Center of Gravity by J. F. Ehlers

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Center of Gravity is an indicator that allows for the precise definition of turning points with zero lag. This indicator is the result of J. F. Ehlers study of adaptive filters.

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Introduction to Center of Gravity

The Center of Gravity indicator enables the identification of main pivot points with minimal lag. The idea of calculating a center of gravity emerged from the investigation of lags of different filters with the finite impulse response (FIR) in accordance with the relative amplitude of filter coefficients. A Simple Moving Average (SMA) is a FIR-filter where all coefficients have the same value, resulting in the center of gravity of SMA being an exact center of the filter. A Weighted Moving Average (WMA) is a FIR-filter where the last price change is weighted through the filter length, and so on.

Filter Coefficients and Center of Gravity

The values of weighting are coefficients of filters. Coefficients of WMA filters can be presented as contours of a triangle. The center of gravity is on the 1/3 of the triangle base length. Thus, WMA gravity center is shifted to the right with respect to the center of gravitation of SMA of the same length, which gives us a smaller lag. For all examples with FIR filters, the sum of productions of coefficients and the price must be divided by the sum of coefficients for preservation of original prices.

Indicator Calculation

The Center of Gravity is calculated using Ehlers filter. The period parameter sets the period for the indicator calculation, and the appliedprice parameter sets the price type based on which the indicator is calculated, resulting in the main line of the indicator. The smoothperiod parameter sets the period of smoothing the main indicator line, and the smoothtype parameter denotes the type of smoothing. The interpretation of the values of parameters is given in the form of comments in the indicator code.

Indicator Implementation

This indicator was first implemented in MQL4 and published in 2026. It uses the Cmoving_average class of the smoothalgorithms.mqh library. - The indicator allows for the identification of main pivot points with minimal lag - The Center of Gravity is calculated using Ehlers filter - The period parameter sets the period for the indicator calculation - The appliedprice parameter sets the price type based on which the indicator is calculated

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/*
 * the smoothalgorithms.mqh file must be placed 
 * to terminal_data_folder\mql5\include
 */
#property copyright "robotfx"
#property link "https://robotfx.org"
#property version   "1.00"
#property indicator_separate_window
#property indicator_buffers 3
#property indicator_plots   2

.......

• This tool is provided for educational and testing purposes only.
• Past performance does not guarantee future results.
• Trading involves substantial risk of loss. Use on a demo account first.
• Results may vary depending on market conditions, broker, and settings.
• We recommend thorough backtesting and forward testing before using with real funds.