IEEE
Robotics

Robotics and
Automation

Automation Award
Robots
Industrial robot
Autonomous research robot
Domestic robot
General purpose
Home automation
Banking automation
Laboratory automation
Integrated library system
Database administration and automation
Broadcast automation
Console automation
Building automation
Specific purpose
Automated attendant
Automated guided vehicle
Automated highway system
Automated pool cleaner
Automated teller machine
Automatic painting (robotic)
Pop music automation
Robotic lawn mower
Telephone switchboard
Vending machine
Social movements
Technocracy movement
Venus Project
Zeitgeist Movement
v
t
e
Automation

Automation can be defined as the technology by which a process or
procedure is performed without human assistance.[1]
In other words, Automation[2] or automatic control, is the use of
various control systems for operating equipment such as machinery,
processes in factories, boilers and heat treating ovens, switching on
telephone networks, steering and stabilization of ships, aircraft and
other applications and vehicles with minimal or reduced human
intervention. Some processes have been completely automated.
Automation

Automation has been achieved by various means including mechanical,
hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical, electronic devices and computers,
usually in combination. Complicated systems, such as modern factories,
airplanes and ships typically use all these combined techniques. The
benefit of automation include labor savings, savings in electricity
costs, savings in material costs, and improvements to quality,
accuracy and precision.
The term automation, inspired by the earlier word automatic (coming
from automaton), was not widely used before 1947, when Ford
established an automation department.[2] It was during this time that
industry was rapidly adopting feedback controllers, which were
introduced in the 1930s.[3]
Contents
1 Open-loop and closed-loop (feedback) control
2 Control actions
2.1 Discrete control (on/off)
2.2 PID controller
2.3 Sequential control and logical sequence or system state control
2.4
Computer

Computer control
3 History
3.1 Significant applications
4 Advantages and disadvantages
5 Societal Impact
6 Lights out manufacturing
7 Health and environment
8 Convertibility and turnaround time
9
Automation

Automation tools
9.1 Limitations to automation
9.2 Current limitations
9.2.1
Paradox

Paradox of Automation
10 Cognitive automation
11 Recent and emerging applications
11.1 Automated retail
11.2 Automated mining
11.3 Automated video surveillance
11.4 Automated highway systems
11.5 Automated waste management
11.6 Home automation
11.7 Laboratory automation
11.8 Industrial automation
11.8.1 Advantages and Disadvantages
11.8.2 Industrial Robotics
11.8.3 Programmable Logic Controllers
11.8.4 Agent-assisted automation
12 Relationship to unemployment
13 See also
14 Notes
15 References
16 External links
Open-loop and closed-loop (feedback) control[edit]
Fundamentally, there are two types of control loop; open loop control,
and closed loop (feedback) control.
In open loop control, the control action from the controller is
independent of the "process output" (or "controlled process
variable"). A good example of this is a central heating boiler
controlled only by a timer, so that heat is applied for a constant
time, regardless of the temperature of the building. (The control
action is the switching on/off of the boiler. The process output is
the building temperature).
In closed loop control, the control action from the controller is
dependent on the process output. In the case of the boiler analogy
this would include a thermostat to monitor the building temperature,
and thereby feed back a signal to ensure the controller maintains the
building at the temperature set on the thermostat. A closed loop
controller therefore has a feedback loop which ensures the controller
exerts a control action to give a process output the same as the
"Reference input" or "set point". For this reason, closed loop
controllers are also called feedback controllers.[4]
The definition of a closed loop control system according to the
British Standard Institution is 'a control system possessing
monitoring feedback, the deviation signal formed as a result of this
feedback being used to control the action of a final control element
in such a way as to tend to reduce the deviation to zero.' [5]
Likewise, a Feedback Control System is a system which tends to
maintain a prescribed relationship of one system variable to another
by comparing functions of these variables and using the difference as
a means of control.[5] The advanced type of automation that
revolutionized manufacturing, aircraft, communications and other
industries, is feedback control, which is usually continuous and
involves taking measurements using a sensor and making calculated
adjustments to keep the measured variable within a set range.[6] The
theoretical basis of closed loop automation is control theory.
Control actions[edit]
Main article: Control system
The control action is the form of the controller output action.
Discrete control (on/off)[edit]
One of the simplest types of control is on-off control. An example is
the thermostat used on household appliances which either opens or
closes an electrical contact. (Thermostats were originally developed
as true feedback-control mechanisms rather than the on-off common
household appliance thermostat.)
Sequence control, in which a programmed sequence of discrete
operations is performed, often based on system logic that involves
system states. An elevator control system is an example of sequence
control.
PID controller[edit]
A block diagram of a
PID controller

PID controller in a feedback loop, r(t) is the
desired process value or "set point", and y(t) is the measured process
value.
Main article: PID Controller
A proportional–integral–derivative controller (PID controller) is
a control loop feedback mechanism (controller) widely used in
industrial control systems.
A
PID controller

PID controller continuously calculates an error value
e
(
t
)
displaystyle e(t)
as the difference between a desired setpoint and a measured process
variable and applies a correction based on proportional, integral, and
derivative terms, respectively (sometimes denoted P, I, and D) which
give their name to the controller type.
The theoretical understanding and application dates from the 1920s,
and they are implemented in nearly all analogue control systems;
originally in mechanical controllers, and then using discrete
electronics and latterly in industrial process computers.
Sequential control and logical sequence or system state control[edit]
Main article: Programmable logic controller
Sequential control may be either to a fixed sequence or to a logical
one that will perform different actions depending on various system
states. An example of an adjustable but otherwise fixed sequence is a
timer on a lawn sprinkler.
State Abstraction
This state diagram shows how UML can be used for designing a door
system that can only be opened and closed
States refer to the various conditions that can occur in a use or
sequence scenario of the system. An example is an elevator, which uses
logic based on the system state to perform certain actions in response
to its state and operator input. For example, if the operator presses
the floor n button, the system will respond depending on whether the
elevator is stopped or moving, going up or down, or if the door is
open or closed, and other conditions.[7]
An early development of sequential control was relay logic, by which
electrical relays engage electrical contacts which either start or
interrupt power to a device. Relays were first used in telegraph
networks before being developed for controlling other devices, such as
when starting and stopping industrial-sized electric motors or opening
and closing solenoid valves. Using relays for control purposes allowed
event-driven control, where actions could be triggered out of
sequence, in response to external events. These were more flexible in
their response than the rigid single-sequence cam timers. More
complicated examples involved maintaining safe sequences for devices
such as swing bridge controls, where a lock bolt needed to be
disengaged before the bridge could be moved, and the lock bolt could
not be released until the safety gates had already been closed.
The total number of relays, cam timers and drum sequencers can number
into the hundreds or even thousands in some factories. Early
programming techniques and languages were needed to make such systems
manageable, one of the first being ladder logic, where diagrams of the
interconnected relays resembled the rungs of a ladder. Special
computers called programmable logic controllers were later designed to
replace these collections of hardware with a single, more easily
re-programmed unit.
In a typical hard wired motor start and stop circuit (called a control
circuit) a motor is started by pushing a "Start" or "Run" button that
activates a pair of electrical relays. The "lock-in" relay locks in
contacts that keep the control circuit energized when the push button
is released. (The start button is a normally open contact and the stop
button is normally closed contact.) Another relay energizes a switch
that powers the device that throws the motor starter switch (three
sets of contacts for three phase industrial power) in the main power
circuit. Large motors use high voltage and experience high in-rush
current, making speed important in making and breaking contact. This
can be dangerous for personnel and property with manual switches. The
"lock in" contacts in the start circuit and the main power contacts
for the motor are held engaged by their respective electromagnets
until a "stop" or "off" button is pressed, which de-energizes the lock
in relay.[8]
Commonly interlocks are added to a control circuit. Suppose that the
motor in the example is powering machinery that has a critical need
for lubrication. In this case an interlock could be added to insure
that the oil pump is running before the motor starts. Timers, limit
switches and electric eyes are other common elements in control
circuits.
Solenoid valves are widely used on compressed air or hydraulic fluid
for powering actuators on mechanical components. While motors are used
to supply continuous rotary motion, actuators are typically a better
choice for intermittently creating a limited range of movement for a
mechanical component, such as moving various mechanical arms, opening
or closing valves, raising heavy press rolls, applying pressure to
presses.
Computer

Computer control[edit]
Computers can perform both sequential control and feedback control,
and typically a single computer will do both in an industrial
application.
Programmable logic controllers

Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) are a type of
special purpose microprocessor that replaced many hardware components
such as timers and drum sequencers used in relay logic type systems.
General purpose process control computers have increasingly replaced
stand alone controllers, with a single computer able to perform the
operations of hundreds of controllers.
Process control

Process control computers can
process data from a network of PLCs, instruments and controllers in
order to implement typical (such as PID) control of many individual
variables or, in some cases, to implement complex control algorithms
using multiple inputs and mathematical manipulations. They can also
analyze data and create real time graphical displays for operators and
run reports for operators, engineers and management.
Control of an automated teller machine (ATM) is an example of an
interactive process in which a computer will perform a logic derived
response to a user selection based on information retrieved from a
networked database. The ATM process has similarities with other online
transaction processes. The different logical responses are called
scenarios. Such processes are typically designed with the aid of use
cases and flowcharts, which guide the writing of the software code.
History[edit]
The earliest feedback control mechanism was the water clock invented
by Greek engineer Ctesibius (285–222 BC).[9] In the modern era, the
thermostat invented in 1620 by the Dutch scientist Cornelius Drebbel.
(Note: Early thermostats were temperature regulators or controllers
rather than the on-off mechanisms common in household appliances.)
Another control mechanism was used to tent the sails of windmills. It
was patented by Edmund Lee in 1745.[10] Also in 1745, Jacques de
Vaucanson invented the first automated loom.
In 1771
Richard Arkwright

Richard Arkwright invented the first fully automated spinning
mill driven by water power, known at the time as the water frame.[11]
An automatic flour mill was developed by
Oliver Evans
.jpg/440px-Oliver_Evans_(Engraving_by_W.G.Jackman,_cropped).jpg)
Oliver Evans in 1785, making
it the first completely automated industrial process.[12][13]
Steam engines are a technology created during the 1700s used to
promote automation.
The centrifugal governor, which was invented by
Christian Huygens

Christian Huygens in
the seventeenth century, was used to adjust the gap between
millstones.[14][15][16] Another centrifugal governor was used by a Mr.
Bunce of England in 1784 as part of a model steam crane.[17][18] The
centrifugal governor was adopted by James Watt for use on a steam
engine in 1788 after Watt’s partner Boulton saw one at a flour mill
Boulton & Watt were building.[10]
The governor could not actually hold a set speed; the engine would
assume a new constant speed in response to load changes. The governor
was able to handle smaller variations such as those caused by
fluctuating heat load to the boiler. Also, there was a tendency for
oscillation whenever there was a speed change. As a consequence,
engines equipped with this governor were not suitable for operations
requiring constant speed, such as cotton spinning.[10]
Several improvements to the governor, plus improvements to valve
cut-off timing on the steam engine, made the engine suitable for most
industrial uses before the end of the 19th century. Advances in the
steam engine stayed well ahead of science, both thermodynamics and
control theory.[10]
The governor received relatively little scientific attention until
James Clerk Maxwell

James Clerk Maxwell published a paper that established the beginning
of a theoretical basis for understanding control theory. Development
of the electronic amplifier during the 1920s, which was important for
long distance telephony, required a higher signal to noise ratio,
which was solved by negative feedback noise cancellation. This and
other telephony applications contributed to control theory. In the
1940s and 1950s, German mathematician
Irmgard Flugge-Lotz developed
the theory of discontinuous automatic controls, which found military
applications during the
Second World War

Second World War to fire control systems and
aircraft navigation systems.[6]
Relay logic

Relay logic was introduced with factory electrification, which
underwent rapid adaption from 1900 though the 1920s. Central electric
power stations were also undergoing rapid growth and operation of new
high pressure boilers, steam turbines and electrical substations
created a large demand for instruments and controls. Central control
rooms became common in the 1920s, but as late as the early 1930s, most
process control was on-off. Operators typically monitored charts drawn
by recorders that plotted data from instruments. To make corrections,
operators manually opened or closed valves or turned switches on or
off. Control rooms also used color coded lights to send signals to
workers in the plant to manually make certain changes.[19]
Controllers, which were able to make calculated changes in response to
deviations from a set point rather than on-off control, began being
introduced the 1930s. Controllers allowed manufacturing to continue
showing productivity gains to offset the declining influence of
factory electrification.[20]
Factory productivity was greatly increased by electrification in the
1920s. U. S. manufacturing productivity growth fell from 5.2%/yr
1919-29 to 2.76%/yr 1929-41. Alexander Field notes that spending on
non-medical instruments increased significantly from 1929–33 and
remained strong thereafter.[20]
In 1959 Texaco’s Port Arthur refinery became the first chemical
plant to use digital control.[21] Conversion of factories to digital
control began to spread rapidly in the 1970s as the price of computer
hardware fell.
Significant applications[edit]
The automatic telephone switchboard was introduced in 1892 along with
dial telephones.[22] By 1929, 31.9% of the Bell system was automatic.
Automatic telephone switching originally used vacuum tube amplifiers
and electro-mechanical switches, which consumed a large amount of
electricity. Call volume eventually grew so fast that it was feared
the telephone system would consume all electricity production,
prompting
Bell Labs

Bell Labs to begin research on the transistor.[23]
The logic performed by telephone switching relays was the inspiration
for the digital computer. The first commercially successful glass
bottle blowing machine was an automatic model introduced in 1905.[24]
The machine, operated by a two-man crew working 12-hour shifts, could
produce 17,280 bottles in 24 hours, compared to 2,880 bottles made by
a crew of six men and boys working in a shop for a day. The cost of
making bottles by machine was 10 to 12 cents per gross compared to
$1.80 per gross by the manual glassblowers and helpers.
Sectional electric drives were developed using control theory.
Sectional electric drives are used on different sections of a machine
where a precise differential must be maintained between the sections.
In steel rolling, the metal elongates as it passes through pairs of
rollers, which must run at successively faster speeds. In paper making
the paper sheet shrinks as it passes around steam heated drying
arranged in groups, which must run at successively slower speeds. The
first application of a sectional electric drive was on a paper machine
in 1919.[25] One of the most important developments in the steel
industry during the 20th century was continuous wide strip rolling,
developed by Armco in 1928.[26]
Automated pharmacology production
Before automation many chemicals were made in batches. In 1930, with
the widespread use of instruments and the emerging use of controllers,
the founder of Dow Chemical Co. was advocating continuous
production.[27]
Self-acting machine tools that displaced hand dexterity so they could
be operated by boys and unskilled laborers were developed by James
Nasmyth in the 1840s.[28]
Machine tools

Machine tools were automated with Numerical
control (NC) using punched paper tape in the 1950s. This soon evolved
into computerized numerical control (CNC).
Today extensive automation is practiced in practically every type of
manufacturing and assembly process. Some of the larger processes
include electrical power generation, oil refining, chemicals, steel
mills, plastics, cement plants, fertilizer plants, pulp and paper
mills, automobile and truck assembly, aircraft production, glass
manufacturing, natural gas separation plants, food and beverage
processing, canning and bottling and manufacture of various kinds of
parts.
Robots

Robots are especially useful in hazardous applications like
automobile spray painting.
Robots

Robots are also used to assemble electronic
circuit boards. Automotive welding is done with robots and automatic
welders are used in applications like pipelines.
Advantages and disadvantages[edit]
The main advantages of automation are:
Increased throughput or productivity.
Improved quality or increased predictability of quality.
Improved robustness (consistency), of processes or product.
Increased consistency of output.
Reduced direct human labor costs and expenses.
Installation in operations reduces cycle time.
Can complete tasks where a high degree of accuracy is required.
Replaces human operators in tasks that involve hard physical or
monotonous work.[29]
Replaces humans in tasks done in dangerous environments (i.e. fire,
space, volcanoes, nuclear facilities, underwater, etc.)
Performs tasks that are beyond human capabilities of size, weight,
speed, endurance, etc.
Reduces operation time and work handling time significantly.
Frees up workers to take on other roles.
Provides higher level jobs in the development, deployment, maintenance
and running of the automated processes.
The main disadvantages of automation are:
Possible security threats/vulnerability due to increased relative
susceptibility for committing errors.
Unpredictable or excessive development costs.
High initial cost.
Displaces workers due to job replacement.
Leads to further environmental damage and could compound climate
change.[30]
Societal Impact[edit]
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Increased automation can often cause workers to feel anxious about
losing their jobs as technology renders their skills or experience
unnecessary. Early in the Industrial Revolution, when inventions like
the steam engine were making some job categories expendable, workers
forcefully resisted these changes. Luddites, for instance, were
English textile workers who protested the introduction of weaving
machines by destroying them.[31] Similar movements have sprung up
periodically ever since. For most of the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries, the most influential of these movements were led by
organized labor, which advocated for the retraining of workers whose
jobs were rendered redundant by machines.
Currently, the relative anxiety about automation reflected in opinion
polls seems to correlate closely with the strength of organized labor
in that region or nation. For example, while a recent study by the Pew
Research Center indicated that 72% of Americans are worried about
increasing automation in the workplace, 80% of Swedes see automation
and artificial intelligence as a good thing, due to the country’s
still-powerful unions and a more robust national safety net.[32]
Automation

Automation is already contributing significantly to unemployment,
particularly in nations where the government does not proactively seek
to diminish its impact. In the United States, 47% of all current jobs
have the potential to be fully automated by 2033, according to the
research of experts
Carl Frey

Carl Frey and Michael Osborn. Furthermore, wages
and educational attainment appear to be strongly negatively correlated
with an occupation’s risk of being automated.[33] Prospects are
particularly bleak for occupations that do not presently require a
university degree, such as truck driving.[34] Even in high-tech
corridors like Silicon Valley, concern is spreading about a future in
which a sizable percentage of adults have little chance of sustaining
gainful employment.[35] As the example of Sweden suggests, however,
the transition to a more automated future need not inspire panic, if
there is sufficient political will to promote the retraining of
workers whose positions are being rendered obsolete.
Lights out manufacturing[edit]
Main article: Lights out (manufacturing)
Lights out manufacturing is when a production system is 100% or near
to 100% automated (not hiring any workers). In order to eliminate the
need for labor costs altogether.
Lights Out Manufacturing grew in popularity in the U.S. when General
Motors in 1982 implemented humans “hands-off” manufacturing in
order to “replace risk-averse bureaucracy with automation and
robots”. However, the factory never reached full “lights out”
status.[36]
The expansion of Lights Out Manufacturing has peaked interest in
recent times due to the successful and well-known Japanese Robotics
company “FANUC” (factory automation, numerical control).[36]
Another successful autonomous operation factory would be
“Constellation Brands’” beer factory in Mexico that can
“bottle or can, package and send [beers] to the market” with only
six humans supervising the factory.[37]
However, the expansion of Lights Out Manufacturing was impeded by the
many requirements that must be checked-off in order to have a
successful factory that does not require much or any human
interference. This checklist is as follows:[38]
Reliability of equipment
Long term mechanic capabilities
Planned preventative maintenance
Commitment from the staff
Due to these risks of Lights Out Manufacturing, there is a controversy
surrounding the idea of implementing it in large factories. However,
it has been around for a significant amount of time and there is
notable work that has been developed to ensure that automated work is
done efficiently and safely.[39]
Health and environment[edit]
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The costs of automation to the environment are different depending on
the technology, product or engine automated. There are automated
engines that consume more energy resources from the Earth in
comparison with previous engines and vice versa.[citation needed]
Hazardous operations, such as oil refining, the manufacturing of
industrial chemicals, and all forms of metal working, were always
early contenders for automation.[dubious – discuss][citation needed]
The automation of vehicles could prove to have a substantial impact on
the environment, although the nature of this impact could be
beneficial or harmful depending on several factors. Because automated
vehicles are much less likely to get into accidents compared to
human-driven vehicles, some precautions built into current models
(such as anti-lock brakes or laminated glass) would not be required
for self-driving versions. Removing these safety features would also
significantly reduce the weight of the vehicle, thus increasing fuel
economy and reducing emissions per mile. Self-driving vehicles are
also more precise with regard to acceleration and breaking, and this
could contribute to reduced emissions. Self-driving cars could also
potentially utilize fuel-efficient features such as route mapping that
is able to calculate and take the most efficient routes. Despite this
potential to reduce emissions, some researchers theorize that an
increase of production of self-driving cars could lead to a boom of
vehicle ownership and use. This boom could potentially negate any
environmental benefits of self-driving cars if a large enough number
of people begin driving personal vehicles more frequently.[40]
Automation

Automation of homes and home appliances is also thought to impact the
environment, but the benefits of these features are also questioned. A
study of energy consumption of automated homes in Finland showed that
smart homes could reduce energy consumption by monitoring levels of
consumption in different areas of the home and adjusting consumption
to reduce energy leaks (such as automatically reducing consumption
during the nighttime when activity is low). This study, along with
others, indicated that the smart home’s ability to monitor and
adjust consumption levels would reduce unnecessary energy usage.
However, new research suggests that smart homes might not be as
efficient as non-automated homes. A more recent study has indicated
that, while monitoring and adjusting consumption levels does decrease
unnecessary energy use, this process requires monitoring systems that
also consume a significant amount of energy. This study suggested that
the energy required to run these systems is so much so that it negates
any benefits of the systems themselves, resulting in little to no
ecological benefit.[41]
Convertibility and turnaround time[edit]
Another major shift in automation is the increased demand for
flexibility and convertibility in manufacturing processes.
Manufacturers are increasingly demanding the ability to easily switch
from manufacturing Product A to manufacturing Product B without having
to completely rebuild the production lines. Flexibility and
distributed processes have led to the introduction of Automated Guided
Vehicles with Natural Features Navigation.
Digital electronics helped too. Former analogue-based instrumentation
was replaced by digital equivalents which can be more accurate and
flexible, and offer greater scope for more sophisticated
configuration, parametrization and operation. This was accompanied by
the fieldbus revolution which provided a networked (i.e. a single
cable) means of communicating between control systems and field level
instrumentation, eliminating hard-wiring.
Discrete manufacturing

Discrete manufacturing plants adopted these technologies fast. The
more conservative process industries with their longer plant life
cycles have been slower to adopt and analogue-based measurement and
control still dominates. The growing use of
Industrial Ethernet

Industrial Ethernet on the
factory floor is pushing these trends still further, enabling
manufacturing plants to be integrated more tightly within the
enterprise, via the internet if necessary. Global competition has also
increased demand for Reconfigurable Manufacturing Systems.
Automation

Automation tools[edit]
Engineers can now have numerical control over automated devices. The
result has been a rapidly expanding range of applications and human
activities.
Computer-aided technologies

Computer-aided technologies (or CAx) now serve as the
basis for mathematical and organizational tools used to create complex
systems. Notable examples of CAx include
Computer-aided design

Computer-aided design (CAD
software) and
Computer-aided manufacturing

Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM software). The
improved design, analysis, and manufacture of products enabled by CAx
has been beneficial for industry.[42]
Information technology, together with industrial machinery and
processes, can assist in the design, implementation, and monitoring of
control systems. One example of an industrial control system is a
programmable logic controller (PLC). PLCs are specialized hardened
computers which are frequently used to synchronize the flow of inputs
from (physical) sensors and events with the flow of outputs to
actuators and events.[43]
An automated online assistant on a website, with an avatar for
enhanced human–computer interaction.
Human-machine interfaces (HMI) or computer human interfaces (CHI),
formerly known as man-machine interfaces, are usually employed to
communicate with PLCs and other computers. Service personnel who
monitor and control through HMIs can be called by different names. In
industrial process and manufacturing environments, they are called
operators or something similar. In boiler houses and central utilities
departments they are called stationary engineers.[44]
Different types of automation tools exist:
ANN – Artificial neural network
DCS – Distributed Control System
HMI – Human Machine Interface
SCADA – Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition
PLC – Programmable Logic Controller
Instrumentation
Motion control
Robotics
When it comes to factory automation, Host Simulation Software (HSS) is
a commonly used testing tool that is used to test the equipment
software. HSS is used to test equipment performance with respect to
Factory
Automation

Automation standards (timeouts, response time, processing
time).[45]
Limitations to automation[edit]
Current technology is unable to automate all the desired tasks.
Many operations using automation have large amounts of invested
capital and produce high volumes of product, making malfunctions
extremely costly and potentially hazardous. Therefore, some personnel
are needed to ensure that the entire system functions properly and
that safety and product quality are maintained.
As a process becomes increasingly automated, there is less and less
labor to be saved or quality improvement to be gained. This is an
example of both diminishing returns and the logistic function.
As more and more processes become automated, there are fewer remaining
non-automated processes. This is an example of exhaustion of
opportunities. New technological paradigms may however set new limits
that surpass the previous limits.
Current limitations[edit]
Many roles for humans in industrial processes presently lie beyond the
scope of automation. Human-level pattern recognition, language
comprehension, and language production ability are well beyond the
capabilities of modern mechanical and computer systems (but see Watson
(computer)). Tasks requiring subjective assessment or synthesis of
complex sensory data, such as scents and sounds, as well 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 where automation of industrial tasks is
possible. Overcoming these obstacles is a theorized path to
post-scarcity economics.
Paradox

Paradox of Automation[edit]
The paradox of automation says that the more efficient the automated
system, the more crucial the human contribution of the operators.
Humans are less involved, but their involvement becomes more critical.
If an automated system has an error, it will multiply that error until
it’s fixed or shut down. This is where human operators come in.[46]
A fatal example of this was Air France Flight 447, where a failure of
automation put the pilots into a manual situation they were not
prepared for.[47]
Cognitive automation[edit]
Cognitive automation is an emerging genus of automation enabled by
cognitive computing. Its primary concern is the automation of clerical
tasks and workflows that consist of structuring unstructured data.[48]
Cognitive automation relies on multiple disciplines: natural language
processing, real-time computing, machine learning algorithms, big data
analytics and evidence-based learning. According to Deloitte,
cognitive automation enables the replication of human tasks and
judgment “at rapid speeds and considerable scale.”[49]
Such tasks include:
Document redaction
Data extraction and document synthesis / reporting
Contract management
Natural language search
Customer, employee, and stakeholder onboarding
Manual activities and verifications
Follow up and email communications
Recent and emerging applications[edit]
Main article: Emerging technologies
KUKA

KUKA industrial robots being used at a bakery for food production
Automated retail[edit]
Food and drink
Main article: Automated restaurant
The food retail industry has started to apply automation to the
ordering process;
McDonald's

McDonald's has introduced touch screen ordering and
payment systems in many of its restaurants, reducing the need for as
many cashier employees.[50]
The University of Texas at Austin

The University of Texas at Austin has
introduced fully automated cafe retail locations.[51] Some Cafes and
restaurants have utilized mobile and tablet "apps" to make the
ordering process more efficient by customers ordering and paying on
their device.[52] Some restaurants have automated food delivery to
customers tables using a Conveyor belt system. The use of robots is
sometimes employed to replace waiting staff.[53]
Stores
Main articles:
Automated retail

Automated retail and Automated retailing
Many supermarkets and even smaller stores are rapidly introducing Self
checkout systems reducing the need for employing checkout workers. In
the United States, the retail industry employs 15.9 million people as
of 2017 (around 1 in 9 Americans in the workforce). Globally, an
estimated 192 million workers could be affected by automation
according to research by Eurasia Group.[54]
Online shopping

Online shopping could be considered a form of automated retail as the
payment and checkout are through an automated Online transaction
processing system, with the share of online retail accounting jumping
from 5.1% in 2011 to 8.3% in 2016[citation needed]. However,
two-thirds of books, music and films are now purchased online. In
addition, automation and online shopping could reduce demands for
shopping malls, and retail property, which in America is currently
estimated to account for 31% of all commercial property or around 7
billion square feet. Amazon has gained much of the growth in recent
years for online shopping, accounting for half of the growth in online
retail in 2016.[54] Other forms of automation can also be an integral
part of online shopping, for example the deployment of automated
warehouse robotics such as that applied by Amazon using Kiva Systems.
Automated mining[edit]
Main article: Automated mining
Automated mining involves the removal of human labor from the mining
process.[55] The mining industry is currently in the transition
towards automation. Currently it can still require a large amount of
human capital, particularly in the third world where labor costs are
low so there is less incentive for increasing efficiency through
automation.
Automated video surveillance[edit]
Main article: Surveillance
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) started the
research and development of automated visual surveillance and
monitoring (VSAM) program, between 1997 and 1999, and airborne video
surveillance (AVS) programs, from 1998 to 2002. Currently, there is a
major effort underway in the vision community to develop a fully
automated tracking surveillance system. Automated video surveillance
monitors people and vehicles in real time within a busy environment.
Existing automated surveillance systems are based on the environment
they are primarily designed to observe, i.e., indoor, outdoor or
airborne, the amount of sensors that the automated system can handle
and the mobility of sensor, i.e., stationary camera vs. mobile camera.
The purpose of a surveillance system is to record properties and
trajectories of objects in a given area, generate warnings or notify
designated authority in case of occurrence of particular events.[56]
Automated highway systems[edit]
Main article: Automated highway systems
As demands for safety and mobility have grown and technological
possibilities have multiplied, interest in automation has grown.
Seeking to accelerate the development and introduction of fully
automated vehicles and highways, the
United States Congress

United States Congress authorized
more than $650 million over six years for intelligent transport
systems (ITS) and demonstration projects in the 1991 Intermodal
Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). Congress legislated in
ISTEA that "the Secretary of Transportation shall develop an automated
highway and vehicle prototype from which future fully automated
intelligent vehicle-highway systems can be developed. Such development
shall include research in human factors to ensure the success of the
man-machine relationship. The goal of this program is to have the
first fully automated highway roadway or an automated test track in
operation by 1997. This system shall accommodate installation of
equipment in new and existing motor vehicles." [ISTEA 1991, part B,
Section 6054(b)].
Full automation commonly defined as requiring no control or very
limited control by the driver; such automation would be accomplished
through a combination of sensor, computer, and communications systems
in vehicles and along the roadway. Fully automated driving would, in
theory, allow closer vehicle spacing and higher speeds, which could
enhance traffic capacity in places where additional road building is
physically impossible, politically unacceptable, or prohibitively
expensive. Automated controls also might enhance road safety by
reducing the opportunity for driver error, which causes a large share
of motor vehicle crashes. Other potential benefits include improved
air quality (as a result of more-efficient traffic flows), increased
fuel economy, and spin-off technologies generated during research and
development related to automated highway systems.[57]
Automated waste management[edit]
Play media
Automated side loader operation
Automated waste collection trucks prevent the need for as many workers
as well as easing the level of labor required to provide the
service.[58]
Home automation[edit]
Main article: Home automation
Home automation

Home automation (also called domotics) designates an emerging practice
of increased automation of household appliances and features in
residential dwellings, particularly through electronic means that
allow for things impracticable, overly expensive or simply not
possible in recent past decades.
Laboratory automation[edit]
Main article: Laboratory automation
Automation

Automation is essential for many scientific and clinical
applications.[59] Therefore, automation has been extensively employed
in laboratories. From as early as 1980 fully automated laboratories
have already been working.[60] However, automation has not become
widespread in laboratories due to its high cost. This may change with
the ability of integrating low-cost devices with standard laboratory
equipment.[61][62] Autosamplers are common devices used in laboratory
automation.
Industrial automation[edit]
Industrial automation deals primarily with the automation of
manufacturing, quality control and material handling processes.
General purpose controllers for industrial processes include
Programmable logic controllers, stand-alone I/O modules, and
computers. Industrial automation is to replace the decision making of
humans and manual command-response activities with the use of
mechanized equipment and logical programming commands. One trend is
increased use of
Machine vision

Machine vision to provide automatic inspection and
robot guidance functions, another is a continuing increase in the use
of robots. Industrial automation is simply done at the industrial
level.
Energy efficiency in industrial processes has become a higher
priority. Semiconductor companies like Infineon Technologies are
offering 8-bit micro-controller applications for example found in
motor controls, general purpose pumps, fans, and ebikes to reduce
energy consumption and thus increase efficiency.
See also:
Building automation and Laboratory automation
Advantages and Disadvantages[edit]
Industrial automation has a number of both beneficial and detrimental
implications, many of which are shared with automation as a whole (see
full section Advantages and disadvantages). Perhaps the most cited
advantage of automation in industry is that it is associated with
faster production and cheaper labor costs. Another benefit could be
that it replaces hard, physical, or monotonous work.[63] Additionally,
tasks that take place in hazardous environments or that are otherwise
beyond human capabilities can be done by machines, as machines can
operate even under extreme temperatures or in atmospheres that are
radioactive or toxic. They can also be maintained with simple quality
checks. However, at the time being, not all tasks can be automated,
and some tasks are more expensive to automate than others. Initial
costs of installing the machinery in factory settings are high, and
failure to maintain a system could result in the loss of the product
itself. Moreover, some studies seem to indicate that industrial
automation could impose ill effects beyond operational concerns,
including worker displacement due to systemic loss of employment and
compounded environmental damage; however, these findings are both
convoluted and controversial in nature, and could potentially be
circumvented.[64]
Industrial Robotics[edit]
Automated milling machines
Industrial robotics is a sub-branch in the industrial automation that
aids in various manufacturing processes. Such manufacturing processes
include; machining, welding, painting, assembling and material
handling to name a few.[65] Industrial robots utilizes various
mechanical, electrical as well as software systems to allow for high
precision, accuracy and speed that far exceeds any human performance.
The birth of industrial robot came shortly after World War II as
United States saw the need for a quicker way to produce industrial and
consumer goods.[66] Servos, digital logic and solid state electronics
allowed engineers to build better and faster systems and overtime
these systems were improved and revised to the point where a single
robot is capable of running 24 hours a day with little or no
maintenance. In 1997, there were 700,000 industrial robots in use, the
number has risen to 1.8M in 2017[67]
Programmable Logic Controllers[edit]
Industrial automation incorporates programmable logic controllers in
the manufacturing process.
Programmable logic controllers

Programmable logic controllers (PLCs) use a
processing system which allows for variation of controls of inputs and
outputs using simple programming. PLCs make use of programmable
memory, storing instructions and functions like logic, sequencing,
timing, counting, etc. Using a logic based language, a PLC can receive
a variety of inputs and return a variety of logical outputs, the input
devices being sensors and output devices being motors, valves, etc.
PLCs are similar to computers, however, while computers are optimized
for calculations, PLCs are optimized for control task and use in
industrial environments. They are built so that only basic logic-based
programming knowledge is needed and to handle vibrations, high
temperatures, humidity and noise. The greatest advantage PLCs offer is
their flexibility. With the same basic controllers, a PLC can operate
a range of different control systems. PLCs make it unnecessary to
rewire a system to change the control system. This flexibility leads
to a cost-effective system for complex and varied control systems.[68]
Agent-assisted automation[edit]
Main article: Agent-assisted automation
Agent-assisted automation refers to automation used by call center
agents to handle customer inquiries. There are two basic types:
desktop automation and automated voice solutions. Desktop automation
refers to software programming that makes it easier for the call
center agent to work across multiple desktop tools. The automation
would take the information entered into one tool and populate it
across the others so it did not have to be entered more than once, for
example. Automated voice solutions allow the agents to remain on the
line while disclosures and other important information is provided to
customers in the form of pre-recorded audio files. Specialized
applications of these automated voice solutions enable the agents to
process credit cards without ever seeing or hearing the credit card
numbers or CVV codes[69]
The key benefit of agent-assisted automation is compliance and
error-proofing. Agents are sometimes not fully trained or they forget
or ignore key steps in the process. The use of automation ensures that
what is supposed to happen on the call actually does, every time.
Relationship to unemployment[edit]
Main article: Technological unemployment
Research by
Carl Benedikt Frey

Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne of the Oxford
Martin School argued that employees engaged in "tasks following
well-defined procedures that can easily be performed by sophisticated
algorithms" are at risk of displacement, and 47 per cent of jobs in
the US were at risk. The study, released as a working paper in 2013
and published in 2017, predicted that automation would put low-paid
physical occupations most at risk, by surveying a group of colleagues
on their opinions.[70] However, according to a study published in
McKinsey Quarterly[71] in 2015 the impact of computerization in most
cases is not replacement of employees but automation of portions of
the tasks they perform.[72] The methodology of the McKinsey study has
been heavily critizised for being intransparent and relying on
subjective assessments.[73] The methodology of Frey and Osborne has
been subjected to criticism, as lacking evidence, historical
awareness, or credible methodology.[74][75] The Obama White House has
pointed out that every 3 months "about 6 percent of jobs in the
economy are destroyed by shrinking or closing businesses, while a
slightly larger percentage of jobs are added".[76] A recent MIT
economics study of automation in the United States from 1990 to 2007
found that there may be a negative impact on employment and wages when
robots are introduced to an industry. When one robot is added per one
thousand workers, the employment to population ratio decreases between
0.18–0.34 percentages and wages are reduced by 0.25–0.5 percentage
points. During the time period studied, the US did not have many
robots in the economy which restricts the impact of automation.
However, automation is expected to triple (conservative estimate) or
quadruple (generous estimate) leading these numbers to become
substantially higher.[77]
Based on a formula by Gilles Saint-Paul, an economist at Toulouse 1
University, the demand for unskilled human capital declines at a
slower rate than the demand for skilled human capital increases.[78]
In the long run and for society as a whole it has led to cheaper
products, lower average work hours, and new industries forming (i.e.,
robotics industries, computer industries, design industries). These
new industries provide many high salary skill based jobs to the
economy. By 2030, between 3 and 14 percent of the global workforce
will be forced to switch job categories due to automation eliminating
jobs in an entire sector. While the number of jobs lost to automation
are often offset by jobs gained from technological advances, the same
type of job lost is not the same one replaced and that leading to
increasing unemployment in the lower-middle class. This occurs largely
in the US and developed countries where technological advances
contribute to higher demand for high skilled labor but demand for
middle wage labor continues to fall. Economists call this trend
“income polarization” where unskilled labor wages are driven down
and skilled labor is driven up and it is predicted to continue in
developed economies.[79]
See also[edit]
Robotics

Robotics portal
Electronics portal
Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence – automated thought
Automation

Automation technician
Autonomous car
Cognitive computing
Control theory
Cybernetics
Futures studies
Industrial engineering
Machine to machine
Manufacturing engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mobile manipulator
Multi-agent system
Odo Josef Struger
Pharmacy automation
Process control
Productivity improving technologies
Robotics
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^ "Feedback and control systems" - JJ Di Steffano, AR Stubberud, IJ
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^ a b Bennett 1993
^ The elevator example is commonly used in programming texts, such as
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