My Way in Cybernetics - For 50 Years

Increased application of technical cybernetics- and control engineering have been considerable since the late 1960s. The driving forces have been many, such as improvements/pioneering in defense and space technology, maritime- and oil production technology, robotics and industrial control, enabled by a huge increase in available computing power. I have been involved in this development for the last 50 years. This paper sums up my work within areas such as mathematical modelling for control and estimation, Kalman filtering, and the development of software, simulators and applications for such purposes. During these years I worked, as examples, within the fields of ocean modelling for real-time estimation, oil production, dynamic positioning and industrial control in the fields of fertilizers, and aluminum production. The stories of starting up the company Prediktor and the following development of Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES systems) and my engagement in the use of optical NIR based technology for industrial control in various industries are told. My hope is that the story might be of interest to younger engineers today to understand the development in this engineering cybernetics field for 50 years as exemplified by my career.