Open-loop control is a term used in cybernetics and control engineering to describe a system that has no feedback, but instead works out the desired input to a system based on some form of pre-coded model of its behaviour. For example an industrial robot may perform pre-programmed operations on the workpiece, even if, say, there is a gap on the line and the workpice is not present. Open-loop control is often used in controlled environments, where everything is largely predicable. In contrast closed-loop control uses feedback to constanty monitor and update its behaviour.
Used on Chap. 15: pages 358, 364, 365
Open-loop control schematic