Track Segment Association for GMTI Tracks of Evasive Move-Stop-Move Maneuvering Targets

In a real tracking system, track breakages (TBs) can occur due to highly maneuvering targets, low detection probability, or clutter. In [27], a track segment association (TSA) approach was developed for an airborne early warning (AEW) system to improve track continuity by "stitching" broken track segments pertaining to the same target. However, this technique cannot provide satisfactory association performance in tracking with a ground moving target indicator (GMTI) radar ground moving targets employing evasive move-stop-move maneuvers. To avoid detection by a GMTI radar, targets can deliberately stop for some time before moving again. Since a GMTI radar does not detect a target when the radial velocity (along the line-of-sight from the sensor) falls below a certain minimum detectable velocity (MDV), the move-stop-move maneuvers of the targets usually lead to broken tracks as a result. We present a new TSA technique which employs a dummy track to formulate a complete association. By using an interacting multiple model (IMM) estimator with state-dependent mode transition probabilities (IMM-SDP) for track segment prediction (forward and backward), the proposed algorithm can effectively stitch both "regular" broken tracks and broken tracks due to targets' move-stop-move maneuvers. Comparisons are given to show the advantages of the proposed algorithm in broken tracks reduction and track continuity improvement.