Continuous-time System Identification: A Bilinear Optimization Approach

In the noiseless case, the identification of a grey-box model can be posed as a feasibility problem, i.e. determining if existent - and if so - finding a parameter vector such that the parametric model equals the actual model (or its associated input-output data). Being that in this thesis we are interested in continuous-time grey-box...

Jump Markov Nonlinear System Identification in Multi-Sensor Target Tracking: A Novel Approach for Multiple Model Joint Tracking and Behavior Classification

The detection of unusual behavior plays a crucial role in the prevention of illegal and harmful activities such as smuggling, piracy, arms trading, human trafficking and illegal immigration. Also for military applications, it is useful to detect anomalous behavior to provide an alert for potential threats, especially with the more recent...

Grey-box models for prediction and control of solar district heat plants

It has become clear that the global energy system needs to shift away from fossil fuels towards clean, renewable energy sources. Experience in the past decades has shown that at-plate solar heat panels can play a role in the energy system of the future, in particular in solar collector fields for district heat generation. This thesis concerns...

Affinely parametrized state-space models: Ways to maximize the Likelihood Function

Using Maximum Likelihood (or Prediction Error) methods to identify linear state space model is a prime technique. The likelihood function is a nonconvex function and care must be exercised in the numerical maximization. Here the focus will be on affine parameterizations which allow some special techniques and algorithms. Three approaches to...

Motion compensation of a K-type installation vessel using suction piles

Jumbo is a heavy lift, shipping, offshore transportation and installation contractor. Jumbo is an experienced company in ocean transportation for more than 45 years. Since 2003, building on their heavy lift capability, Jumbo is rapidly getting involved in the offshore installation market.<br/><br/>Jumbo normally uses dynamic positioning systems...

Gray box identification using difference of convex programming

Gray-box identification is prevalent in modeling physical and networked systems. However, due to the non-convex nature of the gray-box identification problem, good initial parameter estimates are crucial for a successful application. In this paper, a new identification method is proposed by exploiting the low-rank and structured Hankel matrix...

Input selection in N2SID using group lasso regularization

Input selection is an important and oftentimes difficult challenge in system identification. In order to achieve less complex models, irrelevant inputs should be methodically and correctly discarded before or under the estimation process. In this paper we introduce a novel method of input selection that is carried out as a natural extension in a...

N2SID: Nuclear norm subspace identification of innovation models

The identification of multivariable state space models in innovation form is solved in a subspace identification framework using convex nuclear norm optimization. The convex optimization approach allows to include constraints on the unknown matrices in the data-equation characterizing subspace identification methods, such as the lower triangular...

Subspace identifcation of Roesser models for large-scale adaptive optics

Current control algorithms for large-scale adaptive optics are computationally demanding and an accurate wavefront correction is hardly achieved within the time requirements. An idea is to exploit the local interactions between the wavefront sensor and the actuators and to develop compact models that describe thespatial dynamics of the mirror...

Modelling riverflow in the Volta Basin of West Africa: A data-driven framework

In this thesis, a riverflow modelling framework developed for monthly riverflow prediction in the 400,000 km2 Volta Basin of West Africa is presented. By analysing available catchment rainfall, runoff and potential evapotranspiration series in the basin using methods such as correlation plots, autoregressive (AR) and autoregressive with...