Simplifying Physical Realization of Gaussian Particle Filters with Block-Level Pipeline Control

Abstract

We present an efficient physical realization method of particle filters for real-time tracking applications. The methodology is based on block-level pipelining where data transfer between processing blocks is effectively controlled by autonomous distributed controllers. Block-level pipelining maintains inherent operational concurrency within the algorithm for high-throughput execution. The proposed use of controllers, via parameters reconfiguration, greatly simplifies the overall controller structure, and alleviates potential speed bottlenecks that may arise due to complexity of the controller. A Gaussian particle filter for bearings-only tracking problem is realized based on the presented methodology. For demonstration, individual coarse grain processing blocks comprising particle filters are synthesized using commercial FPGA. From the execution characteristics obtained from the implementation, the overall controller structure is derived according to the methodology and its temporal correctness verified using Verilog and SystemC.