Internet 2.0: What’s Next in Computing: From Moore’s Law to Tesar’s Law by Jim Brazell

Quietly, over the past 2 decades, computerized motors (intelligent actuators) have experienced similar performance improvements. Tesar's Law, dictated by Del Tesar, Chair and Director of the Robotics Research Group at the University of Texas Austin proclaims: “the 8 orders of magnitude increase in computer performance over the past two decades reflected by Moore's Law is accompanied by an 8 order of magnitude performance increase in tightly coupled computers and motors.” The implication is a revolution in the performance and economics of computer-integrated motors and gear trains.

This 4th generation of computing is called “cyber physical computing.” The mainframe, mini and PC are the first three generations of computers typically discussed in the modern history of computing. Cyber physical systems use computers, software and/or networks (or their logic) to direct the operation of mechanical systems and/or biological systems (or vice versa).