Control engineering or control systems engineering is theory to design systems with desired behaviors. The practice uses sensors to measure the output performance of the device being controlled and those measurements can be used to give feedback to the input actuators that can make corrections toward desired performance.

When a device is designed to perform without the need of human inputs for correction it is called automatic control (such as cruise control for regulating a car’s speed). Multi-disciplinary in nature, control systems engineering activities focus on implementation of control systems mainly derived by mathematical modelling of systems of a diverse range. Modern day control engineering is a relatively new field of study that gained significant attention during the 20th century with the advancement of technology.