U N I T 1 AUTOMATION In this Unit you will learn about what automation is, how it developed throughout history and what its basic principles and applications are. You will also look at the different computer-assisted technologies and the recent multidisciplinary improvements. A. WHAT IS AUTOMATION? 1 Read the following text and identify the main topic of each paragraph by choosing from the ones listed below. Par. 1: a. Related technologies Par. 2: b. The basic steps of automation Par. 3: c. Origins of the term Par. 4: d. A definition of automation Par. 1 Automation can be defined as the application of machines to tasks once performed by human beings or, increasingly, to tasks that would otherwise be impossible. Although the term mechanization is often used to refer to the simple replacement of human labour by machines, automation generally implies the integration of machines into a self-governing system. Automation has revolutionized those areas in which it has been introduced, and there is scarcely an aspect of modern life that has not been affected by it. Par. 2 The term automation was coined in the automobile industry about 1946 to describe the increased use of automatic devices and controls in mechanized production lines. The origin of the word is attributed to D.S. Harder, an engineering manager at the Ford Motor Company at the time. The term is widely used in a manufacturing context, but it is also applied outside manufacturing when describing systems in which there is a significant substitution of mechanical, electrical, or computerized action for human effort and intelligence. Par. 3 In general usage, automation can be defined as a technology concerned with performing a process by means of programmed commands combined with automatic feedback control to ensure proper execution of the instructions. The resulting system is capable of operating without human intervention. The development of this technology has become increasingly dependent on the use of computers and computer-related technologies. As a consequence, automated systems have become increasingly sophisticated and complex. Advanced systems represent a level of capability and performance that surpass in many ways the abilities of humans to carry out the same activities. 218