Automation

[edit] Background

Automation stems from the Greek word 'automato', a combination of 'autos' or self and 'matos' meaning thinking or animated. The word 'automatical' appeared from the 1580s, followed by 'automatous' from the 1640s with 'automatic' meaning, self-acting, moving or acting on its own, coming into common use later by the 1800’s.

The word automation as now commonly understood was coined in connection with the automobile industry and is attributed to D.S. Harder, an engineering manager at the Ford Motor Company in the 1950’s. Its use coincides with the period of the 19th Century often referred to as the second industrial revolution or industry 2.0. A period where electricity facilitated the creation of assembly lines and mass production, particularly in the motor vehicle industry.

The term is now perhaps best understood as differing degrees of automation, which as a result retains its continued relevance. The third industrial revolution, for example is now considered more as a period of partial automation, or a period where capacities to manufacture had developed sufficiently to no longer required intervention of human hands. It was not until the next phase or industry 4.0 where automation took yet another leap, the increased possibilities brought about by artificial intelligence and machine learning began to completely remove the need for human involvement.

And yet still even further the onset of what might now be called industry 5.0 talks of automated machines, that are smart enough to perform complex actions totally alone, yet able to leverage advanced technologies and computing capabilities to better collaborate with humans, work faster and work more efficiently.

[edit] Levels of automation

In-line with what has been described above, what we understand as automation has changed as capacities have developed. This process is perhaps best described by the levels or degrees of automation, developed by Thomas B. Sheridan and W. L.Verplank in the late 70’s. These levels range from complete human control to complete computer control with the degree to which a task being automated is referred to as levels of automation (LOA). The full list of levels is given below:

[edit] Automation levels 1 - 5

The human operator does the task and turns it over to the computer to implement. - The computer helps by determining the options. - The computer helps determine and suggests options. The human operator can choose to follow the recommendation. - The computer selects the action and the human operator decides if it should or should not be done. - The computer selects the action and implements it if the human operator approves the action.

[edit] Automation levels 6 - 10

The computer selects the action and informs the human operator in case the operator wants to cancel the action. - The computer does the action and tells the human operator what it did. - The computer does the action and tells the human only if the human operator asks. - The computer does the action when told and tells the human operator only if the computer decides the operator should be told. - The computer does the action if it decides it should be done. The computer tells the human operator only if it decides the operator should be told

[edit] Components of Automation

There are many different potential subsystems or components that support the possibilities of automation, and many ways to describe these. In turn the importance of these will largely depend on the level of automation that is sought. Here are some examples basic components employed, depending on the complexity of the system that is envisaged. The International Society of Automation (ISA) discusses 7 different components of Automation; power distribution, motor control and drives, safety system, programmable controllers, discrete and analog I/O, communication systems, human-machine interface (HMI).

[edit] Types of Automation

The changing nature of automation means that as with components, the different types of automation are open to opinion. One way to categorise these different types of automation might be: Industrial Automation, Numerically Controlled (NC) Machines, Industrial Robots, Flexible Manufacturing Systems (FMS) and Computer-Aided Manufacturing, each with its own possible levels or depth of automation.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Building automation.
• Interoperability.
• Open data - how can it aid the development of the construction industry?
• Smart buildings.
• US Smart Connected HVAC in Commercial Buildings Study 2017.