Automation

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Automation

History

Types of automation

The role of computers in automation

Applications

In the home

The human impact of automation

Resources

Automation is the use of scientific and technological principles and control systems (such as computers) to control the manufacture of machines and processes that take over work normally performed by humans. The term is derived from the longer term automatization (to make something involuntary or automated) or from the phrase automatic operation. Delmar S. Harder, a plant manager for the General Motors Corporation, is credited with first having used the term in 1935. Automation is also considered to be more technically advanced that mechanization (which is the use of machinery to assist humans).

History

Ideas for ways of automating tasks have been in existence since the time of the ancient Greeks. Greek engineer and mathematician Hero (Heron) of Alexandria (c. 10–70), for example, is credited with having developed an automated system that would open a temple door when a priest lit a fire on the temple altar. The real impetus for the development of automation came, however, during the Industrial Revolution of the early eighteenth century. Many of the steam-powered devices built by James Watt, Richard Trevithick, Richard Arkwright, Thomas Savery, Thomas Newcomen, and their contemporaries were simple examples of machines capable of taking over the work of humans. One of the most elaborate examples of automated machinery developed during this period was the drawloom designed by French inventor and textile worker Basile Bouchon in 1725. The instructions for the operation of the Bouchon loom were recorded on sheets of paper in the form of holes. The needles that carried thread through the loom to make cloth were guided by the presence or absence of those holes. The manual process of weaving a pattern into a piece of cloth through the work of an individual was transformed by the Bouchon process into an operation that could be performed mindlessly by merely stepping on a pedal.

Types of automation

Automated machines can be subdivided into two large categories—open-loop and closed-loop machines, which can then be subdivided into even smaller categories. Open-loop machines are devices that, once started, go through a cycle and then stop. A common example is the automatic dishwashing machine. Once dishes are loaded into the machine and a button pushed, the machine goes through a predetermined cycle of operations: pre-rinse, wash, rinse, and dry, for example. A human operator may have choices as to which sequence the machine should follow—heavy wash, light wash, warm and cold, and so on—but each of these operations is alike in that the machine simply does the task and then stops. Many of the most familiar appliances in homes today operate on this basis. A microwave oven, a coffee maker, and a CD (compact disc) player are examples.

Larger, more complex industrial operations also use open-cycle operations. For example, in the production of a car, a single machine may be programmed to place a side panel in place on the car and then weld it in a dozen or more locations. Each of the steps involved in this process—from placing the door properly to each of the different welds—takes place according to instructions programmed into the machine.

Closed-loop machines

Closed-loop machines are devices capable of responding to new instructions at some point in their operation. The instructions may come from the operation being performed or from a human operator. The ability of a machine to change its operation based on new information is known as feedback. One example of a closed-loop operation is the machine used in the manufacture of paper. Paper is formed when a suspension of pulpy fibers in water is emptied onto a conveyer belt whose surface is a sieve. Water drains out of the suspension, leaving the pulp on the belt. As the pulp dries, paper is formed. The rate at which the pulpy suspension is added to the conveyer belt can be automatically controlled by a machine. A sensing device at the end of the conveyor belt is capable of measuring the thickness of the paper and reporting back to the pouring machine on the condition of the product. If the paper becomes too thick, the sensor can tell the pouring machine to slow the rate at which pulpy suspension is added to the belt. If the paper becomes too thin, the sensor can tell the machine to increase the rate at which the raw material is added to the conveyor belt.

Many types of closed-loop machines exist. Some contain sensors, but are unable to make necessary adjustments on their own. Instead, sensor readings are sent to human operators who monitor the machine’s operation and input any changes it may need to make in its functioning. Other closed-loop machines contain feedback mechanisms, like the papermaking machine described above. The results of the operation determine what changes, if any, the machine has to make.

Still other closed-loop machines have feedforward mechanisms. That is, the first step they perform is to examine the raw materials that come to them and then decide what operations to perform. Letter-sorting machines are of this type. The first step such a machine takes in sorting letters is to read the zip code on the address and then send the letter to the appropriate sub-system.

The role of computers in automation

Since the 1960s, the nature of automation has undergone dramatic changes as a result of the availability of computers. For many years, automated machines were limited by the amount of feedback data they could collect and interpret. Thus, their operation was limited to a relatively small number of alternatives. When an automated machine is placed under the control of a computer, however, that disadvantage disappears. The computer can analyze a vast number of sensory inputs from a system and decide which of many responses it should make.

Artificial intelligence

The availability of computers has also made possible a revolution in the most advanced of all forms of automation, operations that are designed to replicate human thought processes. An automated machine is said to be thinking if the term is used for only the simplest of mental processes: “Should I do A or B,” for example. The enormous capability of a computer, however, makes it possible for a machine to analyze many more options, compare options with each other, consider possible outcomes for various options, and perform basic reasoning and problem-solving steps not contained within the machine’s programmed memory. At this point, the automated machine is approaching the types of mental functions normally associated with human beings; it is therefore said to have artificial intelligence.

If not quite human-level intelligence, at least animal-level. For example, researchers at Genobyte, a company in Boulder, Colorado, developed Robokoneko, a robot kitten (ko=child, neko=cat, in Japanese). The cat’s brain, the Cellular Automata Machine (CAM) designed by Hugo de Garis of Advanced Telecommunications Research (Kyoto, Japan), contains nearly 40 million artificial neurons. The CAM-Brain’s neurons are real electronic devices, rather than the software simulations used in most artificial intelligence research. The neural net circuit modules, with a maximum of 1, 000 neurons each, are evolved at speeds of less than a second using a special computer chip, called a field programmable gate array (FPGA). Researchers hope the CAM-Brain will, for the first time, allow a robot to interact with stimuli in its environment to develop the sort of intelligence seen in animals, allowing the kitten to walk, turn, jump, arch its back, and sit up. In 2005, Japanese scientists from Osaka University created a human looking robot (an android) by the name of Repliee Q1Expo. With the look of an Asian woman, the robot contains sensors, actuators, and motors that allow human-like movements such as the fluttering of eyelids, the shaking of hands, and the breathing of lungs.

Applications

Manufacturing companies in virtually every industry are achieving rapid increases in productivity by taking advantage of automation technologies. When one thinks of automation in manufacturing, robots usually come to mind. The automotive industry was the early adopter of robotics, using these automated machines for material handling, processing operations, and assembly and inspection. Donald A. Vincent, executive vice president of Robotic Industries Association, predicts a greater use of robots for assembly, paint systems, final trim, and parts transfer will be seen in the near future.

Vincent expects other industries, such as the electronics industry, to heavily invest in robotics as well. Such industries have propelled the mass customization of electronic goods; the miniaturization of electronics goods and their internal components; and the re-standardization of the semiconductor industry, which, Vincent says, completely retooled itself in 2004.

Robotics will continue to expand into the food and beverage industry, where robots will perform such tasks as packaging, palletizing, and filling. The aerospace, appliance, and non-manufacturing markets are also potential markets for robotics.

One can break down automation in production into basically three categories: fixed automation, programmable automation, and flexible automation. The automotive industry primarily uses fixed automation. Also known as hard automation, this refers to an automated production facility in which the sequence of processing operations is fixed by the equipment layout. A good example of this would be an automated production line where a series of workstations are connected by a transfer system to move parts between the stations. What starts as a piece of sheet metal in the beginning of the process becomes a car at the end.

Programmable automation is a form of automation for producing products in batches. The products are made in batch quantities ranging from several dozen to several thousand units at a time. For each new batch, the production equipment must be reprogrammed and changed to accommodate the new product style.

Flexible automation is an extension of programmable automation. Here, the variety of products is sufficiently limited so that the changeover of the equipment can be done very quickly and automatically. The reprogramming of the equipment in flexible automation is done off-line; that is, the programming is accomplished at a computer terminal without using the production equipment itself.

Computer numerical control (CNC) is a form of programmable automation in which a machine is controlled by numbers (and other symbols) that have been coded into a computer. The program is actuated from the computer’s memory. The machine tool industry was the first to use numerical control to control the position of a cutting tool relative to the work part being machined. The CNC part program represents the set of machining instructions for the particular part, while the coded numbers in the sequenced program specify x-y-z coordinates in a Cartesian axis system, defining the various positions of the cutting tool in relation to the work part.

In the home

There has been much talk about the automated home where everything in the house is networked and controlled through digital technology via the computer. Experts predict that eventually a homeowner will be able to set the thermostat, start the oven, and program a DVD (digital video disc) player from the office or the home thanks to computers.

KEY TERMS

Closed-loop machine— A machine in which operation is controlled (by the machine or by a human operator) by the input or output of the machine.

Feedback mechanism— A process by which the behavior of a machine is affected by the functions performed by that machine.

Feedforward mechanism— A process by which the behavior of a machine is affected by the nature of the materials or data being fed into the machine.

Open-loop machine— A machine that performs some type of operation determined by a predetermined program and that cannot adjust its own operation as a result of changes in the output of that operation.

The human impact of automation

The impact of automation on individuals and societies has been profound. On one level, machines are now performing many otherwise unpleasant and/or time-consuming tasks: dishwashing being one of the obvious examples. The transformation of the communications industry is another example of how automation has enhanced the lives of people worldwide. Today, millions of telephone calls that once would have passed through human operators are now handled by automatic switching machines.

Other applications of automation in communications systems include local area networks (LAN) and communications satellites. A LAN operates like an automated telephone company, however, in that it can transmit not only voice, but also digital data between terminals in the system. Satellites, necessary for transmitting telephone or video signals throughout the world, depend on automated guidance systems to place and retain the satellites in predetermined orbits.

For banking, automatic tellers are ubiquitous. The medical industry employs robots to aid the doctor in analyzing and treating patients. Automatic reservation, navigation, and instrument landing systems, not to mention automatic pilots, have revolutionized the travel industry.

However, automation has also resulted in drastic dislocations in employment patterns. When one machine can do the work of ten workers, most or all of those people must be relocated or retrained to learn newer, higher, or completely different skills. Whether or not this is a wholly negative impact has been strongly debated. As population and consumer demand for the products of automation increases, new jobs have been created.

Positive impacts on employment patterns include computerized programs that help designers in many fields develop and test new concepts quickly, without ever building a physical prototype. Automated systems also make it much easier for people to carry out the work they do in non-traditional places. They may be able to stay home, for example, and do their jobs by communicating with other individuals and machines by means of highly automated communications systems.