Meaning of "...by wire"

[Fan Of Arabian Horses]

Hi,

I wonder what ".........by wire" means. I read this expression in a technical description and have got the idea of its meaning as to steer sth. from another place connected to it "by wire". Just nowadays it seems to be a quite old fashioned method of steering/ruling since usually almost everything is ruled wireless.

Can you please help me out with an explanation?

Thanks in advance

Michael

[Alan]

Hi Michael,

I think this refers to sending a message by 'telegraph wire', doesn't it?

Alan
_________________
English as a Second Language
You can read my ESL story A day in the life of a policeman

[Fan Of Arabian Horses]

Hi Alan

and thank you for the quick response. Yes I think you´re right. I just felt a bit curious from the English term X-by-wire, which is a technical term. It refers to the point that steering processes not are done mechanically -like usually done in former times- but the ruler generates an electrical signal that is conveyed/delivered by wire towards an actuator. Similar to "sending messages by telegraph wire". Just that there aren´t messages from person to person but from a steering unit/possibly a ruler to the actuator. And this via wire.
As in the example of the flight pilot. The pilot generates by his steering wheel electrical signals the are send by wire to (say) the wing actuators and influences the wings and thus the height or the angle and so on..... (the correct technical term in this case was fly-by-wire).
In the automotive sense there are also drive-by-wire, brake-by-wire, steer by wire. Which all means that the actuators that do the physical work are steered by electrical signals.