Discover why your toaster is dumb but your thermostat is smart—and when each approach works best
Part of Control Systems: Teaching Machines To React & Adapt
Educational content slides
Open-loop systems execute a plan without checking if it worked.
Your toaster: Set timer for 2 minutes, toast pops up. No feedback. If bread is frozen, it still stops at 2 minutes (burnt or raw doesn't matter).
Microwave: Runs for exact time you set, never checks if food is actually hot.
Traffic lights: Change on fixed timers, even if no cars are waiting.
Advantage: Simple and cheap. Disadvantage: Can't adapt to disturbances.
Test your understanding with this quiz.
A cheap robot vacuum bounces around randomly until the battery dies. What control type is this?
Complete this exercise and get AI-powered feedback.
Not everything needs to be smart. Sometimes 'dumb and reliable' beats 'smart and complicated.'
Practice making this judgment call.