The Switching Message Estimator for Network-Based Motion Control Systems

Missing commands from the interpolator caused by the dropout effect of network transmission will cause motion error in motion plants implemented on network-based control systems (NCSs). Dropout data can be properly recovered by applying different message estimators to improve motion contouring accuracy. This study shows that the dropout rate and the distribution of missing commands dominate the motion error, and that more centralized missing commands result in a higher maximum contouring error. The short-window dropout quantity (SDQ) is proposed in this paper to estimate the network quality based on the dropout rate and its distribution of the missing data. Furthermore, according to the condition of missing data based on the SDQ, the switching least-square estimator (LSE) is proposed to compensate for missing motion commands. Simulation and experimental results on the two-axis AC servo motor NCS indicate that motion contouring accuracy is greatly improved by applying the proposed estimator.