A fast moving horizon estimation algorithm based on nonlinear programming sensitivity

Abstract

Moving Horizon Estimation (MHE) is an efficient optimization-based strategy for state estima-tion. Despite the attractiveness of this method, its application in industrial settings has been rather limited. This has been mainly due to the difficulty to solve, in real-time, the associated dynamic optimization problems. In this work, a fast MHE algorithm able to overcome this bottleneck is pro-posed. The strategy exploits recent advances in nonlinear programming algorithms and sensitivity concepts. A detailed analysis of the optimality conditions of MHE problems is presented. As a result, strategies for fast covariance information extraction from general nonlinear programming algorithms are derived. It is shown that highly accurate state estimates can be obtained in large-scale MHE applications with negligible on-line computational costs