Automation
Automation is almost as old as civilisation itself. It started as a way to first augment, and then replace,
human effort in carrying out everyday tasks.
Paper tape and punched cards were also used in the early generation of stored-program computers to
load both data and programs. For example, EDSAC read its instructions from paper tape and those
instructions consisted of a set of symbols - in other words, the first assembly language. The next step
was from the batch-oriented automation of paper tape and card readers to interactive computer
terminals. Louis Pouzin (2000) credits Strachey’s GPM (a macro processing language) with inspiring
the format and operation of RUNCOM - the forerunner of the command shell (Pouzin, 2000). The shell
(also known as a Command Line Interpreter (CLI)) is an often forgotten, but widely used programming
language.
Shells implement many of the fundamental concepts of automation such as file copying and backups,
log rotation and deletion, and data sorting, cleaning and loading. Shells (or rather shell scripts) were
often used to implement both batch oriented and interactive automation on computers. As implied
above, virtually all modern shells implement a scripting language which is often used to build, install or
configure automated systems. The major difference between the shells is the syntax of the scripting
language used. Almost ironically, most modern scripting languages, such as python and ruby, often
include their own implementation of a shell.
Automation was also used in industrial control systems. From the use of electronic relays and solid-
state devices in the early sixties as part of high integrity and safety critical systems, the systems
became digitalised in the seventies with the invention of the microprocessor. These microprocessor-
based systems were known as Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and revolutionised industrial
process control. These industrial computers were programmed in a specialist language known as
“Ladder Logic” which provided a symbolic representation of the original relay-based systems. Over
time, this programming system evolved – first into a language-based system known as Structured Text,
and then eventually into a graphical, flow chart-like system known as Sequential Function Charts (SFC)
based on a standard called Grafcet (Walker, 2012).
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The final example of automation comes from interaction with the multiple web systems that most people
use on a daily basis. Many of the international internet operators and web service providers
automatically monitor and track users via a sophisticated matrix of scripts, cookies and APIs (Mellet
and Beauvisage, 2019). Although many companies argue this data provides a richer and more
comprehensive browsing experience, it also has a huge impact on an individual’s privacy.
In modern business systems, there has recently been discussions about a "new" industrial age or
paradigm – known as Industry 4.0 (and latterly 5.0). These will be discussed in the next unit on
automation.
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