Mixed order fractional observers for minimal realizations of linear time-invariant systems

Adaptive and non-adaptive minimal realization (MR) fractional order observers (FOO) for linear time-invariant systems (LTIS) of a possibly different derivation order (mixed order observers, MOO) are studied in this paper. Conditions on the convergence and robustness are provided using a general framework which allows observing systems defined with any type of fractional order derivative (FOD). A qualitative discussion is presented to show that the derivation orders of the observer structure and for the parameter adjustment are relevant degrees of freedom for performance optimization. A control problem is developed to illustrate the application of the proposed observers.