Introduction and overview

The feedback control systems specialist has a multifaceted job involving several different types of tasks; an alternative point of view is that control systems encompass several different sub-specialties from which an engineer might choose to emphasize only one or two. The aspects of the systems to be understood include: 1the process being controlled, whether it be a beer brewing plant, a refinery, an aircraft, or an artificially paced human heart;2the hardware, including instruments for sensing, wiring carrying data, computers processing data, and motors implementing commands; and3the algorithms used and the computer coding which implements them.