Application of Linear Observers to Estimate States of a Roll Simulator

In this research, a variety of Kalman Filters are implemented in an effort to estimate sled speed of a Roll Simulator. An Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) is incorporated to capture the nonlinear dynamics of the sled-platform assembly to estimate sled speed for the entire motion, as a linear Kalman Filter was found to be inadequate. When applied to experimental data, the EKF over-estimates sled speed, which is due to a disturbance force and/or uncertainty in system parameters. In combination with the disturbance observer, the Kalman Filter adequately estimates sled speed for experimental data. For lower speed/payload applications, a Kalman Filter using an accelerometer and measured drum speed is able to accurately track sled speed when a gain scheduling scheme is employed.