Twin-in-the-Loop observer tuning via gradient-information Bayesian optimization with line search

High-fidelity Digital Twins (DTs) are standard tools for offline tasks such as virtual prototyping and validation, yet their deployment in real-time control applications remains limited. The Twin-in-the-Loop (TiL) observer architecture addresses this by leveraging a DT as an embedded prediction model to simultaneously estimate the full state of a complex system. However, the use of a black-box DT precludes analytic gradients, turning observer tuning into a challenging high-dimensional, zeroth-order optimization problem. This study addresses this challenge by applying and extending Gradient Information with Bayesian Optimization ( GIBO ), an algorithm designed for high-dimensional black-box local optimization. We introduce GIBO+LS , a novel variant augmented with a one-dimensional line search, which significantly reduces convergence variability and computational time. Furthermore, we integrate a pseudo-random warm-start strategy and an average-cost optimization across multiple datasets to enhance global search capabilities and empirical robustness. Case studies in a vehicular application using real-world data demonstrate that the proposed method reduces median velocity estimation error by 34% over previous TiL tuning methods and by up to 46% over established Kalman-filter benchmarks.

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Publication Details

Journal
Control Engineering Practice
Published
2026-03-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conengprac.2026.106891
Primary Topic
Model Reduction and Neural Networks
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
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article

Twin-in-the-Loop observer tuning via gradient-information Bayesian optimization with line search

Simone Formentin, David A. Stenger, Giacomo Delcaro, Johanna Menn et al.
Control Engineering Practice
Model Reduction and Neural Networks
article

Twin-in-the-Loop observer tuning via gradient-information Bayesian optimization with line search

Simone Formentin, David A. Stenger, Giacomo Delcaro, Johanna Menn, Sergio M. Savaresi, Sebastian Trimpe
article en

Abstract

High-fidelity Digital Twins (DTs) are standard tools for offline tasks such as virtual prototyping and validation, yet their deployment in real-time control applications remains limited. The Twin-in-the-Loop (TiL) observer architecture addresses this by leveraging a DT as an embedded prediction model to simultaneously estimate the full state of a complex system. However, the use of a black-box DT precludes analytic gradients, turning observer tuning into a challenging high-dimensional, zeroth-order optimization problem. This study addresses this challenge by applying and extending Gradient Information with Bayesian Optimization ( GIBO ), an algorithm designed for high-dimensional black-box local optimization. We introduce GIBO+LS , a novel variant augmented with a one-dimensional line search, which significantly reduces convergence variability and computational time. Furthermore, we integrate a pseudo-random warm-start strategy and an average-cost optimization across multiple datasets to enhance global search capabilities and empirical robustness. Case studies in a vehicular application using real-world data demonstrate that the proposed method reduces median velocity estimation error by 34% over previous TiL tuning methods and by up to 46% over established Kalman-filter benchmarks.

Control Engineering PracticeVol. 172
RWTH Aachen University (DE), Politecnico di Milano (IT)
Openalex Percentile: Top 30%
Model Reduction and Neural Networks
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Twin-in-the-Loop observer tuning via gradient-information Bayesian optimization with line search — Simone Formentin, David A. Stenger, et al. · Control Engineering Practice (2026) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS