Ehlers Optimal Tracking Filter

The original script was posted on ProRealCode by user Nicolas.

Dr. R.E. Kalman introduced his concept of optimum estimation in 1960. Since that time, his technique has proven to be a powerful and practical tool. The approach is particularly well suited for optimizing the performance of modern terrestrial and space navigation systems. Many traders not directly involved in system analysis have heard about Kalman filtering and have expressed an interest in learning more about it for market applications. Although attempts have been made to provide simple, intuitive explanations, none has been completely successful. Almost without exception, descriptions have become mired in the jargon and state-space notation of the “cult”.

Surprisingly, in spite of the obscure-looking mathematics (the most impenetrable of which can be found in Dr. Kalman’s original paper), Kalman filtering is a fairly direct and simple concept. In the spirit of being pragmatic, we will not deal with the full-blown matrix equations in this description and we will be less than rigorous in the application to trading. Rigorous application requires knowledge of the probability distributions of the statistics. Nonetheless we end with practically useful results. We will depart from the classical approach by working backwards from Exponential Moving Averages. In this process, we introduce a way to create a nearly zero lag moving average. From there, we will use the concept of a Tracking Index that optimizes the filter tracking for the given uncertainty in price movement and the uncertainty in our ability to measure it.

Credits to: prorealcode.com/prorealtime-indicators/john-ehlers-optimal-tracking-filter/