publications | Amine Othmane

2026

A Data-Based Image Representation for Continuous-Time LTI Systems

Amine Othmane, Philipp Schmitz, Karl Worthmann, and 1 more author

IEEE Control Systems Letters, 2026

Accepted for presentation at the 65th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC), Hawaii, USA (L-CSS + CDC double submission)

DOI arXiv Bib HTML

@article{othmane2026data,
  author = {Othmane, Amine and Schmitz, Philipp and Worthmann, Karl and Fla{\ss}kamp, Kathrin},
  title = {A Data-Based Image Representation for Continuous-Time {LTI} Systems},
  journal = {IEEE Control Systems Letters},
  volume = {10},
  pages = {1093--1098},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1109/LCSYS.2026.3689687},
  note = {Accepted for presentation at the 65th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (CDC), Hawaii, USA (L-CSS + CDC double submission)},
}

CCTA

Heart Artifact Removal in Electrohysterography Measurements Using Algebraic Differentiators

Amine Othmane, Maria Camila Bustos Vivas, Johannes Steuer, and 1 more author

In IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA), 2026

Accepted for presentation

DOI arXiv Bib Code

@inproceedings{othmane2026heart,
  author = {Othmane, Amine and Bustos Vivas, Maria Camila and Steuer, Johannes and Hutter, Jana},
  title = {Heart Artifact Removal in Electrohysterography Measurements Using Algebraic Differentiators},
  booktitle = {IEEE Conference on Control Technology and Applications (CCTA)},
  address = {Vancouver, Canada},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.48550/arXiv.2603.18949},
  note = {Accepted for presentation},
}

JNS

Neural Network-Enhanced Integrators for Simulating Ordinary Differential Equations

Amine Othmane and Kathrin Flaßkamp

Journal of Nonlinear Science, 2026

DOI arXiv Bib HTML Code

@article{othmane2026neural,
  author = {Othmane, Amine and Fla{\ss}kamp, Kathrin},
  title = {Neural Network-Enhanced Integrators for Simulating Ordinary Differential Equations},
  journal = {Journal of Nonlinear Science},
  volume = {36},
  pages = {85},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1007/s00332-026-10290-8},
}

IFAC

Data-Driven Inverse Optimal Control: From linear to nonlinear systems

Amine Othmane, Sofya Maslovskaya, Christian Offen, and 2 more authors

In 23rd IFAC World Congress, 2026

Accepted for presentation
ECC

Discretization-Aware Signal-Based Optimization Problem Design for Tuning LTI Differentiators Without Ground Truth Derivatives

Amine Othmane and Lothar Kiltz

In European Control Conference (ECC), 2026

Accepted for presentation

Code
MTNS

Solving Multiobjective Optimal Control Problems with Optimality-Informed Neural Networks

Matthias K. Hoffmann, Markus Herrmann-Wicklmayr, Amine Othmane, and 1 more author

In International Symposium on Mathematical Theory of Networks and Systems (MTNS), 2026

Accepted for presentation
ICSTCC

An open-source platform for project-based teaching in systems and control

Amine Othmane and Kathrin Flaßkamp

In 30th International Conference on System Theory, Control and Computing (ICSTCC), 2026

Accepted for presentation
Probabilistic Reachable Sets by Uncertainty Propagation through Motion Primitives for Autonomous Driving

Florian Steppich, Amine Othmane, Kathrin Flaßkamp, and 1 more author

2026

Under review at Mathematical and Computer Modelling of Dynamical Systems
Fourier Neural Operator Surrogates for Wind Turbine Load Simulation: Training, Evaluation, and Spectral Analysis

Hannes Albers, Marcus Wiens, Amine Othmane, and 4 more authors

2026

Under review at Proceedings in Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (PAMM)

2025

EJC
Design of cascaded PDE-ODE observers for LTI systems with numerical differentiators as fictitious sensors with distributed delay

Florian Meiners, Amine Othmane, and Jürgen Adamy

European Journal of Control, 2025

Abs DOI Bib HTML Code

Unmeasured states of an observable LTI system without sensor delay can be determined by use of a state observer or calculated directly from the input, the output, and their successive time derivatives. The inherent ill-posedness of numerical differentiation renders the latter approach unsuitable for most control applications. Design objectives like the need to balance convergence rates and steady-state noise suppression, on the other hand, pose significant challenges for state observation. This work proposes a systematic framework for the combination of numerical differentiation and output error injection to leverage benefits of both methods. By interpreting estimates of the output derivatives of an LTI system without sensor delay as additional, but delayed, outputs, a cascaded PDE-ODE formulation of the augmented system is derived. In it, the derivative estimates, which are treated as readings from fictitious sensors, are modeled by transport equations. An observer for the resulting system is developed. We prove that additional information inferred from output derivatives improves observability properties of the underlying system in terms of the observability Gramian. Moreover, incorporating the output derivatives introduces additional degrees of freedom to the design. We show how such degrees of freedom can be exploited; in particular, they can be used to improve noise attenuation due to a reduction of the injection gains. An analysis of the observer for the PDE-ODE cascade and a comparison to the Luenberger observer are provided. The efficacy of the proposed method is illustrated experimentally.
@article{meiners2025design, author = {Meiners, Florian and Othmane, Amine and Adamy, J{\"u}rgen}, title = {Design of cascaded {PDE-ODE} observers for {LTI} systems with numerical differentiators as fictitious sensors with distributed delay}, journal = {European Journal of Control}, volume = {85}, pages = {101353}, year = {2025}, doi = {10.1016/j.ejcon.2025.101353}, }

arXiv

Optimality-Informed Neural Networks for Solving Parametric Optimization Problems

Matthias K. Hoffmann, Amine Othmane, and Kathrin Flaßkamp

arXiv preprint, 2025

Under review at Optimization and Engineering

DOI arXiv Bib

@article{hoffmann2025optimality,
  author = {Hoffmann, Matthias K. and Othmane, Amine and Fla{\ss}kamp, Kathrin},
  title = {Optimality-Informed Neural Networks for Solving Parametric Optimization Problems},
  journal = {arXiv preprint},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.48550/arXiv.2512.20270},
  note = {Under review at Optimization and Engineering}
}

2024

CEP
Model-free control of a magnetically supported plate

P. M. Scherer, Amine Othmane, and Joachim Rudolph

Control Engineering Practice, 2024

Abs DOI Bib HTML Code

Established model-based methods often use a combination of state feedback and observer to control complex systems. They rely on detailed mathematical models that are often hard to derive. Nonetheless, such methods may achieve a high level of accuracy, which justifies the cumbersome modelling. An alternative approach is model-free control, in a form introduced by Fliess and Join, where the system is approximated in a short time interval by a low-order differential equation with unknown parts, a so-called ultra-local model. This control method is a powerful tool, but the parametrisation and the concrete implementation may require time, effort, and experience. The present paper investigates the systematic tuning of a model-free controller for a magnetically supported plate that is modelled as an unstable multiple-input multiple-output system. Furthermore, the incorporation of model information into the model-free controller is investigated. These adaptations ultimately improve results by simplifying parameter tuning and interpretation of estimates. Several experiments are carried out on a test bed to show the capabilities of the proposed algorithms for set point stabilisation and trajectory tracking. The effects of the different parameters in the model-free controllers are addressed, and excellent robustness with respect to actuator faults is demonstrated. Filters for estimating derivatives and unknown quantities are designed using an open-source toolbox.
@article{scherer2024magnetic, author = {Scherer, P. M. and Othmane, Amine and Rudolph, Joachim}, title = {Model-free control of a magnetically supported plate}, journal = {Control Engineering Practice}, volume = {148}, pages = {105950}, year = {2024}, doi = {10.1016/j.conengprac.2024.105950}, }
CEP
On the parametrization of algebraic differentiators in the light of ‘A survey on the discrete-time differentiators in closed-loop control systems: Experiments on an electro-pneumatic system’

Amine Othmane

Control Engineering Practice, 2024

Abs DOI Bib HTML Code

Experimental implementation of several discrete-time differentiators used in closed-loop control of an electro-pneumatic system has been discussed in the paper (Mojallizadeh et al., 2023). Invaluable insights have been provided for the judicious selection of differentiation schemes for effectively addressing closed-loop control problems in real-time hardware applications. However, in view of the state of the art, algebraic differentiators called ALIEN deserve further considerations. To this end, clarifications, simulations, and experimental results are provided in the present contribution. The simulations are performed using the open-source package AlgDiff for algebraic differentiators.
@article{othmane2024parametrization, author = {Othmane, Amine}, title = {On the parametrization of algebraic differentiators in the light of ‘A survey on the discrete-time differentiators in closed-loop control systems: Experiments on an electro-pneumatic system’}, journal = {Control Engineering Practice}, volume = {144}, pages = {105811}, year = {2024}, doi = {10.1016/j.conengprac.2023.105811}, }

Zenodo

AlgDiff: A Python package with MATLAB coupling implementing all necessary tools for the design, analysis, and discretization of algebraic differentiators

Amine Othmane

2024

Open-source software, version 2.4

DOI Bib Code

@software{othmane2024algdiffsoftware,
  author = {Othmane, Amine},
  title = {{AlgDiff}: A {Python} package with {MATLAB} coupling implementing all necessary tools for the design, analysis, and discretization of algebraic differentiators},
  year = {2024},
  note = {Open-source software, version 2.4},
  doi = {10.5281/zenodo.5172198},
}

2023

AlgDiff: an open source toolbox for the design, analysis and discretisation of algebraic differentiators

Amine Othmane and Joachim Rudolph

at – Automatisierungstechnik, 2023

Best Paper Award DOI arXiv Bib HTML Code

Best Paper Award 2024 in the category “Tools” of the journal at – Automatisierungstechnik

@article{othmane2023algdiff,
  author = {Othmane, Amine and Rudolph, Joachim},
  title = {{AlgDiff}: an open source toolbox for the design, analysis and discretisation of algebraic differentiators},
  journal = {at – Automatisierungstechnik},
  volume = {71},
  number = {8},
  pages = {612--623},
  year = {2023},
  doi = {10.1515/auto-2023-0035},
}

Contributions to numerical differentiation using orthogonal polynomials and its application to fault detection and parameter identification

Amine Othmane

at – Automatisierungstechnik, 2023

DOI Bib HTML Code

@article{othmane2023contributions,
  author = {Othmane, Amine},
  title = {Contributions to numerical differentiation using orthogonal polynomials and its application to fault detection and parameter identification},
  journal = {at – Automatisierungstechnik},
  volume = {71},
  number = {6},
  pages = {496--498},
  year = {2023},
  doi = {10.1515/auto-2023-0008},
}

CEP
Combining model-based and model-free approaches for the control of an electro-hydraulic system

P. M. Scherer, Amine Othmane, and Joachim Rudolph

Control Engineering Practice, 2023

Abs DOI Bib HTML Code

Model-free control, as introduced by Fliess and Join, is a compelling feedback control method for complex systems that can only be modelled with considerable effort. However, systematic parametrisation techniques, the concrete implementation, and the analysis of the approaches deserve further investigations. The present paper serves to propose a systematic way to parameterise a model-free controller for a system approximated by a first-order differential equation with unknown parts. Furthermore, model-based and model-free approaches are combined to efficiently control a hydraulic piston (model-based) actuated by four pilot-operated proportional valves (model-free) as a practical example of a typical electro-hydraulic system. Only pressure measurements and the position signal of the piston are used. No measurement of hydraulic flows or spool positions are required. The effects of the different parameters of the model-free controller are investigated and the implementation is discussed in detail. Several experiments on a test bed are carried out, showing a high positioning accuracy for a wide range of piston velocities and a behaviour robust against leakages. An open-access toolbox is used for the design of advanced differentiators to estimate unmeasured quantities required in the controller. This contribution shows that with the right tools, it is possible to design an efficient model-free controller and benefit from its advantages.
@article{scherer2023combining, author = {Scherer, P. M. and Othmane, Amine and Rudolph, Joachim}, title = {Combining model-based and model-free approaches for the control of an electro-hydraulic system}, journal = {Control Engineering Practice}, volume = {133}, pages = {105453}, year = {2023}, doi = {10.1016/j.conengprac.2023.105453}, }

2022

PhD

Contributions to numerical differentiation using orthogonal polynomials and its application to fault detection and parameter identification

Amine Othmane

Saarland University and Université Paris-Saclay, 2022

DOI Bib HTML Code

@phdthesis{othmane2022thesis,
  author = {Othmane, Amine},
  title = {Contributions to numerical differentiation using orthogonal polynomials and its application to fault detection and parameter identification},
  school = {Saarland University and Université Paris-Saclay},
  year = {2022},
  doi = {10.22028/D291-38806},
}

IJSS

Survey on algebraic numerical differentiation: historical developments, parametrization, examples, and applications

Amine Othmane, Lothar Kiltz, and Joachim Rudolph

International Journal of Systems Science, 2022

DOI Bib HTML Code

@article{othmane2022survey,
  author = {Othmane, Amine and Kiltz, Lothar and Rudolph, Joachim},
  title = {Survey on algebraic numerical differentiation: historical developments, parametrization, examples, and applications},
  journal = {International Journal of Systems Science},
  volume = {53},
  number = {9},
  pages = {1848--1887},
  year = {2022},
  doi = {10.1080/00207721.2022.2025948},
}

2021

EJC
Systematic comparison of numerical differentiators and an application to model-free control

Amine Othmane, Joachim Rudolph, and Hugues Mounier

European Journal of Control, 2021

Abs DOI Bib HTML Code

Recent tuning guidelines for algebraic differentiators based on the analysis of the Fourier transform of the kernels are reviewed. A region of validity for the previous analyses carried out for high frequencies is proposed and the results are related to those based on the analysis of the L2-norm of the Fourier transform of the differentiators. These results are then used for a systematic comparison with established approaches from the literature (homogeneous, high-gain and sliding mode differentiators) for the estimation of the second derivative of a known signal corrupted by a known disturbance. It is shown that properly tuned and discretized algebraic differentiators outperform the other analyzed approaches in terms of robustness, convergence time, and tuning simplicity. The tuning guidelines are then used in the context of control of a partially known system, thus bridging the gap to the tuning of recent model-free control approaches.
@article{othmane2021systematic, author = {Othmane, Amine and Rudolph, Joachim and Mounier, Hugues}, title = {Systematic comparison of numerical differentiators and an application to model-free control}, journal = {European Journal of Control}, volume = {62}, pages = {113--119}, year = {2021}, doi = {10.1016/j.ejcon.2021.06.020}, }
SysTol
Data and computation efficient model-based fault detection for rolling element bearings using numerical differentiation

Amine Othmane and Joachim Rudolph

In 5th International Conference on Control and Fault-Tolerant Systems (SysTol), 2021

Abs DOI Bib HTML Code

A novel model-based approach for online condition monitoring of rolling element bearings based on efficient and robust numerical differentiation is proposed. The physical parameters may be identified using fault-free data. The main idea for fault detection is the design of signals, called residuals, sensitive only to faults using a simplified model of the bearing vibrations. These residuals are proportional to the force stemming from the faults and are easy to compute and implement. An approach for the design of a failure detection threshold is provided. This threshold can be designed to meet a desired probability of false alarms. The method is validated using four experimental data sets stemming from different research centers.
@inproceedings{othmane2021data, author = {Othmane, Amine and Rudolph, Joachim}, title = {Data and computation efficient model-based fault detection for rolling element bearings using numerical differentiation}, booktitle = {5th International Conference on Control and Fault-Tolerant Systems (SysTol)}, pages = {163--168}, publisher = {IEEE}, year = {2021}, doi = {10.1109/SysTol52990.2021.9595974}, }
MTNS
Parametrization of algebraic differentiators for disturbance annihilation with an application to the differentiation of quantized signals

Amine Othmane, Hugues Mounier, and Joachim Rudolph

IFAC-PapersOnLine, 2021

24th International Symposium on Mathematical Theory of Networks and Systems (MTNS)

Abs DOI Bib HTML Code

A method for the systematic parametrization of algebraic differentiators is introduced. It allows the annihilation of disturbances having transfer functions exhibiting repetitive peaks. Using McMahon’s expansion for large zeros of Bessel functions, an approach reducing the number of free parameters of the differentiators from five to one is derived. The choice of the parameters is discussed in detail, and the existence of the parametrization for any such disturbance is proven. Error bounds for the annihilation of the repetitive peaks are also derived. The practical applicability of the approach is demonstrated in an experimental case study where the derivative of a quantized signal is numerically estimated using only an algebraic differentiator. A deterministic model for the quantization error which shows repetitive peaks in its transfer function is also proposed.
@article{othmane2021parametrization, author = {Othmane, Amine and Mounier, Hugues and Rudolph, Joachim}, title = {Parametrization of algebraic differentiators for disturbance annihilation with an application to the differentiation of quantized signals}, journal = {IFAC-PapersOnLine}, volume = {54}, number = {9}, pages = {335--340}, year = {2021}, note = {24th International Symposium on Mathematical Theory of Networks and Systems (MTNS)}, doi = {10.1016/j.ifacol.2021.06.091}, }
BMS
Observers for the Seidel–Herzel model of human autonomic-cardiorespiratory system

Amine Othmane and Hugues Mounier

IFAC-PapersOnLine, 2021

11th IFAC Symposium on Biological and Medical Systems (BMS)

Abs DOI Bib HTML

The Seidel-Herzel model of the autonomic-cardiorespiratory system is used in this work to derive three observers for the estimation of the concentrations of the neurotransmitters and external excitations of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. The observers require noninvasive measurements of respiration and blood pressure which simplifies the development of patient-specific applications. The errors stemming from model approximations and uncertain parameters are analyzed. The applicability of the approach is discussed in a simulation study.
@article{othmane2021observers, author = {Othmane, Amine and Mounier, Hugues}, title = {Observers for the {Seidel--Herzel} model of human autonomic-cardiorespiratory system}, journal = {IFAC-PapersOnLine}, volume = {54}, number = {15}, pages = {514--519}, year = {2021}, note = {11th IFAC Symposium on Biological and Medical Systems (BMS)}, doi = {10.1016/j.ifacol.2021.10.308}, }

2020

IFAC
Analysis of the parameter estimate error when algebraic differentiators are used in the presence of disturbances

Amine Othmane, Joachim Rudolph, and Hugues Mounier

IFAC-PapersOnLine, 2020

21st IFAC World Congress

Abs DOI Bib HTML Code

The use of algebraic differentiators in the context of asymptotic continuous-time parameter estimation is discussed. The estimation problem is analyzed within a least squares optimization context. Bounds for the error stemming from high frequency disturbances and the approximation of the derivatives are derived. It is shown that with higher frequencies the error stemming from the disturbances decreases and that the filter parameters can be used to adjust the convergence of this error to zero. An observer with assignable error dynamics for the online estimation is also proposed. A simulation is carried out to evaluate the results and compare the proposed observer with the recursive solution of the least squares problem.
@article{othmane2020analysis, author = {Othmane, Amine and Rudolph, Joachim and Mounier, Hugues}, title = {Analysis of the parameter estimate error when algebraic differentiators are used in the presence of disturbances}, journal = {IFAC-PapersOnLine}, volume = {53}, number = {2}, pages = {572--577}, year = {2020}, note = {21st IFAC World Congress}, doi = {10.1016/j.ifacol.2020.12.493}, }

2015

USC

Motion Control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) with Time Delay Compensation

Geoff Fink, Amine Othmane, Markus Konz, and 2 more authors

In Proceedings of the 2015 Unmanned Systems Canada Conference, Nov 2015

Student paper finalist

Bib

@inproceedings{fink2015motion,
  author = {Fink, Geoff and Othmane, Amine and Konz, Markus and Kastelan, David and Lynch, Alan F.},
  title = {Motion Control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles ({UAV}s) with Time Delay Compensation},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the 2015 Unmanned Systems Canada Conference},
  address = {Halifax, NS, Canada},
  month = nov,
  year = {2015},
  note = {Student paper finalist}
}

invited talks

2026

Algebraic differentiators: from theory to experimental results

Amine Othmane

Jan 2026

Oberseminar ‘Applied and Numerical Analysis’, Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany (Prof. Dr. Thomas Schuster)

2024

Neural networks enhanced integrators for systems defined by ordinary differential equations

Amine Othmane

2024

Paderborn University, Numerical Mathematics and Control (Prof. Dr. Sina Ober-Blöbaum), Paderborn, Germany
Neural networks enhanced integrators for systems defined by ordinary differential equations

Amine Othmane

2024

Max Planck Institute for Dynamics of Complex Technical Systems (Prof. Dr. Peter Benner), Magdeburg, Germany
Advanced Numerical Differentiators and Their Application to Fault Detection and Model-Free Control

Amine Othmane

2024

Technical University of Ilmenau, Optimization-based Control Group (Prof. Dr. Karl Worthmann), Ilmenau, Germany

2023

Advanced Numerical Differentiators and Their Application to Fault Detection and Model-Free Control

Amine Othmane

2023

ZF Friedrichshafen AG, Friedrichshafen, Germany

2022

Algebraische Ableitungsschätzer: Theorie und Anwendung

Amine Othmane

2022

Plenary presentation at GMA-FA 1.30, Anif, Austria

conference talks without proceedings

2025

Identification of cost functionals and stabilizing feedback laws in optimal control problems

Amine Othmane, Sofya Maslovskaya, Christian Offen, and 2 more authors

2025

Maths4DL Conference on Inverse Problems and Deep Learning, University of Bath, UK
Neural network based inverse optimal control

Kathrin Flaßkamp, Sofya Maslovskaya, Sina Ober-Blöbaum, and 2 more authors

2025

16th Viennese Conference on Optimal Control and Dynamic Games, Vienna, Austria
Neural networks enhanced integrators for systems defined by ordinary differential equations

Amine Othmane and Kathrin Flaßkamp

2025

95th Annual Meeting of the International Association of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics (GAMM), Poznań, Poland

2024

An extension of the Dynamic Regressor Extension and Mixing (DREM) approach for real-time parameter estimation

Amine Othmane

2024

GAMM Annual Meeting, Magdeburg, Germany
Neural networks enhanced integrators for systems defined by ordinary differential equations

Amine Othmane and Kathrin Flaßkamp

2024

International Symposium on Mathematical Theory of Networks and Systems (MTNS)
Neural networks enhanced integrators for systems defined by ordinary differential equations

Amine Othmane and Kathrin Flaßkamp

2024

Workshop des GAMM-Fachausschusses „Dynamik und Regelungstheorie“

2023

Numerisches Differenzieren mittels orthogonaler Polynome und seine Anwendung für die Diagnose von Stößen

Amine Othmane

2023

57. Regelungstechnisches Kolloquium, Boppard, Germany

Best Presentation Award

Award for the best presentation at the 57th traditional Control Engineering Colloquium in Boppard (prize money sponsored by Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co. KG)
Towards neural network enhanced integrators for efficient lifetime assessment of wind energy converters

Amine Othmane and Kathrin Flaßkamp

2023

GAMM Annual Meeting, Dresden, Germany

2022

AlgDiff: Eine Python-Toolbox zur Parametrierung, Untersuchung und Diskretisierung algebraischer Ableitungsschätzer

Amine Othmane

2022

GMA-FA 1.30, Anif, Austria