A Kalman Filter Algorithm with Process Noise Covariance Update

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Gola, Krishan Kumar, Sen, Shaunak
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Gola, Krishan Kumar
Sen, Shaunak
author_facet Gola, Krishan Kumar
Sen, Shaunak
contents Stochastic models in biomolecular contexts can have a state-dependent process noise covariance. The choice of the process noise covariance is an important parameter in the design of a Kalman Filter for state estimation and the theoretical guarantees of updating the process noise covariance as the state estimate changes are unclear. Here we investigated this issue using the Minimum Mean Square Error estimator framework and an interpretation of the Kalman Filter as minimizing a weighted least squares cost using Newton's method. We found that a Kalman Filter-like algorithm with a process noise covariance update is the best linear unbiased estimator for a class of systems with linear process dynamics and a square root-dependence of the process noise covariance on the state. We proved the result for discrete-time system dynamics and then extended it to continuous-time dynamics using a limiting procedure. For nonlinear dynamics with a general dependence of process noise covariance on the state, we showed that this algorithm minimizes a quadratic approximation to a least squares cost weighted by the noise covariance. The algorithm is illustrated with an example.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_00905
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Kalman Filter Algorithm with Process Noise Covariance Update
Gola, Krishan Kumar
Sen, Shaunak
Systems and Control
Stochastic models in biomolecular contexts can have a state-dependent process noise covariance. The choice of the process noise covariance is an important parameter in the design of a Kalman Filter for state estimation and the theoretical guarantees of updating the process noise covariance as the state estimate changes are unclear. Here we investigated this issue using the Minimum Mean Square Error estimator framework and an interpretation of the Kalman Filter as minimizing a weighted least squares cost using Newton's method. We found that a Kalman Filter-like algorithm with a process noise covariance update is the best linear unbiased estimator for a class of systems with linear process dynamics and a square root-dependence of the process noise covariance on the state. We proved the result for discrete-time system dynamics and then extended it to continuous-time dynamics using a limiting procedure. For nonlinear dynamics with a general dependence of process noise covariance on the state, we showed that this algorithm minimizes a quadratic approximation to a least squares cost weighted by the noise covariance. The algorithm is illustrated with an example.
title A Kalman Filter Algorithm with Process Noise Covariance Update
topic Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.00905