State Estimation with 1-Bit Observations and Imperfect Models: Bussgang Meets Kalman in Neural Networks

Abstract: State estimation from noisy observations is a fundamental problem in many applications of signal processing. Traditional methods, such as the extended Kalman filter, work well under fully-known Gaussian models, while recent hybrid deep learning frameworks, combining model-based and data-driven approaches, can also handle partially known models and non-Gaussian noise. However, existing studies commonly assume the absence of quantization distortion, which is inevitable, especially with non-ideal analog-to-digital converters. In this work, we consider a state estimation problem with 1-bit quantization. 1-bit quantization causes significant quantization distortion and severe information loss, rendering conventional state estimation strategies unsuitable. To address this, inspired by the Bussgang decomposition technique, we first develop the Bussgang-aided Kalman filter by assuming perfectly known models. The proposed method suitably captures quantization distortion into the state estimation process. In addition, we propose a computationally efficient variant, referred to as the reduced Bussgang-aided Kalman filter and, building upon it, introduce a deep learning-based approach for handling partially known models, termed the Bussgang-aided KalmanNet. In particular, the Bussgang-aided KalmanNet jointly uses a dithering technique and a gated recurrent unit (GRU) architecture to effectively mitigate the effects of 1-bit quantization and model mismatch. Through simulations on the Lorenz-Attractor model and the Michigan NCLT dataset, we demonstrate that our proposed methods achieve accurate state estimation performance even under highly nonlinear, mismatched models and 1-bit observations.