What is Automation?
[[File:Control room pt tupper.jpg|thumb|Minimum human intervention is required to control many large facilities such as this electrical generating station.]] [[File:Olympic Final 2000 (1936 cartoon).jpg|thumb|386x386px|[[Cartoon]] from the [[1936 Summer Olympics]] looks forward to the year 2000. [[Television]] technology lets spectators watch events at home while [[radio]] carries their promptings and applause to [[loudspeaker]]s in the [[stadium]]. It appeared in the Olympia-Sonderheft of the Berliner Illustrierte Zeitung.]] In the context of [[engineering]], '''automation''' is when a device or a [[machine]] is changed in such a way that it can fulfill the task it was designed for without the need of [[human]] [[Wikt:Interaction|interaction]]. Very often, this means that the machine is fitted with an additional system which takes control of its functions. For example, a [[James Watt#The centrifugal governor|centrifugal governor]] controls a [[steam engine]]. Benefits of automation are that the output of the machine or device are more uniform, and that product quality is improved. A system that is not fully automated needs human interaction is needed: Many of the tasks involved are repetitive and boring. In general, machines are also designed so that humans no longer need to lift heavy weights or do dangerous things. With automation, human intervention is limited or absent. == Images == <gallery> File:Campo de Criptana Molinos de Viento 2.jpg|A common [[windmill]], the position of the wheel is fixed File:DK Fanoe Windmill01.JPG|Windmill where the wheel can readjust itself, to capture the wind. An additional [[gear]] is needed for rotating the wheel (which can be automated). </gallery> == Related pages == *[[Industrial Revolution]] [[Category:Technology]]