Reconfigurable distributed control using smart peripheral elements

Increasingly, there is a move towards in-built intelligence for sensors and actuators in order to integrate these “smart” peripheral elements as part of a distributed control system. The utilisation of local intelligence to provide local fault detection and fault tolerance allows the incorporation of new variables into the structure of the system. The proposed approach is to integrate this information into the structure of the control law. Thus, the main goal is to integrate a decision-making procedure between peripheral elements and different control strategies. The reconfiguration of the control law, based upon local health measures, is decided by this procedure.