Multi-Sensor Network Information for Linear-Gaussian Multi-Target Tracking Systems

Methods for information-theoretic control for networks of sensors are of interest for enabling the development of autonomous sensor systems. In this paper we revisit the fundamentals of information theoretic-based control for multi-target systems and present a systematic approach for determining information-theoretic situational awareness based on mutual information for point processes. The extension to multi-sensor systems is developed using the concept of a broadcast channel from information theory. Analytic results are presented for linear-Gaussian systems which enable low complexity solutions for determining information from multiple sensors andwe consider a large number of potential sensor configurations. We consider extensions of single-target methods to multi-target scenarios and present results in simulations.