Dynamic belief networks for discrete monitoring

We describe the development of a monitoring system which uses sensor observation data about discrete events to construct dynamically a probabilistic model of the world. This model is a Bayesian network incorporating temporal aspects, which we call a dynamic belief network; it is used to reason under uncertainty about both the causes and consequences of the events being monitored. The basic dynamic construction of the network is data-driven. However the model construction process combines sensor data about events with externally provided information about agents' behavior, and knowledge already contained within the model, to control the size and complexity of the network. This means that both the network structure within a time interval, and the amount of history and detail maintained, can vary over time. We illustrate the system with the example domain of monitoring robot vehicles and people in a restricted dynamic environment using light-beam sensor data. In addition to presenting a generic network structure for monitoring domains, we describe the use of more complex network structures which address two specific monitoring problems, sensor validation and the data association problem.<
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