Measured output ($y_m(t)$)

The measured output is the information about the plant output available to the controller. It may differ from the actual plant output because of measurement noise or feedback delay. In the ideal examples $y_m=y=x$, so the controller observes the actual current state exactly.

A sensor bias is a systematic offset between the measured output and the physical plant output, modeled here as $y_m=y+b$ with constant $b$. Unlike zero-mean measurement noise, a sensor bias persists when repeated readouts are averaged. A sensor bias affects the physical meaning of a zero tracking error; for a temperature readout, independent thermometer calibration can detect it.