Algorithms for tracking with an array of magnetic sensors

Abstract

We consider the problem of tracking a magnetic target as it travels in a straight-line path in the vicinity of N magnetic sensors. The target is modeled as a magnetic dipole, and we study tracking algorithms when the sensors are total-field (scalar) magnetometers and vector magnetometers. A novel, computationally-efficient vector-field algorithm is presented that jointly processes the data from N sensors, yielding estimates of the track and the target dipole moment vector. Simulation examples are included to illustrate the performance of the total-field and vector algorithms.