Classification-Aided Robust Multiple Target Tracking Using Neural
  Enhanced Message Passing
Xianglong Bai Zengfu Wang Quan Pan Tao Yun Hua Lan
We address the challenge of tracking an unknown number of targets in strong
clutter environments using measurements from a radar sensor. Leveraging the
range-Doppler spectra information, we identify the measurement classes, which
serve as additional information to enhance clutter rejection and data
association, thus bolstering the robustness of target tracking. We first
introduce a novel neural enhanced message passing approach, where the beliefs
obtained by the unified message passing are fed into the neural network as
additional information. The output beliefs are then utilized to refine the
original beliefs. Then, we propose a classification-aided robust multiple
target tracking algorithm, employing the neural enhanced message passing
technique. This algorithm is comprised of three modules: a message-passing
module, a neural network module, and a Dempster-Shafer module. The
message-passing module is used to represent the statistical model by the factor
graph and infers target kinematic states, visibility states, and data
associations based on the spatial measurement information. The neural network
module is employed to extract features from range-Doppler spectra and derive
beliefs on whether a measurement is target-generated or clutter-generated. The
Dempster-Shafer module is used to fuse the beliefs obtained from both the
factor graph and the neural network. As a result, our proposed algorithm adopts
a model-and-data-driven framework, effectively enhancing clutter suppression
and data association, leading to significant improvements in multiple target
tracking performance. We validate the effectiveness of our approach using both
simulated and real data scenarios, demonstrating its capability to handle
challenging tracking scenarios in practical radar applications.