Application of soft sensors in the automated process control of different industries

Abstract

Sustainable development of industry is closely related with tries to automate industrial processes in all possible ways. Recent advances in automated control systems have led to decreasing the cost of hardware and energy consumption. This article describes examples of soft sensors using in various industries. The main advantages of soft sensors are low cost, flexibility and versatility. In addition, the soft sensors are environmentally friendly as they significantly reduce the amount of equipment and do not require utilization. Despite these benefits, there are some problems with using them. First problem consists in what information and how needs to be measured to use received data in calculation of another virtual data. Second problem is using proper software and the time of mathematical calculations. The goal of the soft sensors is generation of valid virtual data for the controller to increase the accuracy and quality of the automated control. The article is of interest from the point of view of possibilities to applicate modern technology in solving various tasks of automated control.