A Robust GPS Navigation Filter Based on Maximum Correntropy Criterion with Adaptive Kernel Bandwidth

Sensors (Basel). 2023 Nov 24;23(23):9386. doi: 10.3390/s23239386.

Abstract

Multiple forms of interference and noise that impact the receiver's capacity to receive and interpret satellite signals, and consequently the preciseness of positioning and navigation, may be present during the processing of Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation. The non-Gaussian noise predominates in the signal owing to the fluctuating character of both natural and artificial electromagnetic interference, and the algorithm based on the minimum mean-square error (MMSE) criterion performs well when assuming Gaussian noise, but drops when assuming non-Gaussian noise. The maximum correntropy criteria (MCC) adaptive filtering technique efficiently reduces pulse noise and has adequate performance in heavy-tailed noise, which addresses the issue of filter performance caused by the presence of non-Gaussian or heavy-tailed unusual noise values in the localizing measurement noise. The adaptive kernel bandwidth (AKB) technique employed in this paper applies the calculated adaptive variables to generate the kernel function matrix, in which the adaptive factor can modify the size of the kernel width across a reasonably appropriate spectrum, substituting the fixed kernel width for the conventional MCC to enhance the performance. The conventional maximum correntropy criterion-based extended Kalman filter (MCCEKF) algorithm's performance is significantly impacted by the value of the kernel width, and there are certain predetermined conditions in the selection based on experience. The MCCEKF with a fixed adaptive kernel bandwidth (MCCEKF-AKB) has several advantages due to its novel concept and computational simplicity, and gives a qualitative solution for the study of random structures for generalized noise. Additionally, it can effectively achieve the robust state estimation of outliers with anomalous values while guaranteeing the accuracy of the filtering.

Keywords: GPS; Gaussian noise; adaptive kernel bandwidth; extended Kalman filter; heavy-tailed noise; maximum correntropy criterion.