Error Propagation and Uncertainty Evaluation for Automatic Control-A Neglected Part of Engineering Education

AbstractAdvancement in science and technology excels control system into a sophisticated level of automation; success of which is hidden in precise measurement. Accuracy of a system is measured in terms of performance uncertainty, the study of which is almost disregarded in engineering and science education though the knowledge of uncertainty measurement is essential to get a high-quality control in automation. Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) which is recognized universally, provides guidelines for uncertainty measurement in detail. Because of underpinned mathematical expressions of GUM, it is difficult to understand and follow the same without having long term involvement in the similar field. This paper is an effort to explain uncertainty in comparatively simple way to give an idea about the error propagation in a measurement and the calculation of associated uncertainty