Searching and Localizing a Radio Target by an Unmanned Flying Vehicle Using Bootstrap Filtering

Abstract

In this article, an algorithm has been developed to search and localize a radio target in a marine area. This algorithm consists of two main parts, estimation and guidance. In the estimation part, bootstrap filtering has been employed to extract the target states from measurements. Although, by utilizing bootstrap filter, the target states can be estimated without requiring special maneuvers, exploiting proper guidance law to maximize the information gain can significantly enhance the localization performance. For evaluating the developed algorithm, an accurate simulation software with six degrees of freedom mathematical model including autopilot is used. Obtained statistical results from different simulation runs for both stationary and moving targets are presented to demonstrate the performance of the developed algorithm.