An Evolutionary Approach to Process Control with Application to Lithography

A new approach to process control is presented. Complete automation is, from the outset, considered undesirable. Instead, an evolutionary approach is proposed, and the successive stages of growth of the control system are described, from a totally human-controlled process to a greater degree of automation. A man-machine control of a lithography printing press is presented. Instead of proposing a new kind of automatic controller intended for eliminating the human operator, cooperation between the pressman and the computer control system is advocated in order to use their complementary characteristics. An application of the approach on a computer-based model of a press and a discussion of the results obtained by experienced pressmen are given.