Sensor staggering in multi-sensor target tracking systems

For a multi-sensor target tracking system in a cluttered environment, the effects of temporally staggered sensors on system performance are investigated and compared with those of synchronous sensors. A probabilistic data association filter (PDAF) is used to track the target. Measurements from local sensors are fused in a centralized manner for the system with synchronous sensors. The system performances are compared both in terms of track life and in-track percentage. For a wide variety of scenarios, simulation results show the superiority of temporally staggered sensors over synchronous sensors.