Control systems play a critical role in space flight

Control engineering is the engineering discipline that focuses on the modelling of a
diverse range of dynamic systems (e.g mechanical systems) and the design of controllers
that will cause these systems to behave in the desired manner. Although such controllers
need not be electrical many are and hence control engineering is often viewed as a
subfield of electrical engineering.


Electrical circuits, digital signal processors and microcontrollers can all be used to
implement Control systems. Control engineering has a wide range of applications from
the flight and propulsion systems of commercial airliners to the cruise control present in
many modern automobiles.


Control engineers often utilize feedback when designing control systems. For example, in
an automobile with cruise control the vehicle’s speed is continuously monitored and fed
back to the system which adjusts the motor’s speed accordingly. Where there is regular
feedback, control theory can be used to determine how the system responds to such
feedback. In practically all such systems stability is important and control theory can help
ensure stability is achieved.


Although feedback is an important aspect of control engineering, control engineers may
also work on the control of systems without feedback. This is known as open loop
control. A classic example of open loop control is a washing machine that runs through a
pre-determined cycle without the use of sensors.