Skip to main content
Log in

On sequential Monte Carlo sampling methods for Bayesian filtering

  • Published:
Statistics and Computing Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this article, we present an overview of methods for sequential simulation from posterior distributions. These methods are of particular interest in Bayesian filtering for discrete time dynamic models that are typically nonlinear and non-Gaussian. A general importance sampling framework is developed that unifies many of the methods which have been proposed over the last few decades in several different scientific disciplines. Novel extensions to the existing methods are also proposed. We show in particular how to incorporate local linearisation methods similar to those which have previously been employed in the deterministic filtering literature; these lead to very effective importance distributions. Furthermore we describe a method which uses Rao-Blackwellisation in order to take advantage of the analytic structure present in some important classes of state-space models. In a final section we develop algorithms for prediction, smoothing and evaluation of the likelihood in dynamic models.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akashi H. and Kumamoto H. 1975. Construction of discrete-time nonlinear filter by Monte Carlo methods with variance-reducing techniques. Systems and Control 19: 211–221 (in Japanese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Akashi H. and Kumamoto H. 1977. Random sampling approach to state estimation in switching environments. Automatica 13: 429–434.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson B.D.O. and Moore J.B. 1979. Optimal Filtering. Englewood Cliffs.

  • Berzuini C., Best N., Gilks W., and Larizza C. 1997. Dynamic conditional independence models and markov chain Monte Carlo methods. Journal of the American Statistical Association 92: 1403–1412.

    Google Scholar 

  • Billio M. and Monfort A. 1998. Switching state-space models: Likelihood function, filtering and smoothing. Journal of Statistical Planning and Inference 68: 65–103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Carpenter J., Clifford P., and Fearnhead P. 1997. An improved particle filter for nonlinear problems. Technical Report, University of Oxford, Dept. of Statistics.

  • Casella G. and Robert C.P. 1996. Rao-Blackwellisation of sampling schemes. Biometrika 83: 81–94.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen R. and Liu J.S. 1996. Predictive updating methods with application to Bayesian classification. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society B 58: 397–415.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clapp T.C. and Godsill S.J. 1999. Fixed-lag smoothing using sequential importance sampling. In: Bernardo J.M., Berger J.O., Dawid A.P., and Smith A.F.M. (Eds.), Bayesian Statistics, Vol. 6, Oxford University Press, pp. 743–752.

  • Doucet A. 1997. Monte Carlo methods for Bayesian estimation of hidden Markov models. Application to radiation signals. Ph.D. Thesis, University Paris-Sud Orsay (in French).

  • Doucet A. 1998. On sequential simulation-based methods for Bayesian filtering. Technical Report, University of Cambridge, Dept. of Engineering, CUED-F-ENG-TR310. Available on the MCMC preprint service at http://www.stats.bris.ac.uk/MCMC/.

  • Geweke J. 1989. Bayesian inference in Econometrics models using Monte Carlo integration. Econometrica 57: 1317–1339.

    Google Scholar 

  • Godsill S.J. and Rayner P.J.W. 1998. Digital audio restoration—A statistical model-based approach. Berlin: Springer-Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon N.J. 1997. A hybrid bootstrap filter for target tracking in clutter. IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems 33: 353–358.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon N.J., Salmond D.J., and Smith A.F.M. 1993. Novel approach to nonlinear/non-Gaussian Bayesian state estimation. IEE-Proceedings-F 140: 107–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Handschin J.E. 1970. Monte Carlo techniques for prediction and filtering of non-linear stochastic processes. Automatica 6: 555–563.

    Google Scholar 

  • Handschin J.E. and Mayne D.Q. 1969. Monte Carlo techniques to estimate the conditional expectation in multi-stage non-linear filtering. International Journal of Control 9: 547–559.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higuchi T. 1997. Monte Carlo filtering using the genetic algorithm operators. Journal of Statistical Computation and Simulation 59: 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jazwinski A.H. 1970. Stochastic Processes and Filtering Theory. Academic Press.

  • Kitagawa G. 1987. Non-Gaussian state-space modeling of nonstationary time series. Journal of the American Statistical Association 82: 1032–1063.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kitagawa G. and Gersch G. 1996. Smoothness Priors Analysis of Time Series. Springer. Lecture Notes in Statistics, Vol. 116.

  • Kong A., Liu J. S., and Wong W.H. 1994. Sequential imputations and Bayesian missing data problems. Journal of the American Statistical Association 89: 278–288.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu J.S. 1996. Metropolized independent sampling with comparison to rejection sampling and importance sampling. Statistics and Computing 6: 113–119.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu J.S. and Chen R. 1995. Blind deconvolution via sequential imputation. Journal of the American Statistical Association 90: 567–576.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu J.S. and Chen R. 1998. Sequential Monte Carlo methods for dynamic systems. Journal of the American Statistical Association 93: 1032–1044.

    Google Scholar 

  • MacEachern S.N., Clyde M., and Liu J.S. 1999. Sequential importance sampling for nonparametric Bayes models: The next generation. Canadian Journal of Statistics 27: 251–267.

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller P. 1991. Monte Carlo integration in general dynamic models. Contemporary Mathematics 115: 145–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller P. 1992. Posterior integration in dynamic models. Computing Science and Statistics 24: 318–324.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pitt M.K. and Shephard N. 1999. Filtering via simulation: Auxiliary particle filters. Journal of the American Statistical Association 94: 590–599.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ripley B.D. 1987. Stochastic Simulation. New York, Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin D.B. 1988. Using the SIR algorithm to simulate posterior distributions. In: Bernardo J.M., DeGroot M.H., Lindley D.V., and Smith A.F.M. (Eds.), Bayesian Statistics, Vol. 3, Oxford University Press. 395–402.

  • Smith A.F.M. and Gelfand A.E. 1992. Bayesian statistics without tears: Asampling-resampling perspective. The American Statistician 46: 84–88.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stewart L. and McCarty P. 1992. The use of Bayesian belief networks to fuse continuous and discrete information for target recognition, tracking and situation assessment. Proceeding Conference SPIE 1699: 177–185.

    Google Scholar 

  • Svetnik V.B. 1986. Applying the Monte Carlo method for optimum estimation in systems with random disturbances. Automation and Remote Control 47: 818–825.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanizaki H. 1993. Nonlinear Filters: Estimation and Applications. Springer. Berlin, Lecture Notes in Economics and Mathematical Systems, Vol. 400.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanizaki H. and Mariano R.S. 1994. Prediction, filtering and smoothing in non-linear and non-normal cases using Monte Carlo integration. Journal of Applied Econometrics 9: 163–179.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tanizaki H. and Mariano R.S. 1998. Nonlinear and non-Gaussian statespace modeling with Monte-Carlo simulations. Journal of Econometrics 83: 263–290.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tugnait J.K. 1982. Detection and Estimation for abruptly changing systems. Automatica 18: 607–615.

    Google Scholar 

  • West M. 1993. Mixtures models, Monte Carlo, Bayesian updating and dynamic models. Computer Science and Statistics 24: 325–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • West M. and Harrison J.F. 1997. Bayesian forecasting and dynamic models, 2nd edn. Springer Verlag Series in Statistics.

  • Zaritskii V. S., Svetnik V. B., and Shimelevich L.I. 1975. Monte Carlo technique in problems of optimal data processing. Automation and Remote Control 12: 95–103.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Doucet, A., Godsill, S. & Andrieu, C. On sequential Monte Carlo sampling methods for Bayesian filtering. Statistics and Computing 10, 197–208 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008935410038

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008935410038

Navigation