Simultaneous Estimation and Modeling of State-Space Systems Using Multi-Gaussian Belief Fusion

This work describes a framework for simultaneous estimation and modeling (SEAM) of dynamic systems using non-Gaussian belief fusion by first presenting the relevant fundamental formulations, then building upon these formulations incrementally towards a more general and ubiquitous framework. Multi-Gaussian belief fusion (MBF) is introduced as a natural and effective method of fusing non-Gaussian probability distribution functions (PDFs) in arbitrary dimensions efficiently and with no loss of accuracy. Construction of some multi-Gaussian structures for potential use in MBF is addressed. Furthermore, recursive Bayesian estimation (RBE) is developed for linearized systems with uncertainty in model parameters, and a rudimentary motion model correction stage is introduced. A subsequent improvement to motion model correction for arbitrarily non-Gaussian belief is developed, followed by application to observation models. Finally, SEAM is generalized to fully nonlinear and non-Gaussian systems. Several parametric studies were performed on simulated experiments in order to assess the various dependencies of the SEAM framework and validate its effectiveness in both estimation and modeling. The results of these studies show that SEAM is capable of improving estimation when uncertainty is present in motion and observation models as compared to existing methods. Furthermore, uncertainty in model parameters is consistently reduced as these parameters are updated throughout the estimation process. SEAM and its constituents have potential uses in robotics, target tracking and localization, state estimation, and more.