Cybernetics and Feedback Control A whirlwind tour including applications to robots and everyday life

Cybernetics and Feedback Control Possibly the central idea in engineering, including also chemical and biological systems Thousands of years old, but lost to Western civilization (along with many other ideas) until rediscovered in 1600s Crucial in AI & art robotics as well

What is Feedback Control? A self-regulating system where there is a goal state and a way of measuring the system’s current state. This generates an error signal which is used to guide the system toward the goal state.

An Example: Balancing

Chinese Water Clock Large basin of water, with float valve to maintain constant volume This created constant pressure on aperture, which caused constant water flow Mechanical apparatus to measure flow

Chinese Water Clock

Brief History of Feedback Systems B.C. … Chinese water clocks mid 1600s … Hubbell’s ovens (chicken hatcheries) late 1700s … James Watt’s steam engine governor 1800s … automata early 1900s … classical control theory (telephone signaling; warship control) 1940s … Norbert Weiner (“cybernetics”) and WWII weaponry 1950s … Macy conferences; W. Grey Walter’s turtles 1960s … A.I.

Watt’s Steam Engine Governor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Centrifugal_governor.png

Cabaret Mechanical Theatre

Walter’s machina speculatrix

the water clock lives on…