---
_id: '67194'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: 'Efficient thermal management in vehicles is becoming increasingly critical
    due to stricter energy efficiency requirements and rising passenger expectations
    for comfort. Conventional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems
    rely on numerous air outlet temperature sensors, which add significant costs at
    scale. This study introduces a hybrid virtual sensor concept that combines physics-based
    mathematical modeling with data-driven methods to address this challenge. A detailed
    physical model predicts air outlet temperatures, while neural networks capture
    unmodeled heat exchanges and environmental disturbances. Two hybrid strategies
    are explored: one augments the physical model with a neural network to learn residual
    heat flows, and the other employs an adiabatic physical model enhanced by a neural
    network that maps the total environmental heat exchange, supported by a disturbance
    observer for accurate heat flow estimation. Evaluation using measurement data
    from a real test vehicle in a simplified two-vent scenario demonstrates that hybrid
    virtual sensors can provide reliable temperature estimates, reduce reliance on
    hardware sensors, and maintain high control performance, highlighting the potential
    of integrating physics-based and machine learning methods in vehicle climate control
    systems.'
author:
- first_name: Julia Magdalena
  full_name: Timmermann, Julia Magdalena
  id: '15402'
  last_name: Timmermann
- first_name: Patrick
  full_name: Biemelt, Patrick
  last_name: Biemelt
- first_name: Changcheng
  full_name: Li, Changcheng
  last_name: Li
- first_name: Ansgar
  full_name: Trächtler, Ansgar
  id: '552'
  last_name: Trächtler
- first_name: Eduard
  full_name: Pankratz, Eduard
  last_name: Pankratz
citation:
  ama: 'Timmermann JM, Biemelt P, Li C, Trächtler A, Pankratz E. Hybrid modeling as
    a virtual sensor concept for automotive HVAC outlet temperature estimation. In:
    <i>2026 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics
    (AIM)</i>. IEEE; 2026. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/aim65483.2026.11658345">10.1109/aim65483.2026.11658345</a>'
  apa: Timmermann, J. M., Biemelt, P., Li, C., Trächtler, A., &#38; Pankratz, E. (2026).
    Hybrid modeling as a virtual sensor concept for automotive HVAC outlet temperature
    estimation. <i>2026 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent
    Mechatronics (AIM)</i>. Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM),
    Genova, Italy. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/aim65483.2026.11658345">https://doi.org/10.1109/aim65483.2026.11658345</a>
  bibtex: '@inproceedings{Timmermann_Biemelt_Li_Trächtler_Pankratz_2026, title={Hybrid
    modeling as a virtual sensor concept for automotive HVAC outlet temperature estimation},
    DOI={<a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/aim65483.2026.11658345">10.1109/aim65483.2026.11658345</a>},
    booktitle={2026 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics
    (AIM)}, publisher={IEEE}, author={Timmermann, Julia Magdalena and Biemelt, Patrick
    and Li, Changcheng and Trächtler, Ansgar and Pankratz, Eduard}, year={2026} }'
  chicago: Timmermann, Julia Magdalena, Patrick Biemelt, Changcheng Li, Ansgar Trächtler,
    and Eduard Pankratz. “Hybrid Modeling as a Virtual Sensor Concept for Automotive
    HVAC Outlet Temperature Estimation.” In <i>2026 IEEE/ASME International Conference
    on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM)</i>. IEEE, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/aim65483.2026.11658345">https://doi.org/10.1109/aim65483.2026.11658345</a>.
  ieee: 'J. M. Timmermann, P. Biemelt, C. Li, A. Trächtler, and E. Pankratz, “Hybrid
    modeling as a virtual sensor concept for automotive HVAC outlet temperature estimation,”
    presented at the Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM), Genova,
    Italy, 2026, doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1109/aim65483.2026.11658345">10.1109/aim65483.2026.11658345</a>.'
  mla: Timmermann, Julia Magdalena, et al. “Hybrid Modeling as a Virtual Sensor Concept
    for Automotive HVAC Outlet Temperature Estimation.” <i>2026 IEEE/ASME International
    Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM)</i>, IEEE, 2026, doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1109/aim65483.2026.11658345">10.1109/aim65483.2026.11658345</a>.
  short: 'J.M. Timmermann, P. Biemelt, C. Li, A. Trächtler, E. Pankratz, in: 2026
    IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM),
    IEEE, 2026.'
conference:
  end_date: 11.07.2026
  location: Genova, Italy
  name: Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM)
  start_date: 07.07.2026
date_created: 2026-09-21T07:50:49Z
date_updated: 2026-09-21T08:14:41Z
department:
- _id: '153'
doi: 10.1109/aim65483.2026.11658345
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11658345
oa: '1'
publication: 2026 IEEE/ASME International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics
  (AIM)
publication_identifier:
  isbn:
  - 979-8-3195-3612-9
  issn:
  - ' 2159-6255 '
publication_status: published
publisher: IEEE
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: Hybrid modeling as a virtual sensor concept for automotive HVAC outlet temperature
  estimation
type: conference
user_id: '15402'
year: '2026'
...