Measurement and control of flexible structures using distributed sensors

The use of distributed filtering to realize arbitrary scalar system outputs from the output of a distributed sensor is described. The set of scalar position measurements realizable using traditional point sensors is a subset of the set of scalar outputs realizable using distributed sensing over point sensing. Several examples are provided to illustrate applications of distributed filtering. It is shown that distributed-effect sensors can be used to implement functional observers, providing a significant reduction in compensator order. >