Optimal Resource Allocation for Asynchronous Multiple Targets Tracking in Heterogeneous Radar Networks

In this paper, two optimal resource allocation schemes are developed for asynchronous multiple targets tracking (MTT) in heterogeneous radar networks. The key idea of heterogeneous resource allocation (HRA) schemes is to coordinate the heterogeneous transmit resource (transmit power, dwell time, etc.) of different types of radars to achieve a better resource utilization efficiency. We use the Bayesian Cramér-Rao lower bound (BCRLB) as a metric function to quantify the target tracking performance and build the following two HRA schemes: For a given system resource budget: (1) Minimize the total resource consumption for the given BCRLB requirements on multiple targets and (2) maximize the overall MTT accuracy. Instead of updating the state of each target recursively at different measurement arrival times, we combine multiple asynchronous measurements into a single composite measurement and use it as an input of the tracking filter for state estimation. In such a case, target tracking BCRLB no longer needs to be recursively calculated, and thus, we can formulate the HRA schemes as two convex optimization problems. We subsequently design two efficient methods to solve these problems by exploring their unique structures. Simulation results demonstrate that the HRA processes can either provide a smaller overall MTT BCRLB for given resource budgets or require fewer resources to establish the same tracking performance for multiple targets.