Soft sensor

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Soft sensor or virtual sensor is a common name for software where several measurements are processed together. Commonly soft sensors are based on control theory and also receive the name of state observer. There may be dozens or even hundreds of measurements. The interaction of the signals can be used for calculating new quantities that need not be measured. Soft sensors are especially useful in data fusion, where measurements of different characteristics and dynamics are combined. It can be used for fault diagnosis as well as control applications.

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Well-known software algorithms that can be seen as soft sensors include Kalman filters. More recent implementations of soft sensors use neural networks or fuzzy computing.

Examples of soft sensor applications:

See also

Related Research Articles

Fuzzy logic is a form of many-valued logic in which the truth value of variables may be any real number between 0 and 1. It is employed to handle the concept of partial truth, where the truth value may range between completely true and completely false. By contrast, in Boolean logic, the truth values of variables may only be the integer values 0 or 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalman filter</span> Algorithm that estimates unknowns from a series of measurements over time

For statistics and control theory, Kalman filtering, also known as linear quadratic estimation (LQE), is an algorithm that uses a series of measurements observed over time, including statistical noise and other inaccuracies, and produces estimates of unknown variables that tend to be more accurate than those based on a single measurement alone, by estimating a joint probability distribution over the variables for each timeframe. The filter is named after Rudolf E. Kálmán, who was one of the primary developers of its theory.

Intelligent control is a class of control techniques that use various artificial intelligence computing approaches like neural networks, Bayesian probability, fuzzy logic, machine learning, reinforcement learning, evolutionary computation and genetic algorithms.

Prognostics is an engineering discipline focused on predicting the time at which a system or a component will no longer perform its intended function. This lack of performance is most often a failure beyond which the system can no longer be used to meet desired performance. The predicted time then becomes the remaining useful life (RUL), which is an important concept in decision making for contingency mitigation. Prognostics predicts the future performance of a component by assessing the extent of deviation or degradation of a system from its expected normal operating conditions. The science of prognostics is based on the analysis of failure modes, detection of early signs of wear and aging, and fault conditions. An effective prognostics solution is implemented when there is sound knowledge of the failure mechanisms that are likely to cause the degradations leading to eventual failures in the system. It is therefore necessary to have initial information on the possible failures in a product. Such knowledge is important to identify the system parameters that are to be monitored. Potential uses for prognostics is in condition-based maintenance. The discipline that links studies of failure mechanisms to system lifecycle management is often referred to as prognostics and health management (PHM), sometimes also system health management (SHM) or—in transportation applications—vehicle health management (VHM) or engine health management (EHM). Technical approaches to building models in prognostics can be categorized broadly into data-driven approaches, model-based approaches, and hybrid approaches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sensor fusion</span>

Sensor fusion is the process of combining sensor data or data derived from disparate sources such that the resulting information has less uncertainty than would be possible when these sources were used individually. For instance, one could potentially obtain a more accurate location estimate of an indoor object by combining multiple data sources such as video cameras and WiFi localization signals. The term uncertainty reduction in this case can mean more accurate, more complete, or more dependable, or refer to the result of an emerging view, such as stereoscopic vision.

The fast Kalman filter (FKF), devised by Antti Lange (born 1941), is an extension of the Helmert–Wolf blocking (HWB) method from geodesy to safety-critical real-time applications of Kalman filtering (KF) such as GNSS navigation up to the centimeter-level of accuracy and satellite imaging of the Earth including atmospheric tomography.

The expression computational intelligence (CI) usually refers to the ability of a computer to learn a specific task from data or experimental observation. Even though it is commonly considered a synonym of soft computing, there is still no commonly accepted definition of computational intelligence.

In probability theory, statistics, and machine learning, recursive Bayesian estimation, also known as a Bayes filter, is a general probabilistic approach for estimating an unknown probability density function (PDF) recursively over time using incoming measurements and a mathematical process model. The process relies heavily upon mathematical concepts and models that are theorized within a study of prior and posterior probabilities known as Bayesian statistics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuzzy cognitive map</span>

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In estimation theory, the extended Kalman filter (EKF) is the nonlinear version of the Kalman filter which linearizes about an estimate of the current mean and covariance. In the case of well defined transition models, the EKF has been considered the de facto standard in the theory of nonlinear state estimation, navigation systems and GPS.

Fault detection, isolation, and recovery (FDIR) is a subfield of control engineering which concerns itself with monitoring a system, identifying when a fault has occurred, and pinpointing the type of fault and its location. Two approaches can be distinguished: A direct pattern recognition of sensor readings that indicate a fault and an analysis of the discrepancy between the sensor readings and expected values, derived from some model. In the latter case, it is typical that a fault is said to be detected if the discrepancy or residual goes above a certain threshold. It is then the task of fault isolation to categorize the type of fault and its location in the machinery. Fault detection and isolation (FDI) techniques can be broadly classified into two categories. These include model-based FDI and signal processing based FDI.

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Fuzzy architectural spatial analysis (FASA) (also fuzzy inference system (FIS) based architectural space analysis or fuzzy spatial analysis) is a spatial analysis method of analysing the spatial formation and architectural space intensity within any architectural organization.

Virtual sensing techniques, also called soft sensing, proxy sensing, inferential sensing, or surrogate sensing, are used to provide feasible and economical alternatives to costly or impractical physical measurement instrument. A virtual sensing system uses information available from other measurements and process parameters to calculate an estimate of the quantity of interest.

Moving horizon estimation (MHE) is an optimization approach that uses a series of measurements observed over time, containing noise and other inaccuracies, and produces estimates of unknown variables or parameters. Unlike deterministic approaches, MHE requires an iterative approach that relies on linear programming or nonlinear programming solvers to find a solution.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to control engineering:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Outline of machine learning</span> Overview of and topical guide to machine learning

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to machine learning. Machine learning is a subfield of soft computing within computer science that evolved from the study of pattern recognition and computational learning theory in artificial intelligence. In 1959, Arthur Samuel defined machine learning as a "field of study that gives computers the ability to learn without being explicitly programmed". Machine learning explores the study and construction of algorithms that can learn from and make predictions on data. Such algorithms operate by building a model from an example training set of input observations in order to make data-driven predictions or decisions expressed as outputs, rather than following strictly static program instructions.

Lion algorithm (LA) is one among the bio-inspired (or) nature-inspired optimization algorithms (or) that are mainly based on meta-heuristic principles. It was first introduced by B. R. Rajakumar in 2012 in the name, Lion’s Algorithm.. It was further extended in 2014 to solve the system identification problem. This version was referred as LA, which has been applied by many researchers for their optimization problems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soft computing</span> Computing that is tolerant of imprecision, uncertainty, partial truth, and approximation

Soft computing is a set of algorithms, including neural networks, fuzzy logic, and evolutionary algorithms. These algorithms are tolerant of imprecision, uncertainty, partial truth and approximation. It is contrasted with hard computing: algorithms which find provably correct and optimal solutions to problems.

Eleni Chatzi is a Greek civil engineer, researcher, and an Associate Professor and Chair of Structural Mechanics and Monitoring at the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.

References

  1. García, MR; Cabo, ML; Herrera, JR; Ramilo-Fernández, G; Alonso, AA; Balsa-Canto, E (March 2017). "Smart sensor to predict retail fresh fish quality under ice storage". Journal of Food Engineering. 197: 87–97. doi:10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2016.11.006. hdl: 10261/141204 .