Reconfiguration blocks and fault hiding: Design, applications, and challenges

Reconfiguration blocks are structures that have been successfully employed for fault-tolerant control. In this regard, the technique known as fault hiding usually inserts the reconfiguration blocks between the faulty system and the nominal controller to recover the system properties without modifying the controller. In addition to fault hiding, novel applications to reconfiguration blocks have been recently proposed, including to networked and cyber-secure control. This paper presents the key concepts related to the use of reconfiguration blocks and fault hiding. In addition, it presents an overview of the existing structures of reconfiguration blocks and the main methodologies to design those blocks for fault hiding. Moreover, it revises the main applications of reconfiguration blocks, including the emerging applications out of the fault-tolerant control scope. Finally, this paper also discusses the main challenges and further research directions related to this topic.