The Vector control scheme widely used for control purposes of PMSM drives requires rotor position information. Generally, sensors are used for this purpose, which increases the cost, size, and complexity of the system and also reduces the efficiency of drives. Therefore, it has become essential to avoid the use of these sensors and go for sensorless drives. In this paper, different types of speed and position estimation techniques are reviewed for sensorless control with their recent developments and their inherent advantages and disadvantages.
Keywords: Permanent magnet (PM), machine, sensorless drives, back EMF, EKF, MRAS, sliding mode observer, HF injection.