Bifalgorithm post

This is one of the most important algorithms in all of engineering and here's how it works in 60 seconds. Imagine this rocket has one job, stay straight. But then a gust of wind pushes it sideways. So how does it know where to point the engine? First, it simply measures how far it's tilted away from where it wants to be. Then it points the engine back underneath itself. The further it tilts, the harder it pushes back. That's proportional control. But there is a problem. By the time the rocket gets back to the middle it's already moving, so it just shoots straight past and starts rocking from side to side. To fix that, we also measure how fast the rocket is rotating. If it's already moving quickly towards the target, we don't push as hard. That slows the rocket down and stops it from overshooting. That's derivative control. But we're still not done. Imagine instead of one engine there's now two, and one engine is just a little bit weaker than the others. Now the rocket never quite flies Proportional control keeps it close, but only because it reacts after an error exists. The rocket always has to be just a little bit wrong. So the controller remembers that error and slowly builds the correction in until it doesn't need that error anymore. That's integral control. Put all three together and you've got PID, one of the most important algorithms in all of engineering. It's why rockets fly straight, drones stay level, and robots don't immediately fall over.

This is one of the most important algorithms in all of engineering and here's how it works in 60 seconds. Imagine this rocket has one job, stay straight. But t…