CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION
Industrial
automation
or
numerical
control
is
the
use
of
control
systems
such
as
computers
to
control
industrial
machinery
and
processes,
reducing
the
need
for
human

intervention.
In
the
scope
of
industrialization,
automation
is
a
step
b
eyond
mechanization.
W
hereas
mechanization
provided
human
operators
w
ith
machinery
to
assist
them
w
ith
the
physical

requirements
of
w
ork,
automation
greatly
reduces
the
need
for
human
sensory
and
mental
requirements
as
w
ell.
P
rocesses
and
systems
can
also
b
e
automated.
A
utomation
plays
an

increasingly
important
role
in
the
glo
b
al
economy
and
in
daily
experience.
E
ngineers
strive
to
com
b
ine
automated
devices
w
ith
mathematical
and
organizational
tools
to

create
complex
systems
for
a
rapidly
expanding
range
of
applications
and
human
activities.Many
roles
for
humans
in
industrial
processes
presently
lie
b
eyond
the
scope
of
automation.

H
uman-level
pattern
recognition,
language
recognition,
and
language
production
a
b
ility
are
w
ell
b
eyond
the
capa
b
ilities
of
modern
mechanical
and
computer
systems.
T
asks
requiring
su
bj

ective
assessment
or
synthesis
of
complex
sensory
data,
such
as
scents
and
sounds,
as
w
ell
as
high-level
tasks
such
as
strategic
planning,
currently
require
human
expertise.

In
many
cases,
the
use
of
humans
is
more
cost-effective
than
mechanical
approaches
even
w
here
automation
of
industrial
tasks
is
possi
b
le.

1
.
1
F
or
the
purpose
of
AUTO
M
AT
I
ON S
pecialised
hardened
computers,
referred
to
as
programma
b
le
logic
controllers
(PLC
s),
are
frequently
used
to
synchronize
the

flo
w
of
inputs
from
(
physical)
sensors
and
events
w
ith
the
flo
w
of
outputs
to
actuators
and
events.
T
his
leads
to
precisely
controlled
actions
that
permit
a

tight
control
of
almost
any
industrial
process.
H
uman-machine
interfaces
(H
MI)
or
computer
human
interfaces
(CH
I),
formerly
kno
w
n
as
man-machine
interface,
are
usually
employed
to

communicate
w
ith
PLC
s
and
other
computers,
such
as
entering
and
monitoring
temperatures
or
pressures
for
further
automated
control
or
emergency
response.
S
ervice
personnel
w
ho
monitor
and

control
these
interfaces
are
often
referred
to
as
stationary
engineers.
1
.
2
A
utomation
has
had
a
nota
b
le
impact
in
a
w
ide
range
of
highly

visi
b
le
industries
b
eyond
manufacturing.
O
nce-u
b
iquitous
telephone
operators
have
b
een
replaced
largely
b
y
automated
telephone
s
w
itch
b
oards
and
ans
w
ering
machines.
Medical
processes
such

as
primary
screening
in
electrocardiography
or
radiography
and
la
b
oratory
analysis
of
human
genes,
sera,
cells,
and
tissues
are
carried
out
at
much
greater
speed

and
accuracy
b
y
automated
systems.
A
utomated
teller
machines
have
reduced
the
need
for
b
ank
visits
to
o
b
tain
cash
and
carry
out
transactions.
In
general,
automation

has
b
een
responsi
b
le
for
the
shift
in
the
w
orld
economy
from
agrarian
to
industrial
in
the
19
th
century
and
from
industrial
to
services
in

the
20
th
century.
1
.3
T
he
w
idespread
impact
of
industrial
automation
raises
social
issues,
among
them
its
impact
on
employment.
H
istorical
concerns
a
b
out
the
effects

of
automation
date
b
ack
to
the
b
eginning
of
the
industrial
revolution,
w
hen
a
social
movement
of
E
nglish
textile
machine
operators
in
the
early
18
00
s
kno
w

n
as
the
L
uddites
protested
against
J
acquard's
automated
w
eaving
looms
often
b
y
destroying
such
textile
machines
that
they
felt
fa