Target tracking algorithm in radar reference coordinates using full‐coupled filters

The prediction accuracy and the computation time of the tracking filter depend on the coordinate system in which the tracking algorithm is constructed. For instance, when the tracking filter is processed in a static orthogonal coordinate system, accurate prediction performance can be demonstrated from the accuracy of the target dynamic model. However, the amount of computation needed for algorithm realization becomes enormous. On the other hand, in the case of the radar reference coordinate system, the coordinate transformation can be omitted and the process becomes simpler, but the prediction performance becomes degraded due to the effect of rotation of the coordinate axis. To resolve the problems of prediction accuracy and computational load, this paper makes use of a radar reference coordinate system in which the computational load is light and proposes a tracking method that yields high prediction tracking accuracy. This method compensates the rotation of the coordinate axis, which is a problem in the radar reference coordinate system, by adjusting the prediction process in the range and angular filters. To evaluate the effectiveness of the present algorithm, computer simulations are carried out. It is found that the prediction accuracy is twice that of the conventional method if the effect of rotation of the coordinate axis is not taken into account and that the computation time is half that for the conventional method in the static orthogonal coordinate system. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electron Comm Japn Pt 1, 80(7): 90–98, 1997