Can Engineers Be Replaced by Software?

There is a thought that in an utopian world control design can be accomplished with super adaptive design software which does not require detailed knowledge of the system but is based upon data collected. Such a concept has been considered for many years but has been decades away from ever being realised. However, there are now developments in nonlinear system identification and control which makes such a possibility more likely. 

One of the most costly stages of any control system design is the additional modelling and understanding required. If it were possible to replace much of this work by model identification and reliable control strategies, this would provide a considerable breakthrough. It would enable advanced control techniques to be applied where currently the effort required is daunting. Watch this space for developments in these ideas.