Engineering cybernetics also known as technical cybernetics or cybernetic engineering, is the branch of cybernetics concerned with applications in engineering, in fields such as
control engineering
Control engineering or control systems 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 o ...
and
robotics
Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...
.
History
Qian Xuesen
Qian Xuesen, or Hsue-Shen Tsien (; 11 December 1911 – 31 October 2009), was a Chinese mathematician, cyberneticist, aerospace engineer, and physicist who made significant contributions to the field of aerodynamics and established engineeri ...
(Hsue-Shen Tsien) defined engineering cybernetics as a theoretical field of "engineering science", the purpose of which is to "study those parts of the broad science of cybernetics which have direct engineering applications in designing controlled or guided systems". Published in 1954, Qian's published work "Engineering Cybernetics" describes the mathematical and engineering concepts of cybernetic ideas as understood at the time, breaking them down into granular scientific concepts for application. Qian's work is notable for going beyond model-based theories and arguing for the necessity of a new design principle for types of system the properties
and characteristics of which are largely unknown.
In the 2020s, concerns with the social consequences of cyber-physical systems, have led to calls to develop "a new branch of engineering", "drawing on the history of cybernetics and reimagining it for our 21st century challenges".
[https://3ainstitute.org/]
Popular usage
1960's - An example of engineering cybernetics is a device designed in the mid-1960s by
General Electric Company
The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and defence electronics, communications, and engineering. The company was founded in 1886, was Britain's largest private employer with over 250 ...
. Referred to as a CAM (
cybernetic anthropomorphous machine), this
machine
A machine is a physical system using Power (physics), power to apply Force, forces and control Motion, movement to perform an action. The term is commonly applied to artificial devices, such as those employing engines or motors, but also to na ...
was designed for use by the
US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
ground troops. Operated by one man in a "cockpit" at the front end, the machine's "legs" steps were duplicates of the leg movements of the harnessed operator.
A common use includes the treatment of neurological disorders with the purposeful application of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), or more precisely the use of functional electrical stimulation (FES).
The most common used therapy is the 1980s introduced FES-cycling methods.
Additional research is attempting to implement applications from control systems to improve FES-cycling.
New research is being conducted using computer-controlled FES, where the musculoskeletal system is viewed as cybernetic system.
In Media
1990's -
Neon Genesis Evangelion
, also known simply as ''Evangelion'' or ''Eva'', is a Japanese mecha anime television series produced by Gainax and animated by Tatsunoko, directed by Hideaki Anno and broadcast on TV Tokyo from October 1995 to March 1996. ''Evangelion' ...
the Japanese animation (
anime
is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
) TV series featured giant robots piloted by humans that had a connection to the host machine via biological impulses.
See also
References
External links
Information on the program of study "Engineering Cybernetics" at the University of StuttgartInformation on the program of study "Technical Cybernetics" at the University of MagdeburgDepartment of Engineering Cybernetics at the Norwegian University of Science and technology
Cybernetics
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