The area of intelligent control is a fusion of a number of research areas in engineering computer science and mathematics, which has evolved from conventional control to enhance the existing nonlinear, optimal, adaptive and stochastic control methods. Intelligent control techniques are currently being utilized for closed-loop feedback control in space-based applications, manufacturing systems, robotic systems, avionic systems, among others, to improve system performance, reliability and efficiency. Overall, the primary objective of intelligent control is to enhance the performance of the system to the extent that it achieves some level of autonomous control. This work provides an introduction to, and survey of, the vital and emerging area of intelligent control by leading researchers in the area. Contributors to "An Introduction to Intelligent and Autonomous Control" are world-wide experts who have been invited on the strength of their research. The fundamental theory, archictectures and perspectives on intelligent control are presented.
Approaches to intelligent control, including expert control, planning systems, fuzzy control, neural control and learning control are studied in detail. Applications are introduced via robotic systems, avionic systems and failure diagnosis for process operations. "An Introduction to Intelligent and Autonomous Control" is designed as a reference for professionals and academic researchers and may also be used as the foundation for graduate level courses on intelligent and autonomous control.