Perspectives of automatic control

A short view is given on the role of automatic control with regard to technological developments in various process categories like manufacturing, power and process industries, transportation and vehicles, biological systems, and ecological/social systems. Some current developments in the components of automatic control systems are then considered, ranging from smart sensors and actuators, to bus-connected decentralized computer control hardware and control software with model-based control functions. Increasingly, computer-assisted modeling, identification methods and special development tools like hardware-in-the-loop simulation systems support the control function development. A further step is the integration of processes and their control such as the conjoining of mechanics and electronics to form mechatronics. Finally, some examples of the present roles of automation in modern technological and scientific developments are given, and some perspectives for the development in the near future are stated.Throughout the article a shell-oriented graphical representation is used to show the process categories considered, the subsystems and components and related examples of the technological and functional developments. The intention is to explain the role of automatic control, in particular to a general community, not necessarily expert in the field.