Self-Organizing Control Systems

The objective of this paper is first to introduce the formulation of a control problem, called the ``basic control problem,´´ then to derive from it a concept of adaptation. Furthermore, the paper shows how self-organizing subsystems can be used in the design stage or in on-line operation to solve the basic control problem. The discussion is conceptual; its objective is to indicate possible new avenues for research in control and adaptation, and no attempt is made towards mathematical formalization of the proposed ideas.