Future needs of the control theory in industries - report and topics of the control technology investigation in Japanese industry

This paper reports the current situation and future directions of control theory and control technology which have been practically applied to Japanese industries. The control technology committee of the Japanese Society of Instrument and Control Engineering (SICE) have carried out the investigation on the activities and control technology of Japanese industry. The committee sent 300 questionnaire letters to Japanese manufacturing companies and got 110 effective answers which include 150 application examples in the practical industries. After the inquiry, the committee visited the potential companies' plants and interviewed the process and control engineers to confirm and get their views and comments on the subject studied.