The group of microdischarges in surface DBD can be used as a virtual roughness element. Localization of the discharge along the electrode span can be performed on the ‘plasma panel’ principle by sectioning the buried electrode and individually controlling sections potential. The paper describes the study of the details of such actuator operation. Data presented include the flowfield induced by discharge and the analysis of the controllability of the created disturbances in a subsonic boundary layer. In the final part of the paper, the control of the low-velocity streak, an object widely present in transitionary and turbulent flows, by an adaptive plasma actuator, is demonstrated.