Networked distributed fusion estimation under uncertain outputs with random transmission delays, packet losses and multi-packet processing

Abstract This paper investigates the distributed fusion estimation problem for networked systems whose multisensor measured outputs involve uncertainties modelled by random parameter matrices. Each sensor transmits its measured outputs to a local processor over different communication channels and random failures –one-step delays and packet dropouts– are assumed to occur during the transmission. White sequences of Bernoulli random variables with different probabilities are introduced to describe the observations that are used to update the estimators at each sampling time. Due to the transmission failures, each local processor may receive either one or two data packets, or even nothing and, when the current measurement does not arrive on time, its predictor is used in the design of the estimators to compensate the lack of updated information. By using an innovation approach, local least-squares linear estimators (filter and fixed-point smoother) are obtained at the individual local processors, without requiring the signal evolution model. From these local estimators, distributed fusion filtering and smoothing estimators weighted by matrices are obtained in a unified way, by applying the least-squares criterion. A simulation study is presented to examine the performance of the estimators and the influence that both sensor uncertainties and transmission failures have on the estimation accuracy.