the zeros and to recover the suppression ability. Meanwhile, a steady-state Kalman predictor is applied to perform a linearly-optimal extrapolation. Finally, several typical methods for spectral analysis are applied to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clock synchronization is still a vital and challenging task for underground coal wireless internet of things (IoT) due to the uncertainty of underground environment and unreliability of communication links. Instead of considering on-demand driven clock synchronization, this paper proposes a novel Adaptive Robust Synchronization (ARS) scheme with packets loss for mine wireless environment. A clock synchronization framework that is based on Kalman filtering is first proposed, which can adaptively adjust the sampling period of each clock and reduce the communication overhead in single-hop networks. The proposed scheme also solves the problem of outliers in data packets with time-stamps. In addition, this paper extends the ARS algorithm to multi-hop networks. Additionally, the upper and lower bounds of error covariance expectation are analyzed in the case of incomplete measurement. Extensive simulations are conducted in order to evaluate the performance. In the simulation environment, the clock accuracy of ARS algorithm is improved by 7.85% when compared with previous studies for single-hop networks. For multi-hop networks, the proposed scheme improves the accuracy by 12.56%. The results show that the proposed algorithm has high scalability, robustness, and accuracy, and can quickly adapt to different clock accuracy requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fault detection and isolation are very important for the driving safety of autonomous vehicles. At present, scholars have conducted extensive research on model-based fault detection and isolation algorithms in vehicle systems, but few of them have been applied for path tracking control. This paper determines the conditions for model establishment of a single-track 3-DOF vehicle dynamics model and then performs Taylor expansion for modeling linearization. On the basis of that, a novel fault-tolerant model predictive control algorithm (FTMPC) is proposed for robust path tracking control of autonomous vehicle. First, the linear time-varying model predictive control algorithm for lateral motion control of vehicle is designed by constructing the objective function and considering the front wheel declination and dynamic constraint of tire cornering. Then, the motion state information obtained by multi-sensory perception systems of vision, GPS, and LIDAR is fused by using an improved weighted fusion algorithm based on the output error variance. A novel fault signal detection algorithm based on Kalman filtering and Chi-square detector is also designed in our work. The output of the fault signal detector is a fault detection matrix. Finally, the fault signals are isolated by multiplication of signal matrix, fault detection matrix, and weight matrix in the process of data fusion. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated with simulation experiment of lane changing path tracking control. The comparative analysis of simulation results shows that the proposed method can achieve the expected fault-tolerant performance and much better path tracking control performance in case of sensor failure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional target tracking is a process of estimating the state of a moving target using measurement information obtained by sensors. However, underwater passive acoustic target tracking will confront further challenges, among which the system incomplete observability and time delay caused by the signal propagation create a great impact on tracking performance. Passive acoustic sensors cannot accurately obtain the target range information. The introduction of Doppler frequency measurement can improve the system observability performance; signal time delay cannot be ignored in underwater environments. It varies with time, which has a continuous negative impact on the tracking accuracy. In this paper, the Gauss–Helmert model is introduced to solve this problem by expanding the unknown signal emission time as an unknown variable to the state. This model allows the existence of the previous state and current state at the same time, while handling the implicit equations. To improve the algorithm accuracy, this paper further takes advantage of the estimated state and covariance for the second stage iteration and propose the Gauss–Helmert iterated Unscented Kalman filter under a three-dimensional environment. The simulation shows that the proposed method in this paper shows superior estimation accuracy and more stable performance compared with other filtering algorithms in underwater environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microsoft Kinect, a low-cost motion capture device, has huge potential in applications that require machine vision, such as human-robot interactions, home-based rehabilitation and clinical assessments. The Kinect sensor can track 25 key three-dimensional (3D) "skeleton" joints on the human body at 30 frames per second, and the skeleton data often have acceptable accuracy. However, the skeleton data obtained from the sensor sometimes exhibit a high level of jitter due to noise and estimation error. This jitter is worse when there is occlusion or a subject moves slightly out of the field of view of the sensor for a short period of time. Therefore, this paper proposed a novel approach to simultaneously handle the noise and error in the skeleton data derived from Kinect. Initially, we adopted classification processing to divide the skeleton data into noise data and erroneous data. Furthermore, we used a Kalman filter to smooth the noise data and correct erroneous data. We performed an occlusion experiment to prove the effectiveness of our algorithm. The proposed method outperforms existing techniques, such as the moving mean filter and traditional Kalman filter. The experimental results show an improvement of accuracy of at least 58.7%, 47.5% and 22.5% compared to the original Kinect data, moving mean filter and traditional Kalman filter, respectively. Our method provides a new perspective for Kinect data processing and a solid data foundation for subsequent research that utilizes Kinect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of intelligent IoT applications, vast amounts of data are generated by various volume sensors. These sensor data need to be reduced at the sensor and then reconstructed later to save bandwidth and energy. As the reduced data increase, the reconstructed data become less accurate. Usually, the trade-off between reduction rate and reconstruction accuracy is controlled by the reduction threshold, which is calculated by experiments based on historical data. Considering the dynamic nature of IoT, a fixed threshold cannot balance the reduction rate with the reconstruction accuracy adaptively. Aiming to dynamically balance the reduction rate with the reconstruction accuracy, an autonomous IoT data reduction method based on an adaptive threshold is proposed. During data reduction, concept drift detection is performed to capture IoT dynamic changes and trigger threshold adjustment. During data reconstruction, a data trend is added to improve reconstruction accuracy. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparing the proposed method with the basic Kalman filtering algorithm, LMS algorithm, and PIP algorithm on stationary and nonstationary datasets. Compared with not applying the adaptive threshold, on average, there is an 11.7% improvement in accuracy for the same reduction rate or a 17.3% improvement in reduction rate for the same accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a sensor fusion strategy applied for Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) in dynamic environments. The designed approach consists of two features: (i) the first one is a fusion module which synthesizes line segments obtained from laser rangefinder and line features extracted from monocular camera. This policy eliminates any pseudo segments that appear from any momentary pause of dynamic objects in laser data. (ii) The second characteristic is a modified multi-sensor point estimation fusion SLAM (MPEF-SLAM) that incorporates two individual Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) based SLAM algorithms: monocular and laser SLAM. The error of the localization in fused SLAM is reduced compared with those of individual SLAM. Additionally, a new data association technique based on the homography transformation matrix is developed for monocular SLAM. This data association method relaxes the pleonastic computation. The experimental results validate the performance of the proposed sensor fusion and data association method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In pedestrian navigation systems, the position of a pedestrian is computed using an inertial navigation algorithm. In the algorithm, the zero velocity updating plays an important role, where zero velocity intervals are detected and the velocity error is reset. To use the zero velocity updating, it is necessary to detect zero velocity intervals reliably. A new zero detection algorithm is proposed in the paper, where only one gyroscope value is used. A Markov model is constructed using segmentation of gyroscope outputs instead of using gyroscope outputs directly, which makes the zero velocity detection more reliable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a two stage algorithm for real-time estimation of instantaneous tremor parameters from gyroscope recordings. Gyroscopes possess the advantage of providing directly joint rotational speed, overcoming the limitations of traditional tremor recording based on accelerometers. The proposed algorithm first extracts tremor patterns from raw angular data, and afterwards estimates its instantaneous amplitude and frequency. Real-time separation of voluntary and tremorous motion relies on their different frequency contents, whereas tremor modelling is based on an adaptive LMS algorithm and a Kalman filter. Tremor parameters will be employed to drive a neuroprosthesis for tremor suppression based on biomechanical loading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a comparison of training algorithms of radial basis function (RBF) neural networks for classification purposes. RBF networks provide effective solutions in many science and engineering fields. They are especially popular in the pattern classification and signal processing areas. Several algorithms have been proposed for training RBF networks. The Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm is a new, very simple and robust population based optimization algorithm that is inspired by the intelligent behavior of honey bee swarms. The training performance of the ABC algorithm is compared with the Genetic algorithm, Kalman filtering algorithm and gradient descent algorithm. In the experiments, not only well known classification problems from the UCI repository such as the Iris, Wine and Glass datasets have been used, but also an experimental setup is designed and inertial sensor based terrain classification for autonomous ground vehicles was also achieved. Experimental results show that the use of the ABC algorithm results in better learning than those of others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the performance of an integrity monitoring algorithm of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) for the Kalman filter (KF), termed KF receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM). The algorithm checks measurement inconsistencies in the range domain and requires Schmidt KF (SKF) as the navigation processor. First, realistic carrier-smoothed pseudorange measurement error models of GNSS are integrated into KF RAIM, overcoming an important limitation of prior work. More precisely, the error covariance matrix for fault detection is modified to capture the temporal variations of individual errors with different time constants. Uncertainties of the model parameters are also taken into account. Performance of the modified KF RAIM is then analyzed with the simulated signals of the global positioning system and navigation with Indian constellation for different phases of aircraft flight. Weighted least squares (WLS) RAIM used for comparison purposes is shown to have lower protection levels. This work, however, is important because KF-based integrity monitors are required to ensure the reliability of advanced navigation methods, such as multi-sensor integration and vector receivers. A key finding of the performance analyses is as follows. Innovation-based tests with an extended KF navigation processor confuse slow ramp faults with residual measurement errors that the filter estimates, leading to missed detection. RAIM with SKF, on the other hand, can successfully detect such faults. Thus, it offers a promising solution to developing KF integrity monitoring algorithms in the range domain. The modified KF RAIM completes processing in time on a low-end computer. Some salient features are also studied to gain insights into its working principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a method for states, parameters, and fractional order estimation is presented. The proposed method is an extension of the traditional dual estimation method and uses three blocks of filters with appropriate data interconnections. As the main part of the estimation algorithm, the Fractional Unscented Kalman Filter was used. The proposed Triple Estimation algorithm might be treated as a convenient tool for estimation and analysis of a wide range of dynamical systems with fractional constants or variable order nature, especially when knowledge about the identified system is very restricted and both order and system parameters are unknown. In order to show the performance of the proposed algorithm, sets of numerical results are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ever-burgeoning growth of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has demonstrated a promising platform for utilization in real-world applications. In particular, a UAV equipped with a vision system could be leveraged for surveillance applications. This paper proposes a learning-based UAV system for achieving autonomous surveillance, in which the UAV can be of assistance in autonomously detecting, tracking, and following a target object without human intervention. Specifically, we adopted the YOLOv4-Tiny algorithm for semantic object detection and then consolidated it with a 3D object pose estimation method and Kalman filter to enhance the perception performance. In addition, UAV path planning for a surveillance maneuver is integrated to complete the fully autonomous system. The perception module is assessed on a quadrotor UAV, while the whole system is validated through flight experiments. The experiment results verified the robustness, effectiveness, and reliability of the autonomous object tracking UAV system in performing surveillance tasks. The source code is released to the research community for future reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Event-based vision sensors show great promise for use in embedded applications requiring low-latency passive sensing at a low computational cost. In this paper, we present an event-based algorithm that relies on an Extended Kalman Filter for 6-Degree of Freedom sensor pose estimation. The algorithm updates the sensor pose event-by-event with low latency (worst case of less than 2 μs on an FPGA). Using a single handheld sensor, we test the algorithm on multiple recordings, ranging from a high contrast printed planar scene to a more natural scene consisting of objects viewed from above. The pose is accurately estimated under rapid motions, up to 2.7 m/s. Thereafter, an extension to multiple sensors is described and tested, highlighting the improved performance of such a setup, as well as the integration with an off-the-shelf mapping algorithm to allow point cloud updates with a 3D scene and enhance the potential applications of this visual odometry solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]