CYBERNETICS (Technical)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 790 ▶ |
| Object type | Discipline oriented |
Technical cybernetics is mainly concerned with the study and construction of control and communication systems.
In I.G. BLOOR's words: “As a technique it has become the design template for mechanical and electronic systems and latterly the design of Management Information Systems. Cybernetic theory requests that all inputs to, and outputs from a system must be defined or designed together with suitable ”triggers“ or sensor mechanisms to detect any change in activity or response” (1987, p.8).
The main core of cybernetic technique is the control device, which must monitor and measure such changes, compare them with specified standards, calculate a corrective action if needed and trigger it, using specific means to do so.
Communication cybernetics is concerned with the technical conditions of coding, transmitting and decoding messages. This includes the construction of suitable channels, devices to compensate noise and the eventual production of suitable redundancy.
Cybernetic technique is also implied in computer hardware and software, in artificial intelligence and expert systems, in robotics and bionics, in the new fields of artificial life, virtual reality and information “highways”.