Romero, Jethro A.

ECE51FC1

TIMELINE OF CONTROL SYSTEM

5TH CENTURY A.D.

270 B.C.
A Greek mechanician
named Ktesibios
invented the Water
clock.
1620
12TH CENTURY A.D.
Heron of Alexandria used
Cornelis Drebbel
the float valve principle to The south-pointing
constructed the first 1681
describe several devices in chariot and the
underwater vessel,
his book Pneumatica, drinking straw Safety Valve
the submarine.
including a wine dispenser regulator invented in (pressure regulator)
and floating siphon. Thermostat invented
China. invented by Denis
by Cornelis Drebbel. Papin.
-

300 B.C. 250 B.C. 200 B.C. 5TH CENTURY 10TH 15TH 1600 1650 1700
A.D. CENTURY CENTURY

1670

Hooke designed a mechanism

250 B.C.
With an idea similar to the idea
of liquid-level control used by
Ktesibios, Philon of Byzantium
used a float regulator to control
the level of oil in a lamp.
10TH CENTURY
Archimedes of Syracuse
designed a water clock using
float valves, with features such
as adjustable day length and
hourly events.
for rotating a telescope at
constant speed.
14TH CENTURY
The mechanical clock was
invented sometime during the
14th century the true inventor
however is not known
 1785

Robert Hilton
1765 1776 took out the
1707 1745 first patent for
In Russia, Ivan David Bushnell
Papin used his safety Ivanovich Polzunov invented a hand- the lift tenter.
Fantail, device for the
valve as a regulating automatic control of developed a water powered
device on a steam windmills, invented float regulator for submarine called
engine. by Edmund Lee. a steam engine. the Turtle.

1700 1710 1720 1740 1750 1760 1770 1775 1780 1785 1800

1758

James Brindley was

the first to use the 1784
1717/1718
float valve regulator
The safety valve Float valve
in a steam boiler.
1775 regulators
becomes a standard
continued to
accessory of steam Float regulator advance
engines and can be was used in the
found on practically with Sutton
first patents for Thomas
every steam engine. the flush toilet. Wood using
one for a
steam
engine in his
brewery.
 1790 1848
1824
The brothers Périer of George Henry Corliss
France came up with a Joseph Von Fraunhofer built the first
float regulator to 1799 constructed a large successful automatic
control the speed of a telescope at Dorpat. It’s release cut-off control
1787 steam engine, but it Papin’s pressure constant rotation
1809 for the valve gear of a
was inferior to the Watt regulator was further (synchronous with that of
Thomas Mead steam engine,
centrifugal governor, improved by Robert the earth), was driven by
invented the Sir Humphrey Davy resulting in greatly
therefore not nearly as Delap then Matthew clockwork and regulated
practical lift demonstrated the improved engine
successful. Murray. by a friction governor.
tenter. arc lamp. efficiency.

1790 1795 1800 1805 1810 1822 1830 1840 1850

1780 1787

1788 1793 1803

Centrifugal Abraham Louis Matthew

1822 1840
flyball governor Breguet Boulton and
for regulating invented a James Watt Mark Brunel devised a George Biddell Airy built a
the speed of a closed-loop combined a spring-loaded governor for feedback device for a
steam engine feedback pressure marine steam engines. telescope to compensate
invented by system to regulator with More practical versions for the earth’s rotation.
James Watt. synchronize a float were later developed,
pocket regulator for including that of John
watches. use in their Bourne (1834), Thomas
steam engines. Silver (1855) and Thomas R.
Pickering
 1858
1848 Porter designed a loaded
W. Edward Staite and governor for high speed 1867
Leon Foucault operation. The design was
Robert
simultaneously solved implemented in the 1864 Whitehead
the problem of 1852 Porter-Allen high speed
demonstrated
automatically steam engine (1881), The first submarine, the
Leon Foucault the first self-
controlling the arc leading to his reputation Hunley, to sink an
described the propelled
length in the arc lamp. as the “father of the high- enemy ship in combat.
gyroscopic compass. torpedo.
speed engine”.

1840 1850 1851 1855 1858 1860 1864 1867 1870

1866 1868
1857
J. McFarlane Gray J.C. Maxwell analyzed
The first passenger elevator, invented by Elisha the stability of Watt's
1851 patents first steam
Otis, was installed at 488 Broadway in New flyball governor.
powered ship steering
H.A. Luttgens patents York City.
engine incorporating Jean Joseph Léon
his steam engine D.W. Snell and S.S. Bartlett invent and patent feedback.
speed regulator Farcot patents his
their “Bartlett Let-Off” mechanism for “servomechanism” for
incorporating integral controlling and maintaining constant tension in
control for greatly the steering of steam
yarn on power looms. engines.
improved accuracy.
H.N. Throop greatly improved the response of
the marine-engine governor, designing a
spring-loaded governor with proportional-plus-
derivative response.
 1887 1892
1884 A.M. Lyapunov studied the stability
Chichester Bell
and Charles of non-linear differential equations.
Charles A.
1870-84
Parsons Tainter 1892-98
Commander John invents the improved on
Edison’s Over this period Oliver Heaviside
Adams Howell first practical
contributed to the mathematical
worked on and steam turbine Phonograph
analysis of control systems and is
developed the Howell aimed at (1877) with the considered to be the inventor of
torpedo. powering Bell & Tainter operational calculus.
ships. Graphaphone.

1870 1880 1885 1891 1893

1877

Edward J. Routh developed the 1885 1891 1893

Routh criterion for determining
stability, known today as the
Routh-Hurwitz criterion. Adolf
Hurwitz also did this
independently in 1895.
I.I. Vishnegradsky analyzed
the stability of dynamic
systems using differential
equations independently of
Maxwell.
First point in H Ward Aurel Boleslaw Stodola was the
history that Leonard motor- first to introduce the idea of the
remote- generator system time constant, while
controlled system for studying the dynamics involved in
naval vessels speed control the regulation of a water turbine.
appear. In 1895 Stodola approached Adolf
Hurwitz with the problem of
determining the stability of the
characteristic equation. Hurwitz
solved the problem unaware of
the work of Maxwell and Routh.
1895
1908 1910
As an improvement
H. Anschutz-Kampfe Elmer A. 1913
to the torpedo,
developed the first Sperry
Ludwig Obry Henry Ford
practical gyroscopic invented a
invented a introduces a
1902 compass that was gyroscope
gyroscopic device mechanized
successfully tested for use in the
that was used for Tirrill assembly line
in 1908 and widely stabilization
the directional electric for
used in navigation and control
control of the voltage automobile
thereafter. of ships.
torpedo. regulator production

1895 1900 1903 1909 1912 1914

1914-18

1898 1912 The Germans

built 17 FL-7’s,
Nikola Tesla built 1903 Elmer A. Sperry electronically
1909-11
his propeller- began work on the
controlled
driven radio- (17 December) Elmer Ambrose Sperry gyropilot,
motorboats, for
controlled boat, The Wright Sperry an automatic
coastal defense.
considered the brothers developed his steering system for
birth of all demonstrate the gyrocompass, ships. the U-boats of
remotely first truly which was an Germany
Edwin Howard
operated controlled, improvement demonstrated the
Armstrong
vehicles. sustained, over the effectiveness of
invented a triode-
powered, and Anschutz the submarine in
heavier than air based amplifier
designed combat during
flight. circuit that used
compass. World War I.
positive feedback.
 1931
1914
Foxboro Company
Lawrence Sperry demonstrated
Stabilog designed by
the displacement gyroscope 1927
Clesson E Mason. This
(airplane autopilot) for planes
Early 1920’s Harold Stephen controller provided
that had been developed by his
father Elmer Sperry. Black invented the proportional plus
The U.S. Naval
negative feedback integral action control.
First automatic electricity sub- Research Laboratory
amplifier in order to
built a remote- MIT Differential
station. reduce distortion in
controlled ground Analyzer which
repeater amplifiers
E.H. Bristol (Foxboro Company) vehicle, the Electric incorporated high
used in telephone
patent for pneumatic flapper Dog. performance
systems.
mechanism filed servomechanisms

1914 1918 1920 1925 1930 1932

1932
1918 1922 1930
Harry Nyquist
E. E. Wichersham designed Nicholas Minorsky J Pestarini -
developed his
and developed a presented a clear Metadyne
regeneration
demolitions carrier called theoretical analysis for the
Photoelectric theory as a result
the Land Torpedo. automatic steering of
cell begins to of investigating
ships; he also developed a
The first successful flight be widely used the conditions for
three-term controller,
of an unmanned and not in industry as a which a feedback
thereby becoming the first
radio-controlled aircraft. control device. amplifier is stable.
to use the proportional-
From this he
integral-derivative (PID)
derived his
controller.
Nyquist stability
criterion.
 1938 1940
1935 Hendrik Wade Bode The British firm W. H.
British was able to Allen & Company, with
1933 investigate stability A. C. Hutchinson and F.
physicist
The first time Sir Robert using the magnitude S. Smith, designed the
an unmanned Watson- and phase frequency first military related
aircraft, the Watt response plots of a walking machine.
Fairy Queen, produced complex function,
known today as David B. Parkinson (Bell
is used as a the first Telephone
target drone practical Bode plots, he also
Laboratories) designs
for gunfire radar. introduced the
anti-aircraft gun
practice. notions of gain and
phase margin. controller

1933 1935 1938 1940

1939
1934 1936
The Borgward Company in Bremen,
Harold Locke George A. Germany began the development of
Hazen papers on Philbrick started the B1V Demolition Vehicle, the first
Theory of work on an operational remote-controlled land
servomechanisms electronic vehicle.
and design of a analyzer for
Taylor Company Fulscope - a
high-speed control problems.
pneumatic controller with pre-PID
servomechanism.
A Callender, D R control action.
Hartree & A
Foxboro Model 30 Stabilog - a
Porter use of a
pneumatic controller with PID control
process simulator
but only P and I were adjustable,
for analysis and
changes in P and I resulted in automatic
simulation of the
changes in setting of D term. Control
effects of time lag
action referred to as "Hyper-Reset"
in a control
system
 1943 1951
1941
The first The Ryan Aeronautical Company
Albert C. Hall produced the first jet-engine
successful
recognized target drone, the Firebee.
guided missile
the harmful
attack. First commercial digital
effects of
Designing an computers run Ferranti Mk in the
ignoring
airborne radar UK in February and a little later
noise in
control George R 1945 1948 the Sperry Univac in the USA.
system Stibitz relay- Followed in September 1951 by
Cruise control Walter R. LEO 1 based on the Cambridge
design, while controlled
invented by Evans EDVAC design. The LEO—Lyons
designing an servo-system
Ralph Teetor. developed the Electronic Office—was built for
airborne (sampled data
root locus the Lyons Catering Company.
radar system)
technique.

1941 1943 1945 1950 1955

1942 1944
1947 1956
(October 3) The beginning June 12) The
Nathaniel B. 1950 Lev Pontryagin
of the modern-day missile German Fiesler 103,
Nichols developed his maximum
with the launch of the first or the “V-1 Buzz The Sperry Rand
developed his principle theory.
V-2 missile by Wernher von Bomb”, was the first Corporation built
Nichols Chart.
Braun and Walter unmanned aircraft UNIVAC I, the first Digital computers first
Dornbergerdesigning an to be used in commercial data used to control
airborne radar combat. processing machine. processes. The Port
Rules for tuning PID Inverse Nyquist John Hopps invented the Arthur Refinery began
controllers J G Ziegler & N B technique world's first cardiac development in 1956,
Nichols (developed pacemaker. His device going online with the
independently by A. was far too large to be computer-controlled
F. C. Williams invents the system in 1959.
L. Whiteley in implanted inside of the
Velodyne a d.c. motor with England and by H T human body, and
an integral tachogenerator
Marcy and H Harris therefore it was an
used initially in auto- Jr in USA external pacemaker.
tracking radar systems.
 1960 1981
1958 Columbia becomes the
Charles S. Draper
The developed and first Space Shuttle to fly
development of invented his inertial into Earth orbit
1969
the cable- navigation system. The first of the U.S. 1997
controlled First Navy’s ballistic missile
Rudolph E. Kalman
underwater microproc submarines was (July 4) First ever
published his famous
recovery vehicle essor commissioned, having autonomous rover,
paper on optimal
(CURV) began at invented the capability of carrying Sojourner, explores Mars.
filtering and
the U.S. Naval by Ted twenty-four nuclear Sojourner was designed
estimation,
Ocean Systems Hoff. missiles and being by a large NASA team
describing the
Centre. practically undetectable. lead by Jacob Matijevic
Kalman filter.
and Donna Shirley.

1960 1970 1980 1990 2000

1958

1961 1976
George Devol and First Space
Joseph Engelberger Shuttle
invented the first
industrial robot,
Unimate.