Distributed Expectation Propagation for Multi-Object Tracking over Sensor Networks

Qing Li; Runze Gan; James R. Hopgood; Michael E. Davies; Simon J. Godsill

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arXiv · 2505.18795

Distributed Expectation Propagation for Multi-Object Tracking over Sensor Networks

Qing Li·Runze Gan·James R. Hopgood·Michael E. Davies·Simon J. Godsill

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Abstract

In this paper, we present a novel distributed expectation propagation algorithm for multiple sensors, multiple objects tracking in cluttered environments. The proposed framework enables each sensor to operate locally while collaboratively exchanging moment estimates with other sensors, thus eliminating the need to transmit all data to a central processing node. Specifically, we introduce a fast and parallelisable Rao-Blackwellised Gibbs sampling scheme to approximate the tilted distributions, which enhances the accuracy and efficiency of expectation propagation updates. Results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm improves both communication and inference efficiency for multi-object tracking tasks with dynamic sensor connectivity and varying clutter levels.

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Qing Li, Runze Gan, James R. Hopgood, Michael E. Davies, Simon J. Godsill. 2025-05-24. Distributed Expectation Propagation for Multi-Object Tracking over Sensor Networks. https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.18795

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