Proximal Approximate Inference in State-Space Models

Abstract

We present a class of algorithms for state estimation in nonlinear, non-Gaussian state-space models. Our approach is based on a variational Lagrangian formulation that casts Bayesian inference as a sequence of entropic trust-region updates subject to dynamic constraints. This framework gives rise to a family of forward-backward algorithms, whose structure is determined by the chosen factorization of the variational posterior. By focusing on Gauss--Markov approximations, we derive recursive schemes with favorable computational complexity. For general nonlinear, non-Gaussian models we close the recursions using generalized statistical linear regression and Fourier--Hermite moment matching.