arXiv:2509.11336cs.AI2025-09

用动态因果分析优化软传感器,自动选出关键传感器。

The power of dynamic causality in observer-based design for soft sensor applications

  • 基于液态时间常数网络,通过扰动分析量化传感器的因果影响。
  • 在三个物理系统中均实现最小传感器集,且预测精度提升。
  • 适合需要可解释性软传感的工程、生态与农业场景。

本文提出一种基于动态因果分析的观测器型软传感器优化框架。传统方法依赖线性可观测性指标或统计相关性,难以捕捉复杂系统的时序演化特性。为此,我们采用输入依赖时间常数的连续时间神经网络(LTC),系统识别并剔除对状态估计影响微弱的传感器输入。方法采用迭代流程:在候选输入上训练LTC观测器,通过受控扰动分析量化各输入的因果影响,移除影响小的输入后重新训练,直至性能下降。我们在三类机理测试平台验证:谐振强迫弹簧-质量-阻尼系统、非线性连续搅拌釜反应器,以及带季节性扰动和复杂性的洛特卡-沃尔泰拉捕食者-猎物模型。结果表明,该方法始终能识别出与物理机制一致的最小传感器集,提升预测精度。框架能自动区分关键物理测量与噪声,并判断衍生交互项是否冗余或互补。相比计算效率,其优势在于以动态因果关系替代静态相关性,增强可解释性,适用于过程工程、生态监测与农业领域。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

This paper introduces a novel framework for optimizing observer-based soft sensors through dynamic causality analysis. Traditional approaches to sensor selection often rely on linearized observability indices or statistical correlations that fail to capture the temporal evolution of complex systems. We address this gap by leveraging liquid-time constant (LTC) networks, continuous-time neural architectures with input-dependent time constants, to systematically identify and prune sensor inputs with minimal causal influence on state estimation. Our methodology implements an iterative workflow: training an LTC observer on candidate inputs, quantifying each input's causal impact through controlled perturbation analysis, removing inputs with negligible effect, and retraining until performance degradation occurs. We demonstrate this approach on three mechanistic testbeds representing distinct physical domains: a harmonically forced spring-mass-damper system, a nonlinear continuous stirred-tank reactor, and a predator-prey model following the structure of the Lotka-Volterra model, but with seasonal forcing and added complexity. Results show that our causality-guided pruning consistently identifies minimal sensor sets that align with underlying physics while improving prediction accuracy. The framework automatically distinguishes essential physical measurements from noise and determines when derived interaction terms provide complementary versus redundant information. Beyond computational efficiency, this approach enhances interpretability by grounding sensor selection decisions in dynamic causal relationships rather than static correlations, offering significant benefits for soft sensing applications across process engineering, ecological monitoring, and agricultural domains.

软传感器动态因果观测器设计传感器优化

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