History cybernetics

The History and Development of Cybernetics

The History and

Development of

Cybernetics

Catherine Becker and Marcella Slakosky

1982

Charles Chen (XXC)

Presented by The George Washington University in Cooperation with

The American Society for Cybernetics

The History and

Development of

Cybernetics

History of Cybernetics

Many years ago . . .

The things a person had to understand to get through life were relatively

uncomplicated.

Relative Complication

Every object or process, which we

shall refer to as a system, was

relatively simple.

Objects & Processes

In fact, up until the last few

hundred years, it was possible for

some people to master a

significant portion of man's

existing knowledge.

Knowledge Mastery

Leonardo DaVinci /

Leonardo Da Vinci was a leader

in the fields of painting . . .

Da Vinci Painting

. . . sculpture . . .

Da Vinci, cont. Sculpture

. . . anatomy . . .

Da Vinci, cont. Anatomy

. . . architecture . . .

Da Vinci, cont. Architecture

. . . weapons engineering, and . . .

Da Vinci, cont. Weapons Engineering

. . . aeronautical engineering. This is

his sketch for a 16th century flying

machine . . .

16

Da Vinci, cont. Aeronautical Engineering

. . . and for a parachute in case

the machine broke down.

Da Vinci, cont. Aeronautical Engineering, cont.

As time passed, the systems that humans were concerned with became . . .

Complexity |

Systems Complexity

. . . more and more complicated.

Systems Complexity, cont.

Transportation systems alone

have become more complex . . .

Systems Complexity, cont.

. . . and more complex . . .

Systems Complexity, cont.

. . . and more complex . . .

Systems Complexity, cont.

. . . and more complex . . .

Systems Complexity, cont.

. . . as have energy systems.

Systems Complexity, cont.

Some people have suggested that technology . . .

Technology Advances

. . . is advancing so rapidly it . . .

Technology Advances, cont.

. . . is outpacing our ability to control it.

Technology Advances, cont.

Three Mile Island |

Clearly, it is no longer possible for one person to keep up with developments in

all fields, let alone be a leader in many of them, as Leonardo Da Vinci was.

Keeping up with Developments

Specialization has become a necessity. How then, do we live and work

effectively in a technically advanced society?

How to Live and Work in a Technically Advanced Society?

Underlying Principles

Is there a way that you, the modern man or woman, can sort through the

complexity, formulate a set of principles underlying all systems and thereby

enhance your ability to regulate the world in which you live?

Cybernetics = Regulation of Systems

=

This question was of interest to a handful of people in the 1940s who were the

pioneers in a field that has become known as Cybernetics, the science of the

regulation of systems.

1940

Cybernetics = Regulation of Systems

Cybernetics is an interdisciplinary

science that looks at any and all

systems from molecules . . .

Cybernetics an Interdisciplinary Science

. . . to galaxies, with special attention to

machines, animals and societies.

What Cybernetics Looks at

Cybernetics is derived from the

Greek word for steersman or

helmsman, who provides the

control system for a boat or ship.

Derivation of Cybernetics

This word was coined in 1948 and defined as a science by Norbert

Wiener, who was born in 1894 and died in 1964. He became known

as the Father of Cybernetics.

1948Norbert Wiener

Norbet Weiner

Wiener was an applied mathematician, biologist, and electrical engineer. He

worked during World War II on the radar-guided anti-aircraft gun.

Wiener

Wiener Radar

He connected a special

radar to the gun so that it

was aimed automatically

at the enemy aircraft.

After the gun was fired,

the radar quickly

determined the changing

location of the plane and

re-aimed the gun until the

plane was shot down.

Weiner Radar, cont.

The system imitated human functions and performed them more effectively.

Wiener Radar and Human Factor Imitation

Feedback |

The anti-aircraft gun demonstrates the cybernetic principle of feedback.

Feedback is information about the results of a process which is used to change

the process. The radar provided information about the changes in location of the

enemy airplane and this information was used to correct the aiming of the gun.

Feedback

A more familiar example of the use of feedback to regulate a system is the

common thermostat for heating a room.

Feedback Thermostat

Room Temperature Rises to 700

210

If the heating system is

adjusted, as is common, to

allow a maximum of 2

degrees variation, when the

thermostat is set at 68

degrees the temperature will

rise to 70 degrees . . .

Thermostat Feedback Example

210

. . . before a temperature

sensor in the thermostat

triggers the furnace to turn off.

Thermostat Feedback Example, cont.

210

190

The furnace will remain off until

the temperature of the room has

fallen to 66 degrees . . .

Thermostat Feedback Example, cont.

210

190

. . . then the sensor in

the thermostat triggers

the furnace to turn on

again.

Thermostat Feedback Example, cont.

Self Regulating System

The sensor provides a feedback loop of information that allows the system to

detect a difference from the desired temperature of 68 degrees and to make a

change to correct the error. As with the anti-aircraft gun and the airplane, this

system consisting of the thermostat, the heater and the room is said to regulate itself through feedback and is a self-regulating system.

Self Regulating System

The human body is one of the richest

sources of examples of feedback that

leads to the regulation of a system.

For example, when your stomach is

empty, information is passed to your

brain.

Human Body Feedback Leading to System Regulation

When you have taken corrective action, by eating, your brain is similarly notified

that your stomach is satisfied.

Feedback Corrective Action

In a few hours, the process starts all over again. This feedback loop continues

throughout our lives.

Feedback Hunger Example

The human body is such a marvel

of self-regulation that early

cyberneticians studied its

processes and used it as a model

to design machines that were self-

regulating. One famous machine

called the homeostat was

constructed in the 1940s by a

British scientist, Ross Ashby.

1940 Ross Ashby homeostat

Human Body and Cybernetics Studies

Just as the human body maintains

a 98.6 degree temperature the

homeostat could maintain the

same electrical current, despite

changes from the outside.

homeostat

Homeostat

Homeostasis |

The homeostat, the human being, and the thermostat all are said to maintain

homeostasis or equilibrium, through feedback loops of various kinds. It does

not matter how the information is carried just that the regulator is informed of some change which calls for some kind of adaptive behavior.

Homeostat

Another scientist, Grey Walter, also

pursued the concept of imitating the

self-regulating features of man and

animals.

Grey Walter

Grey Walter Self Regulating Man and Animals

His favorite project was building mechanical 'tortoises' that would, like this live

tortoise, move about freely and have certain attributes of an independent life.

Grey Walter Mechanical Tortoises

Walter is pictured here with his wife Vivian,

their son Timothy, and Elsie the tortoise.

Elsie has much in common with Timothy.

Just as Timothy seeks out food, which is

stored in his body in the form of fat, Elsie

seeks out light which she 'feeds' on and

transforms into electrical energy which

charges an accumulator inside her. Then

she's ready for a nap, just like Timothy after

a meal, in an area of soft light.

WalterVivianTimothyElsieElsieTimothyTimothyElsieTimothyElsie

Grey Walter and Family

Although Elsie's behavior imitates that of

a human, her anatomy is very different.

This is what Elsie looks like underneath

her shell.

Elsie

The Anatomy of Elsie

She looks a lot more like the inside of a transistor radio