eXogenous Kalman Filter (XKF) for Visualization and Motion Prediction of Ships using Live Automatic Identification System (AIS) Data

This paper addresses the problem of ship motion estimation using live data from Automatic Identification Systems (AIS). A globally exponentially stable observer for visualization and motion prediction of ships has been designed. Instead of using the extended Kalman filter (EKF) to deal with the kinematic nonlinearities the eXogenous Kalman Filter (XKF) is applied and by this global stability properties are proven. The proposed observer was validated using live AIS data from the Trondheim harbor in Norway and it was demonstrated that the observer tracks ships in real time. It was also demonstrated that the observer can predict the future motion of ships. The motion prediction capabilities are very useful for decision-support systems since this can be used to improve situational awareness e.g. for manned and unmanned autonomous ships that operate in common waters