Sensor drift, which is the deviation of measurements over time, can compromise controller performance and cause system instability. To address this challenge, this article proposes a proactive fault-tolerant control strategy for distributed parameter systems. The proposed strategy is based on a time-varying spatiotemporal model that captures system dynamics. The initial phase of this research involves designing an adaptive observer-based detector to identify the temporal and spatial locations of fault occurrences accurately. Subsequently, a joint state-and-fault estimator is developed to accurately reconstruct the fault profile, even in the presence of strong state-fault coupling. The controller provides real-time corrections based on the estimation results. A rigorous stability analysis of the closed-loop system is provided, and the effectiveness of the controller is validated through experiments involving two distinct fault scenarios.
Wang et al. (2026) studied this question.