Anomaly Detection for Noisy Data with the Mahalanobis–Taguchi System

Purpose: Condition-based maintenance requires an accurate detection of unknown yet-to-have-occurred anomalies and the establishment of anomaly detection procedure for sensor data is urgently needed. Sensor data are noisy, and a conventional analysis cannot always be conducted appropriately. An anomaly detection procedure for noisy data was therefore developed. Methodology/Approach: In a conventional Mahalanobis–Taguchi method, appropriate anomaly detection is difficult with noisy data. Herein, the following is applied: 1) estimation of a statistical model considering noise, 2) its application to anomaly detection, and 3) development of a corresponding analysis framework. Findings: Engineers can conduct anomaly detection through the measurement and accumulation, analysis, and feedback of data. Especially, the two-step estimation of the statistical model in the analysis stage helps because it bridges technical knowledge and advanced anomaly detection. Research Limitation/implication: A novel data-utilisation design regarding the acquired quality is provided. Sensor-collected big data are generally noisy. By contrast, data targeted through conventional statistical quality control are small but the noise is controlled. Thus various findings for quality acquisition can be obtained. A framework for data analysis using big and small data is provided. Originality/Value of paper: The proposed statistical anomaly detection procedure for noisy data will improve of the feasibility of new services such as condition-based maintenance of equipment using sensor data.