Franz Hlawatsch

Bernhard Etzlinger, Florian Meyer, Franz Hlawatsch et al.

Cooperative localization in agent networks based on interagent time-of-flight measurements is closely related to synchronization. To leverage this relation, we propose a Bayesian factor graph framework for cooperative simultaneous localization and synchronization (CoSLAS). This framework is suited to mobile agents and time-varying local clock parameters. Building on the CoSLAS factor graph, we develop a distributed (decentralized) belief propagation algorithm for CoSLAS in the practically important case of an affine clock model and asymmetric time stamping. Our algorithm allows for real-time operation and is suitable for a time-varying network connectivity. To achieve high accuracy at reduced complexity and communication cost, the algorithm combines particle implementations with parametric message representations and takes advantage of a conditional independence property. Simulation results demonstrate the good performance of the proposed algorithm in a challenging scenario with time-varying network connectivity.

Burak Çakmak, Daniel N. Urup, Florian Meyer et al.

We propose a hybrid message passing method for distributed cooperative localization and tracking of mobile agents. Belief propagation and mean field message passing are employed for, respectively, the motion-related and measurement-related part of the factor graph. Using a Gaussian belief approximation, only three real values per message passing iteration have to be broadcast to neighboring agents. Despite these very low communication requirements, the estimation accuracy can be comparable to that of particle-based belief propagation.

Tiancheng Li, Franz Hlawatsch

We propose a particle-based distributed PHD filter for tracking an unknown, time-varying number of targets. To reduce communication, the local PHD filters at neighboring sensors communicate Gaussian mixture (GM) parameters. In contrast to most existing distributed PHD filters, our filter employs an `arithmetic average' fusion. For particles--GM conversion, we use a method that avoids particle clustering and enables a significance-based pruning of the GM components. For GM--particles conversion, we develop an importance sampling based method that enables a parallelization of filtering and dissemination/fusion operations. The proposed distributed particle-PHD filter is able to integrate GM-based local PHD filters. Simulations demonstrate the excellent performance and small communication and computation requirements of our filter.

Erik Leitinger, Florian Meyer, Franz Hlawatsch et al.

We present a simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) algorithm that is based on radio signals and the association of specular multipath components (MPCs) with geometric features. Especially in indoor scenarios, robust localization from radio signals is challenging due to diffuse multipath propagation, unknown MPC-feature association, and limited visibility of features. In our approach, specular reflections at flat surfaces are described in terms of virtual anchors (VAs) that are mirror images of the physical anchors (PAs). The positions of these VAs and possibly also of the PAs are unknown. We develop a Bayesian model of the SLAM problem and represent it by a factor graph, which enables the use of belief propagation (BP) for efficient marginalization of the joint posterior distribution. The resulting BP-based SLAM algorithm detects the VAs associated with the PAs and estimates jointly the time-varying position of the mobile agent and the positions of the VAs and possibly also of the PAs, thereby leveraging the MPCs in the radio signal for improved accuracy and robustness of agent localization. The algorithm has a low computational complexity and scales well in all relevant system parameters. Experimental results using both synthetic measurements and real ultra-wideband radio signals demonstrate the excellent performance of the algorithm in challenging indoor environments.

Florian Meyer, Henk Wymeersch, Markus Fröhle et al.

We introduce a distributed, cooperative framework and method for Bayesian estimation and control in decentralized agent networks. Our framework combines joint estimation of time-varying global and local states with information-seeking control optimizing the behavior of the agents. It is suited to nonlinear and non-Gaussian problems and, in particular, to location-aware networks. For cooperative estimation, a combination of belief propagation message passing and consensus is used. For cooperative control, the negative posterior joint entropy of all states is maximized via a gradient ascent. The estimation layer provides the control layer with probabilistic information in the form of sample representations of probability distributions. Simulation results demonstrate intelligent behavior of the agents and excellent estimation performance for a simultaneous self-localization and target tracking problem. In a cooperative localization scenario with only one anchor, mobile agents can localize themselves after a short time with an accuracy that is higher than the accuracy of the performed distance measurements.

Alexander Jung, Reinhard Heckel, Helmut Bölcskei et al.

We propose a method for inferring the conditional indepen- dence graph (CIG) of a high-dimensional discrete-time Gaus- sian vector random process from finite-length observations. Our approach does not rely on a parametric model (such as, e.g., an autoregressive model) for the vector random process; rather, it only assumes certain spectral smoothness proper- ties. The proposed inference scheme is compressive in that it works for sample sizes that are (much) smaller than the number of scalar process components. We provide analytical conditions for our method to correctly identify the CIG with high probability.

Florian Meyer, Ondrej Hlinka, Franz Hlawatsch

The sigma point (SP) filter, also known as unscented Kalman filter, is an attractive alternative to the extended Kalman filter and the particle filter. Here, we extend the SP filter to nonsequential Bayesian inference corresponding to loopy factor graphs. We propose sigma point belief propagation (SPBP) as a low-complexity approximation of the belief propagation (BP) message passing scheme. SPBP achieves approximate marginalizations of posterior distributions corresponding to (generally) loopy factor graphs. It is well suited for decentralized inference because of its low communication requirements. For a decentralized, dynamic sensor localization problem, we demonstrate that SPBP can outperform nonparametric (particle-based) BP while requiring significantly less computations and communications.