Virtual Target Trajectory Prediction for Stochastic Targets

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Schneider, Marc, Loureiro, Renato, Cunis, Torbjørn, Fichter, Walter
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866917152774160384
author Schneider, Marc
Loureiro, Renato
Cunis, Torbjørn
Fichter, Walter
author_facet Schneider, Marc
Loureiro, Renato
Cunis, Torbjørn
Fichter, Walter
contents Trajectory prediction of aerial vehicles is a key requirement in applications ranging from missile guidance to UAV collision avoidance. While most prediction methods assume deterministic target motion, real-world targets often exhibit stochastic behaviors such as evasive maneuvers or random gliding patterns. This paper introduces a probabilistic framework based on Conditional Normalizing Flows (CNFs) to model and predict such stochastic dynamics directly from trajectory data. The learned model generates probability distributions of future target positions conditioned on initial states and dynamic parameters, enabling efficient sampling and exact density evaluation. To provide deterministic surrogates compatible with existing guidance and planning algorithms, sampled trajectories are clustered using a time series k-means approach, yielding a set of representative "virtual target" trajectories. The method is target-agnostic, computationally efficient, and requires only trajectory data for training, making it suitable as a drop-in replacement for deterministic predictors. Simulated scenarios with maneuvering and ballistic targets demonstrate that the proposed approach bridges the gap between deterministic assumptions and stochastic reality, advancing guidance and control algorithms for autonomous vehicles.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_01851
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Virtual Target Trajectory Prediction for Stochastic Targets
Schneider, Marc
Loureiro, Renato
Cunis, Torbjørn
Fichter, Walter
Robotics
Systems and Control
Trajectory prediction of aerial vehicles is a key requirement in applications ranging from missile guidance to UAV collision avoidance. While most prediction methods assume deterministic target motion, real-world targets often exhibit stochastic behaviors such as evasive maneuvers or random gliding patterns. This paper introduces a probabilistic framework based on Conditional Normalizing Flows (CNFs) to model and predict such stochastic dynamics directly from trajectory data. The learned model generates probability distributions of future target positions conditioned on initial states and dynamic parameters, enabling efficient sampling and exact density evaluation. To provide deterministic surrogates compatible with existing guidance and planning algorithms, sampled trajectories are clustered using a time series k-means approach, yielding a set of representative "virtual target" trajectories. The method is target-agnostic, computationally efficient, and requires only trajectory data for training, making it suitable as a drop-in replacement for deterministic predictors. Simulated scenarios with maneuvering and ballistic targets demonstrate that the proposed approach bridges the gap between deterministic assumptions and stochastic reality, advancing guidance and control algorithms for autonomous vehicles.
title Virtual Target Trajectory Prediction for Stochastic Targets
topic Robotics
Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.01851