Identification of block-oriented nonlinear systems starting from linear approximations: A survey

Block-oriented models are popular in nonlinear modeling because of their advantages to be quite simple to understand and easy to use. Many different identification approaches were developed over the years to estimate the parameters of a wide range of block-oriented models. One class of these approaches uses linear approximations to initialize the identification algorithm. The best linear approximation framework and the -approximation framework, or equivalent frameworks, allow the user to extract important information about the system, guide the user in selecting good candidate model structures and orders, and they prove to be a good starting point for nonlinear system identification algorithms. This paper gives an overview of the different block-oriented models that can be modeled using linear approximations, and of the identification algorithms that have been developed in the past. A non-exhaustive overview of the most important other block-oriented system identification approaches is also provided throughout this paper.