A Self-Interpretable Soft Sensor Based on Deep Learning and Multiple Attention Mechanism: From Data Selection to Sensor Modeling

For deep learning-based soft sensors, the lack of interpretability and the consequent unreliability has become one of the most important problems. In this article, a neural network scheme called the deep multiple attention soft sensor (DMASS), which consists solely of attention mechanisms, is proposed to develop a self-interpretable soft sensor. DMASS was established to ensure the self-interpretability of data selection and sensor modeling and try to integrate these originally independent phases into the single scheme. First, the existing attention mechanisms’ core implementation steps are summarized as a unified form, and then the variable attention mechanism and time lag attention mechanism are proposed. When DMASS's training is completed, the obtained attention weights provide the self-interpretable data selection results. Then, a self-attention activation structure (SAAS) is proposed to extract the nonlinear spatio-temporal features of data. The mathematical expression for the extracted feature, the SAAS's attention matrix, the information path diagram for DMASS's training, and the uncertainty-aware interval prediction show the self-interpretability of sensor modeling. Finally, DMASS was applied to predict the thermal deformation of the air preheater rotor, and the validity of DMASS's self-interpretability is verified by the known mechanism analysis and information bottleneck theory. Meanwhile, DMASS's great sensing performance was confirmed through comparison with other novel soft sensors.