Deep Multimanifold Transformation-Based Multivariate Time Series Fault Detection

Unsupervised fault detection in multivariate time series (MTS) plays a vital role in ensuring the stable operation of complex systems. Traditional methods often assume that normal data follow a single Gaussian distribution and identify anomalies as deviations from this distribution. However, this simplified assumption fails to capture the diversity and structural complexity of real-world time series, which can lead to misjudgments and reduced detection performance in practical applications. To address this issue, we propose a new method that combines a neighborhood-driven data augmentation strategy with a multimanifold representation learning framework. By incorporating information from local neighborhoods, the augmentation module can simulate contextual variations of normal data, enhancing the model’s adaptability to distributional changes. In addition, we design a structure-aware feature learning approach that encourages natural clustering of similar patterns in the feature space while maintaining sufficient distinction between different operational states. Extensive experiments on several public benchmark datasets demonstrate that our method achieves superior performance in terms of both accuracy and robustness, showing strong potential for generalization and real-world deployment.