Adaptive Kernel Regression for Constrained Route Alignment: Theory and Iterative Data Sharpening

TL;DR

This paper introduces an adaptive kernel regression method with iterative data sharpening for constrained route alignment, balancing smoothness and exact waypoint adherence with theoretical guarantees and practical validation.

Contribution

It develops a novel Adaptive Nadaraya-Watson kernel estimator with theoretical analysis and an iterative sharpening algorithm for improved constrained route alignment.

Findings

Effectively balances RMSE and curvature smoothness in trajectory planning

Provides theoretical convergence and bias-variance analysis of the estimator

Demonstrates practical utility in railway and highway route planning

Abstract

Route alignment design in surveying and transportation engineering frequently involves fixed waypoint constraints, where a path must precisely traverse specific coordinates. While existing literature primarily relies on geometric optimization or control-theoretic spline frameworks, there is a lack of systematic statistical modeling approaches that balance global smoothness with exact point adherence. This paper proposes an Adaptive Nadaraya-Watson (ANW) kernel regression estimator designed to address the fixed waypoint problem. By incorporating waypoint-specific weight tuning parameters, the ANW estimator decouples global smoothing from local constraint satisfaction, avoiding the "jagged" artifacts common in naive local bandwidth-shrinking strategies. To further enhance estimation accuracy, we develop an iterative data sharpening algorithm that systematically reduces bias while maintaining the stability of the kernel framework. We establish the theoretical foundation for the ANW estimator by deriving its asymptotic bias and variance and proving its convergence properties under the internal constraint model. Numerical case studies in 1D and 2D trajectory planning demonstrate that the method effectively balances root mean square error (RMSE) and curvature smoothness. Finally, we validate the practical utility of the framework through empirical applications to railway and highway route planning. In sum, this work provides a stable, theoretically grounded, and computationally efficient solution for complex, constrained alignment design problems.