Commanding Progress: The Journey of Controls Engineering Through Time
Controls engineering, as a formal discipline, may seem modern, but its fundamental principles trace back centuries. In the earliest days of mechanization, people found the need to manage and stabilize machines. Early systems were purely mechanical, designed to maintain balance or regulate motion. A notable early example was the centrifugal governor used in steam engines . This device automatically adjusted engine speed, marking one of the first uses of feedback in engineering. Though primitive by today’s standards, these early innovations introduced concepts that would become core to modern control engineering: feedback, regulation, and system stability. These early control efforts helped improve productivity and safety during the Industrial Revolution, but they also revealed the need for more structured, theoretical approaches to controlling complex systems. The Development of Control Theory and Electrical Influence As industries evolved and machines became more advanced, so did the r...