Epipolar Multitarget Velocity Probability Data Association Algorithm Based on the Movement Characteristics of Blasting Fragments

Fragments generated from the blast-fragmentation warhead after blasting are typically multiple, fast, small, and dense. In light of the epipolar multitarget feature of blasting fragments, this paper utilizes the movement characteristics of blasting fragments for modeling. Then, the modeling results are adopted in probabilistic data association (PDA) algorithm of multitarget tracking. A novel epipolar multitarget velocity PDA (VPDA) algorithm is proposed based on the movement characteristics of blasting fragments. This algorithm forms the movement characteristics with the finite element simulation results of warhead blasting fragments, utilizes the Doppler velocity probability to reassign the association probability, and updates the state and covariance of each target through the probability weighted fusion. Simulation results demonstrate that, the computational complexity of the proposed algorithm is close to that of PDA algorithm, and the association success rate and the state value update error approximates to the association effects of joint probabilistic data association (JPDA) algorithm, which can effectively track the fragments with identical velocity while reducing the complexity of the epipolar multitarget tracking algorithm, and can respond to the group target tracking scenario.