Control engineeringControl engineering, also known as control systems engineering and, in some European countries, automation engineering, is an engineering discipline that deals with control systems, applying control theory to design equipment and systems with desired behaviors in control environments. The discipline of controls overlaps and is usually taught along with electrical engineering, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering at many institutions around the world.
SystemA system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules or set of constraints to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and is expressed in its functioning. Systems are the subjects of study of systems theory and other systems sciences.Affect control theoryIn control theory, affect control theory proposes that individuals maintain affective meanings through their actions and interpretations of events. The activity of social institutions occurs through maintenance of culturally based affective meanings.
ScienceSystematic endeavour to gain knowledgeScience is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable explanations about nature and society. It is driven by the scientific method: an empirical cycle that typically involves making observations, producing hypotheses, testing them with evidence, and drawing conclusions.
EngineeringEngineering is the practice of systematically applying natural science and mathematics to design and improve systems, devices, or processes that solve problems under constraints. It is typically motivated by satisfying human needs, resulting in creations such as bridges, engines, smartphones, pacemakers, the internet, spacecraft, and washing machines.
TransdisciplinarityTransdisciplinarity is an approach that iteratively interweaves knowledge systems, skills, methodologies, values and fields of expertise within inclusive and innovative collaborations that bridge academic disciplines and community perspectives, to develop transformative outcomes that respond to complex societal challenges.
TechnologyUse of knowledge for practical goalsFor other uses, see Technology (other).A steam turbine with the case opened, an example of energy technologyTechnology is the application of conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word technology can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible products such as tools or machines, and intangible ones such as software.
Open system (systems theory)An open system (also known as a flow system) is a system that has external interactions. Such interactions can take the form of information, energy, or material transfers into or out of the system boundary, depending on the discipline which defines the concept. An open system is contrasted with the concept of an isolated system which exchanges neither energy, matter, nor information with its environment.
NatureNature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part of nature, human activity or humans as a whole are often described as at times at odds, or outright separate and even superior to nature.
Control systemA control system manages, commands, directs, or regulates the behavior of other devices or systems using control loops. It can range from a single home heating controller using a thermostat controlling a domestic boiler to large industrial control systems which are used for controlling processes or machines. The control systems are designed via control engineering process.
SocietyConnected group of individualsClockwise from top left: A family in Savannakhet, Laos; a crowd shopping in Maharashtra, India; a military parade on a Spanish national holiday.A society is a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.
Boundary value problemType of problem involving ODEs or PDEs Shows a region where a differential equation is valid and the associated boundary values Differential equations Scope Fields Natural sciencesEngineering Astronomy Physics Chemistry Biology Geology Applied mathematics Continuum mechanics Chaos theory Dynamical systems Social sciences Economics Population dynamics Classification Types Ordinary Partial Differential-algebraic Integro-differential Fractional Linear Non-linear By variable type Dependent and independent variables Autonomous Coupled / Decoupled Exact Homogeneous / Nonhomogeneous Features Order Operator Notation Relation to processes Difference (discrete analogue) Stochastic Stochastic partial Delay Solution Existence and uniqueness Well-posed problem Picard–Lindelöf theorem Peano existence theorem Carathéodory's existence theorem Cauchy–Kovalevskaya theorem General topics Initial values Boundary values Dirichlet Neumann Robin Cauchy Periodic Wronskian Abel's identity Sturm–Liouville theory Floquet theory Phase portrait Stability Lyapunov Asymptotic Exponential Series solutions Rate of convergence Asymptotic series Special functions Numerical integration Dirac delta function Solution methods Inspection Method of characteristics Ansatz Euler Exponential response formula Finite difference Crank–Nicolson Finite element Infinite element Finite volume Galerkin Petrov–Galerkin Green's function Integrating factor Integral transforms Perturbation theory Reduction of order Runge–Kutta Separation of variables Undetermined coefficients Variation of parameters WKB approximation People List Newton Leibniz Jacob Bernoulli d'Alembert Clairaut Euler Lagrange Laplace Wroński Fourier Cauchy Green Dirichlet Sturm Liouville Neumann Robin Boole Kovalevskaya Runge Kutta Lipschitz Lindelöf Picard Jeffreys Nicolson Crank Hrennikoff Courant Named equationsvte In the study of differential equations, a boundary-value problem is a differential equation subjected to constraints called boundary conditions.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.