Why Are State Observers Generally Recommended Over Additional Physical Sensors? Enhance Industrial Control Reliability

State observers are generally recommended over additional physical sensors because they decouple system performance from hardware fragility. In complex electro-hydraulic servo systems, relying on algorithms rather than physical components significantly reduces deployment costs and eliminates the reliability risks associated with installing sensitive electronics in harsh industrial environments.

While full-state feedback ideally requires data on pressure, displacement, and speed, obtaining this via physical sensors creates a high-cost, high-maintenance point of failure. State observers bypass these limitations by using real-time algorithms to calculate system states, providing a more stable and cost-effective solution than hardware-heavy setups.

The Liability of Hardware-Heavy Designs

Escalating Costs and Complexity

To achieve precise full-state feedback control, an engineer must theoretically install specific sensors for pressure, displacement, and speed.

In a complex industrial setting, this is not merely a component cost; it is an integration challenge. An excessive number of sensors drastically increases wiring complexity, creating a dense physical infrastructure that is expensive to install and difficult to troubleshoot.

The Reliability Gap in Harsh Environments

Industrial environments are rarely clean or static; they are often defined by vibration, temperature fluctuations, and contaminants.

Physical sensors have significantly lower reliability in these harsh conditions. A single sensor failure due to environmental stress can compromise the entire control loop, leading to system downtime that outweighs the theoretical precision of the sensor itself.

The Strategic Advantage of State Observers

Real-Time Algorithmic Calculation

State observers replace the need for physical measurement with computational estimation.

By utilizing advanced algorithms, the system can calculate the necessary states (such as internal pressure or velocity) in real-time. This essentially "virtualizes" the sensor, providing the controller with the data it needs without the physical footprint.

Enhanced Stability and Interference Rejection

Beyond simple cost-cutting, state observers often provide superior performance characteristics in noisy environments.

The primary reference notes that using observers enhances the anti-interference capability of the control system. Because the data is derived from a mathematical model rather than a raw, noisy electrical signal, the resulting control loop is often more stable and robust against external disturbances.

Understanding the Trade-offs

Dependence on Model Accuracy

While observers solve hardware issues, they introduce a dependency on the mathematical model of the system.

If the system parameters (such as hydraulic fluid viscosity or friction coefficients) change drastically and the observer model does not adapt, the calculated states may drift from reality.

Computational Load

Replacing sensors with algorithms shifts the burden from mechanical installation to computational processing.

The control unit must have sufficient processing power to run these complex state-estimation algorithms in real-time without introducing latency that could destabilize the servo system.

Making the Right Choice for Your Project

When designing electro-hydraulic servo systems, the choice between adding sensors or implementing observers depends on your primary constraints.

If your primary focus is Reliability: Prioritize state observers to eliminate physical points of failure prone to breaking in harsh environments.
If your primary focus is Cost Efficiency: Use state observers to reduce the bill of materials and simplify the wiring harness architecture.
If your primary focus is System Stability: Implement state observers to improve anti-interference capabilities and smooth out noisy feedback loops.

By shifting the burden of measurement from hardware to software, you create a system that is leaner, tougher, and more economically viable.

Summary Table:

Feature	Physical Sensors	State Observers
Cost Profile	High (Hardware + Wiring)	Low (Software-based)
Reliability	Susceptible to harsh environments	High (No physical wear)
Interference	Prone to electronic noise	High anti-interference capability
Maintenance	Frequent calibration/replacement	Model-based updates
Key Constraint	Hardware fragility	Computational load & model accuracy

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