Near-optimal operation by self-optimizing control: from process control to marathon running and business systems

Abstract. The topic of this paper is how to implement optimal decisions in an uncertain world. A study of how this is done in real systems from the nationwide optimization of the economy by the Central Bank to the optimal use of resources in a single cell shows that a common approach is to use feedback strategies where selected controlled variables are kept at constant values. For example, in order to optimize the wealth of a country (overall objective), the Central Bank may to attempt to keep the inflation constant (selected controlled variable). by adjusting the interest rate (independent input variable). The underlying idea is that the system behavior is indirectly optimized by keeping selected controlled variables at given constant values (setpoints). In the paper this idea of “self-optimizing control” is explained and illustrated on a large number of examples.