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Design of an Adaptive Kalman Filter for Autonomous Vehicle Object Tracking

Tracking objects in the surrounding environment is a key component of safe navigation for autonomous vehicles. An accurate tracking algorithm is required following object identification and association. This thesis presents the design and implementation of an adaptive Kalman filter for tracking objects commonly observed by autonomous vehicles. The design results from an evaluation of motion models, noise assumptions, fast error convergence methods, and methods to adaptively compensate for unexpected object motion. Guidelines are provided on these topics. Evaluation is performed through Monte Carlo simulation and with real data from the KITTI autonomous vehicle benchmark. The adaptive Kalman filter designed is shown to be capable of accurately tracking both typical and harsh object motions. / Master of Science / Tracking surrounding objects is a key challenge for autonomous vehicles. After the type of object is identified, and it is associated as either a newly or previously observed object, it is useful to develop a mathematical model of where it may go next. The Kalman filter is an algorithm capable of being employed for this purpose. This thesis presents the design of a Kalman filter tuned for tracking objects commonly observed by autonomous vehicles and augmented to handle object motion exceeding its base design. The design results from an evaluation of relevant mathematical models of an object's motion, methods to quickly reduce the error of the filter's estimate, and methods to monitor the filter's performance to see if it is operating outside of normal bounds. Evaluation is performed through simulation and with real data from the KITTI autonomous vehicle benchmark. The adaptive Kalman filter designed is shown to be capable of accurately tracking both typical and harsh object motions.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/111789
Date09 September 2022
CreatorsRhodes, Tyler Christian
ContributorsMechanical Engineering, Southward, Steve C., Wicks, Alfred L., Leonessa, Alexander
PublisherVirginia Tech
Source SetsVirginia Tech Theses and Dissertation
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeThesis
FormatETD, application/pdf
RightsIn Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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