automation

automation, automatic operation and control of machinery or processes by devices, such as robots that can make and execute decisions without human intervention. The principal feature of such devices is their use of self-correcting control systems that employ feedback, i.e., they use part of their output to control their input. Once the automated process is set up, human participation in the manufacturing process involves little more than maintenance and repair of the equipment. In a typical automated manufacturing process, the feeding in of materials, the machine operation, the transfers from one machine to another, the final assembly, the removal, and the packing are all done automatically. In some automated manufacturing, a single robot with interchangeable tool heads performs all of the various manufacturing assignments. At various stages in the operation are inspection devices that reject substandard products and adjust the machinery to correct any malfunction. Since electronic computers are able to store, select, record, and present data systematically, they are widely used to direct automated systems. Automation is applied in industry to the manufacture of foodstuffs, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and electronic equipment, and is used in steel mills, automobile plants, and coal mines. Another application is its use in the launching, aiming, and guidance of military rockets. Automation has also been applied to information handling, resulting in automatically prepared bills and reports and the solution of many engineering problems. It offers high quality products together with great savings in costs. (see robotics; computer-aided manufacturing)

Bibliography

See P. Senker, Toward the Automatic Factory? The Need for Training (1986); D. I. Cleland and Bapaya Bidando, Factory Automation Handbook (1990).

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automation

Term coined about 1946 by a Ford Motor Co. engineer, used to describe a wide variety of systems in which there is a significant substitution of mechanical, electrical, or computerized action for human effort and intelligence. In general usage, automation can be defined as a technology concerned with performing a process by means of programmed commands combined with automatic feedback control (see control system) to ensure proper execution of the instructions. The resulting system is capable of operating without human intervention.

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The replacement of manual operations by computerized methods. Office automation refers to integrating clerical tasks such as typing, filing and appointment scheduling. Factory automation refers to computer-driven assembly lines. See also COM automation and tape library.

A Vision of Automation

Artist Unknown, Circa 1895

A hundred years ago, the concept of the future lacked one major ingredient... the computer! (Image courtesy of Rosemont Engineering.)

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automation - Automatic, as opposed to human, operation or control of a process, equipment or a system; or the techniques and equipment used to achieve this. Most often applied to computer (or at least electronic) control of a manufacturing process. See also design automation, office automation, manularity, Manufacturing Automation Protocol, PEARL, QBE.