The Intellectual Foundations of Automation

Modern automation makes use of machines which are capable of simulating, in some measure, the human neuromuscular system and, to some extent, the human psy choneuromuscular system. These machines are the culmina tion of man's continual effort throughout the centuries to de velop mechanical aids which would conserve and supplement his personal energy, both physical and mental. In the early stages of civilization these aids took the form of hand imple ments and simple machines which served to maximize the ef fectiveness of man's personal strength. The development of power machinery during the eighteenth century represented a major break with the past in that it enabled exploitation of the energy latent in nature and released man from the task of being the prime energy source in the performance of his work. Modern technology has brought about additional progress in the evolution of machines. Through the concept of feedback control, electronic-computer techniques, and combinations of these, machines have been evolved which can perform selected tasks by themselves in accordance with commands furnished to them. In some applications, these machines can outper form humans. In others, they are able to take over simple decision-making functions from humans and to analyze auto matically massive quantities of data.