Velocity estimation: Assessing the performance of non model-based techniques

The performance of modern motion control systems are strongly related to the resolution of the position sensor and to the digital filtering algorithm used to estimate the velocity. Despite the crucial importance of velocity estimation, however, a systematic approach to analyse and assess the performance of these estimators is still lacking. The present work proposes a new methodology to analytically characterise the velocity estimation error of a generic non model-based estimator, both in the time and in the frequency domain. A simulation case study is also presented, focusing on the velocity control loop of a washing machine, to validate the proposed methodology.