Research Experience

Research Lines

My research interests include system identification, fault detection and isolation (FDI), failure prognosis, and statistical process control. Amongst the techniques and approaches that I am familiar with I can mention sequential Monte Carlo methods (Particle Filtering), Kalman filtering, multivariate statistical analysis (PCA and PLS), wavelet analysis, fuzzy expert systems, fuzzy predictive control, neural networks. At the moment, I am focused on uncertainty characterization and management in failure prognostic algorithms using sequential Monte Carlo methods applied to nonlinear, time-varying, and non-Gaussian systems. More information may be found in my publications.

  • Failure Prognosis in Nonlinear Dynamic Systems: Theory and Practice
  • Bayesian Processors for State Estimation in Non-Gaussian Dynamic Systems
  • Prognostics-based Decision Making in Complex Dynamic Systems

Research Experience

  • Codelco ODS-16-24 “Electromovilidad en minería subterránea”. Código 4502331036. Convenio de Desarrollo Tecnológico entre Corporación Nacional del Cobre de Chile y Facultad de Ciencias Físicas y Matemáticas de la Universidad de Chile. Director: Javier Ruiz del Solar (Universidad de Chile), Director Alterno: Marcos Orchard (Universidad de Chile) (2024-2026).

  • FONDEF IDeA Tecnologías Avanzadas TA24I10053: “AI-based battery state-of-health-aware management operating system for micro e-mobility, e-fleet mission planning and energy back-up,” Director: Gonzalo Díaz (Universidad de Chile), Director Alterno: Jorge Silva (Universidad de Chile), Principal Investigator: Marcos Orchard (2025-2028).

  • FONDEF IDeA Tecnologías Avanzadas TA23I10055: “Sistema Integrado de Monitoreo Estructural Predictivo para Aerogeneradores,” Director: Rodrigo Astroza (Universidad de Los Andes), Director Alterno: Marcos Orchard (Universidad de Chile) (2024-2027).

  • FONDECYT Project 1231015: “Competitive Off-grid Photovoltaic Green Hydrogen production based on the Versatile Buck-Boost Power Electronics Building Block.” PI: Carlos Restrepo (U.Talca), Co-PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2023-2027).

  • CORFO Project 20CTEM 131733: “Centro de Aceleración Sostenible de Electromovilidad (CASE).” (Agencia de Sostenibilidad Energética, Universidad Austral, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Universidad Tecnológica Metropolitana, EY Consulting, Centro Mario Molina). Director: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Universidad de Chile (2022-2027).

  • FONDECYT Project 1220507: “Distributed Predictive Control Strategies Based on Evolving Prediction Intervals for Energy-Water Microgrid.” PI: Doris Sáez (U.Ch.), Co-PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2022-2026).

  • FONDEF IDeA ID17I20140: “Sistema de Monitoreo para Diagnóstico y Pronóstico de Daño Estructural en Turbinas Eólicas,” Director: Rodrigo Astroza (Universidad de Los Andes), Director Alterno: Marcos Orchard (Universidad de Chile) (2021-2023).

  • FONDECYT Project 1210315: “Topics on Information Theory Applied to Machine Learning and Decision: Theory, Methods, and Applications.” PI: Jorge Silva (U.Ch.), Co-PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2021-2024).

  • FONDECYT Project 1210031: “A Hidden-Markov-Model-based Failure Prognostic Framework for Real-time Prognostic Decision Making.” PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2021-2024).

  • FONDEF IDeA ID17I20338: “Investigación y Desarrollo de un Alimentador Electrónico para Máxima Eficiencia en Motores de Inducción,” Director: Juan Carlos Travieso (USACH), Director Alterno: Marcos Orchard (Universidad de Chile) (2021-2022).

  • FONDECYT Project 1201319: “Energy efficient navigation strategies for autonomous N-trailer vehicles in agricultural applications” PI: Fernando Auat (UTFSM), Co-PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch.), Miguel Torres (PUC) (2020-2022).

  • CORFO: Atacama Module and System Technology Center (AtaMoS-TeC). Work Package 4: Operation & Maintenance Development (WP4). Universidad de Antofagasta, Universidad de Chile, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Universidad de Concepción, Universidad Adolfo Ibañez, CEA INES (France), ISC Konstanz (Germany), Fraunhofer-Chile, and Phibrand S.A. (2018-2020).

 

  • FONDEF IDeA ID18I10379: Desarrollo de un Modelo de Inteligencia Artificial para la Optimización del Rendimiento de Baterías Ion-Litio en Vehículos Eléctricos, INACAP (Sede Osorno) – Universidad de Chile (2018-2020).

  • Conicyt REDES-170031: Prognostics and Health Management in Electro-mobility, PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch.), Co-PIs: Kamal Medjaher (ENIT), and Williams Calderon (U.Ch.). Center of Energy (University of Chile)-Tarbes National School of Engineering (2018-2019).

 

  • FONDEF IDeA ID17I10140: “Sistema de Monitoreo para Diagnóstico y Pronóstico de Daño Estructural en Turbinas Eólicas,” Director: Rodrigo Astroza (Universidad de Los Andes), Director Alterno: Marcos Orchard (Universidad de Chile) (2017-2019).

  • FONDECYT Project 1170044: “Prognostics Performance Metrics based on Bayesian Cramer-Rao Lower Bounds.” PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2017-2020).

  • FONDECYT Project 1170683: “Robust Distributed Predictive Control Strategies for the Coordination of Hybrid AC and DC Microgrids.” PI: Doris Sáez (U.Ch.), Co-PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2017-2020).

  • Conicyt REDES-150083: Control Strategies and Hardware Topologies for the Operation of Energy Storage System in Microgrids, PI: Juan Yuz (UTFSM), Co-PIs: Roberto Cardenas (U.Ch.), Doris Sáez (U.Ch.) and Marcos Orchard (U.Ch.). AC3E UTFSM-University of Waterloo (2016-2017).

 

  • Conicyt PIA ACT1405, “Procesos fundamentales en física de plasmas espaciales combinando instrumentación, observaciones, teoría y simulaciones,” Programa de Investigación Asociativa, CONICYT. Director: Juan Valdivia (UCh), PIs: Marcos Díaz (UCh), Marcos Orchard (UCh), Marina Stepanova (USACH). Faculty of Sciences. Universidad de Chile (2016-2018).

 

  • Ministerio del Interior y Seguridad Pública, Subsecretaría Prevención del Delito, Proyecto 147/2015, “Desarrollo de Software Computacional de un Sistema Predictivo del Delito Urbano y Rural para Carabineros de Chile,” Director: Raúl Manasevich (U.Ch.), Alternate Director: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch.), CEAMOS – Universidad de Chile (2015-2016).

 

  • Innova-Chile CORFO Project 15IPPID-45859, “Integración de Dispositivos de Almacenamiento Energético Secundario usando Baterías Betavoltaicas,” Researcher, Academia Politécnica Militar de Chile (2016).

 

  • FONDECYT Project 1151476: “Cubesat Platform for Space and Technology Research”. PI: Marcos Díaz (U.Ch.), Co-PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch.). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2015-2017).

  • FONDECYT Project 1151213:”Information and decision theory applied to the measurement of quantities of astronomical interest: The case of ground- and space-based astrometry and photometry”. PI: Rene Mendez (U.Ch.), Co-PIs: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch.), Jorge Silva (U.Ch.), Ernest Michael (U.Ch.). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2015-2017).

  • FONDECYT Project 1140774: “Novel estimation and prognostic techniques for the analysis of state-of-charge and state-of-health degradation in energy storage devices”. PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2014-2016).

  • Conicyt REDES-130029: Generation of International Networking between International Research Centers, PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch.). Faculty of Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2013-2014).

 

  • CSIRO-Chile International Center of Excellence (Innova-Chile CORFO); Program 3-Project 1: “Intelligent Management Systems for Equipment”. PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch., 2012-2015).

 

  • Innova-Chile CORFO Project 11IDL1-10409: “Enfoque Probabilístico Basado en Modelos para la Estimación en Línea del Estado-de-Salud/Estado-de-Carga y Caracterización del Perfil de Uso de Baterías de Ion-Litio” PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch.). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2012).

 

  • FONDECYT Project 1110070: Risk-Sensitive Particle Filtering Framework for Failure Prognosis and uncertainty Representation in Nonlinear Systems with High-Impact/Low-Likelihood Events”. PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2011-2013).

  • FONDECYT Project 11070022: “Sequential Monte Carlo Methods and Feedback Concepts Applied to Fault Diagnosis and Failure Prognosis in Nonlinear, Non-Gaussian Dynamic Systems”. PI: Marcos Orchard (U.Ch). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2007-2009).

  • FONDECYT Project 1020741: “Fault Detection and Diagnosis in Dynamic Non Linear Time Varying Systems”. PI: Aldo Cipriano (P.U.C.) y Guillermo González (U.Ch). Faculty of Mathematics and Physical Sciences. Department of Electrical Engineering. Universidad de Chile (2002).

  • “Model-Based Fuzzy Predictive Control for Grinding Plants”. PI: Aldo Cipriano. Faculty of Civil Engineering. Department of Electrical Engineering. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (2001).

  • “A Full Compensating System for General Loads, Based on a Combination of Thyristor Binary Compensator and a PWM-IGBT Active Power Filter”.  PI: Juan Dixon. Faculty of Civil Engineering. Department of Electrical Engineering. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (2000).

  • INCO-PROQUS “Advanced Model Based Process and Quality Supervision in Steel Production. Expert system for real time supervision”. PI: Aldo Cipriano. Faculty of Civil Engineering. Department of Electrical Engineering. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (1999-2000).
  • Failure Prognosis in Nonlinear Dynamic Systems: Theory and Practice

  • Bayesian Processors for State Estimation in Non-Gaussian Dynamic Systems

  • Prognostics-based Decision Making in Complex Dynamic Systems