自動控制思想及其實踐可以說歷史悠久。它是人類在認識世界和改造世界的過程中產生的，并隨著社會的發展和科學水平的進步而不斷發展。早在公元前300年，古希臘就運用反饋控制原理設計了浮子調節器，并應用于水鐘和油燈中。 同樣早在1000多年前，我國古代先人們也發明了銅壺滴漏計時器、指南車等控制裝置。應用于工業的自控器是瓦特（J.Watt）于1769年發明的用來控制蒸汽機轉速的飛球控制器． 1868年以前，自控裝置和系統的設計還處于直覺階段，沒有系統的理論指導，因此在控制系統的各項性能（如穩、準、快）的協調控制方面經常出現問題。十九世紀后半葉，許多科學家開始基于數學理論的自控理論的研究，并對控制系統的性能改善產生了積極的影響。1868年，麥克斯威爾（J.C.Maxwell）建立了飛球控制器的微分方程數學模型，并根據微分方程的解來分析系統的穩定性。1877年，羅斯（E.J.Routh）提出了不求系統微分方程根的穩定性判據。1895年，霍爾維茨（A.Hurwitz）也獨立提出了類似的霍爾維茨穩定性判據。 第二次世界大戰前后，由于自動武器的需要，為控制理論的研究和實踐提出了更大的需求，從而大大推動了自控理論的發展。1948年，數學家維納(N.Wiener)的<<控制論>>(CYBERNETICS)一書的出版，標志著控制論的正式誕生。這個“關于在動物和機器中的控制和通訊的科學”(Wiener所下的經典定義)經過了半個多世紀的不斷發展，其研究內容及其研究方法都有了很大的變化． 概括地說，控制論發展經過了三個時期： 階段是四十年代末到五十年代的經典控制論時期，著重研究單機自動化，解決單輸入單輸出（SISO-Single Input Single Output）系統的控制問題；它的主要數學工具是微分方程、拉普拉斯變換和傳遞函數；主要研究方法是時域法、頻域法和根軌跡法；主要問題是控制系統的快速性、穩定性及其精度。 第二階段是六十年代的現代控制理論時期，著重解決機組自動化和生物系統的多輸入多輸出（MIMO-Multi-Input Multi-Output）系統的控制問題；主要數學工具是一次微分方程組、矩陣論、狀態空間法等等；主要方法是變分法、極大值原理、動態規劃理論等；重點是優控制、隨機控制和自適應控制；核心控制裝置是電子計算機；
The idea and practice of automatic control have a long history. It is produced in the process of human understanding and transforming the world, and continues to develop with the development of society and the progress of scientific level. As early as 300 BC, ancient Greece used the feedback control principle to design the float regulator, which was used in water clocks and oil lamps. As early as more than 1000 years ago, ancient Chinese ancestors also invented control devices such as copper pot drip timer and guide car. The first automatic controller used in industry was the flying ball controller invented by j.watt in 1769 to control the speed of steam engine. Before 1868, the design of automatic control devices and systems was still in the intuitive stage, without systematic theoretical guidance. Therefore, problems often occurred in the coordinated control of various performance (such as stability, accuracy and speed) of the control system. In the latter half of the 19th century, many scientists began to study the automatic control theory based on mathematical theory, which had a positive impact on the performance improvement of the control system. In 1868, j.c.maxwell established the differential equation mathematical model of the flying ball controller, and analyzed the stability of the system according to the solution of the differential equation. In 1877, e.j.routh put forward the stability criterion without seeking the root of the differential equation of the system. In 1895, a.hurwitz independently proposed a similar Horwitz stability criterion. Before and after the Second World War, due to the need of automatic weapons, there was a greater demand for the research and practice of control theory, which greatly promoted the development of automatic control theory. In 1948, the publication of cybernetics by mathematician N.Wiener marked the official birth of cybernetics. After more than half a century of continuous development, the "science of control and communication in animals and machines" (Wiener's classical definition) has undergone great changes in its research contents and research methods. Generally speaking, the development of cybernetics has gone through three periods: the first stage is the classical cybernetic period from the late 1940s to the 1950s, focusing on the study of single machine automation, Solve the control problem of SISO (single input single output) system; Its main mathematical tools are differential equation, Laplace transform and transfer function; The main research methods are time domain method, frequency domain method and root locus method; The main problems are the rapidity, stability and accuracy of the control system. The second stage is the period of modern control theory in the 1960s, focusing on solving the control problems of unit automation and MIMO multi input multi output systems of biological systems; The main mathematical tools are first-order differential equations, matrix theory, state space method and so on; The main methods are variational method, maximum principle, dynamic programming theory, etc; The key points are optimal control, stochastic control and adaptive control; The core control device is an electronic computer;
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