Control theory is an interdisciplinary branch of
engineering and
mathematics, that deals with the behavior of
dynamical systems. The desired output of a system is called the
reference. When one or more output variables of a system need to follow a certain reference over time, a
controller manipulates the inputs to a system to obtain the desired effect on the output of the system.
Control theory is
Consider an automobile's cruise control, which is a device designed to maintain a constant vehicle speed; the desired or reference speed, provided by the driver. The system in this case is the vehicle. The system output is the vehicle speed, and the control variable is the engine's throttle position which influences engine torque output.
A simple way to implement cruise control is to lock the throttle position when the driver engages cruise control. However, on hilly terrain, the vehicle will slow down going uphill and accelerate going downhill. In fact, any parameter different than what was assumed at design time will translate into a proportional error in the output velocity, including exact mass of the vehicle, wind resistance, and tire pressure. This type of controller is called an open-loop controller because there is no direct connection between the output of the system (the engine torque) and the actual conditions encountered; that is to say, the system does not and can not compensate for unexpected forces.
