Method and system for determining the pointing angle of a moving object

1. A method of tracking a moving object, the method comprising:

determining a heading angle of a centroid of the object from a tracking sensor;

determining a raw difference value corresponding to a difference between a pointing angle of a selected feature on the object and the heading angle, wherein the raw difference is based on a trajectory curvature of the centroid from the tracking sensor and a distance between the centroid and the selected feature;

determining a filtered difference between the pointing angle and the heading angle using a low pass filter; and

determining the pointing angle by subtracting the filtered difference from the heading angle.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the raw difference comprises determining a product of the curvature and the distance.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining the filtered difference comprises

determining a plurality of the raw difference values; and

filtering the plurality of raw difference values to remove noise from the raw difference values.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the low pass filter is time-based.

5. The method of claim 3 , wherein the low pass filter is distance-based.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein

the object is a vehicle having a front wheel axle and a rear wheel axle;

the selected feature is a center of the rear wheel axle; and

the center of the rear wheel axle is assumed to be located at a center of a rear of the object.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein

a sideslip angle of the center of the rear wheel axle is assumed to be zero.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the trajectory curvature is constant over the entire vehicle.

9. A system for tracking a moving object, the system comprising:

a tracking sensor configured to detect the moving object; and

a processor configured to:

determine a heading angle of a centroid of the object based on information from the tracking sensor;

determine a raw difference value corresponding to a difference between a pointing angle of a selected feature on the object and the heading angle, wherein

the raw difference is based on a trajectory curvature of the centroid and a distance between the centroid and the selected feature, and

the trajectory curvature is based on information from the tracking sensor;

determine a filtered difference between the pointing angle and the heading angle using a low pass filter; and

determine the pointing angle by subtracting the filtered difference from the heading angle.

10. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to determine the raw difference by determining a product of the curvature and the distance.

11. The system of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to determine the filtered difference by

determining a plurality of the raw difference values; and

filtering the plurality of raw difference values to remove noise from the raw difference values.

12. The system of claim 11 , wherein the low pass filter is time-based.

13. The system of claim 11 , wherein the low pass filter is distance-based.

14. The system of claim 9 , wherein

the object is a vehicle having a front wheel axle and a rear wheel axle;

the selected feature is a center of the rear wheel axle; and

the center of the rear wheel axle is assumed to be located at a center of a rear of the object.

15. The system of claim 14 , wherein

a sideslip angle of the center of the rear wheel axle is assumed to be zero.

16. The system of claim 15 , wherein the trajectory curvature is constant over the entire vehicle.