Automation technology is widely used in industry, agriculture, military, scientific research, transportation, commerce, medical care, services and households. The use of automation technology can not only liberate people from heavy manual labor, part of mental labor and harsh and dangerous working environments, but also expand human organ functions, greatly improve labor productivity, and enhance human ability to understand and transform the world . Automation technology is a comprehensive technology, which is closely related to cybernetics, information theory, systems engineering, computer technology, electronics, hydraulic and pneumatic technology, and automatic control. Technology has the greatest impact.

      The earliest feedback control mechanism was used in a windmill's sail, which was patented by Edmund Lee in 1745.

      In 1788, Watt improved the steam engine, and mankind began to enter the era of using machines. It keeps its own speed stable by means of centrifugal speed regulating device. This centrifugal speed regulating device is the earliest automatic machine in the world.

      In the 1940s, through the efforts of American mathematician Wiener and others, cybernetics was produced on the basis of the mutual penetration of automatic regulation, computer, communication technology, bionics and other disciplines. This theory has far-reaching implications for automation technology. The feedback control principle proposed by Wiener is still an important law in control theory.

      In the 1960s, with the progress of complex industrial production process, aviation and aerospace technology, social and economic systems and other fields, automatic control theory was developed rapidly, and the level of automation technology was greatly improved. Two notable developments were the widespread use of digital computers and the birth of modern control theory.

      In the 21st century, automation technology has entered the era of Computer-Automated Design (CAutoD).

      Industrial automation is one of the most important directions for the application of automation technology. Its specific application areas are: computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) integrated office automation (OA) (eg: access control system, information technology audit) process control and automation instrumentation artificial intelligence technology.

      Automation application fields can be divided into: office automation, mechanical automation, information automation, industrial automation, sewage treatment automation, etc., which are widely used. Its overall development trend is: more widely combined with modern technology in various places, especially with computer technology and cybernetics, from the automation of physical activities to the automation of information activities, such as the use of computers to automatically design, not just auxiliary design. .

      The industrial environment has put forward many new topics for the industrial field, such as optimization of industrial structure, improvement of competitiveness and innovation ability, green and intelligent manufacturing, etc., especially the convening of the "18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China", more It emphasized the necessity and urgency of integrating keywords such as "innovation" and "green" into the development trend of the industry under the new situation, and the "hard" indicators such as industrial innovation and upgrading and energy consumption per unit of GDP will also continue to increase in the future. Test China's manufacturing development. It is against this background that automation technology in the manufacturing industry has also been given an increasingly important position. In addition to its inherent control, monitoring and other functions, automation technology has also become a weapon to improve energy efficiency and production management. Its technical application in various branches is also deepening.