At the 27th International Conference on Information Fusion (FUSION 2024), held in Venice, Italy, from July 7 to 11, 2024, the paper Design of Unitless Normalized Measure of Nonlinearity for State Estimation, co-authored by Ondřej Straka and Jindřich Havlík from the University of West Bohemia (ZČU), earned second place in the Jean-Pierre Le Cadre Award competition. The award recognizes outstanding contributions in the field, with the paper being selected from around 500 entries.
The paper, associated with the ROBOPROX project, presents a novel measure of nonlinearity that plays a critical role in state estimation algorithms used for tracking and control systems. Nonlinearity measures are essential in determining the most suitable estimation algorithm, adapting its parameters, or signaling when strong nonlinearity may lead to inaccurate results. The authors propose a measure that is both normalized and unitless, addressing limitations of previous approaches. This new measure is invariant to the choice of units, ensuring more consistent and reliable results across different systems. The paper’s findings were validated through numerical experiments focusing on moving object tracking applications.
Ondřej Straka, a key member of the ROBOPROX project’s RA1 Research Area (Control of distributed-parameter systems and complex robotic structures), contributed to this research as part of the ROBOPROX framework. Under the leadership of Tomáš Vyhlídal, RA1 develops advanced control design tools for complex systems, including distributed-parameter and time-varying systems. These tools are designed for practical industrial applications, such as micromachining and laser-based additive manufacturing. Straka specifically focuses on developing industrial control algorithms in collaboration with Miloš Schlegel from UWB.
Jindřich Havlík, Straka’s co-author and colleague from ZČU, has also played a pivotal role in this research paper. While not directly involved in the ROBOPROX project, his expertise and collaboration were essential in achieving this significant result.
We congratulate both Ondřej Straka and Jindřich Havlík on their achievement and recognition at FUSION 2024. Their work not only highlights the innovative contributions to the field of state estimation and control but also strengthens the impact of the ROBOPROX project in advancing cutting-edge research.