The implications of the object/unified modeling language approach to the problem of fault detection and isolation in dynamical systems

There is a growing trend to use object-based implementations and modeling in industrial control applications. However, the object-based approach imposes new theoretical and practical problems. Those problems are due to a higher abstraction level that is achievable with objects as compared to the more traditional, state-based fault detection and isolation methods (FDI) approaches. This paper presents a description of the problems and solutions to them in the framework of a discrete FDI method referred to as ontological control. The results are also relevant in respect to domain-independent failure recovery methods, such as (Fodor et al., 1997).