egenavkänning

Egenavkänning is a Swedish term for the capacity of a system or organism to detect and monitor its own state and functioning. It encompasses processes that allow an entity to observe internal conditions, performance and integrity, independently of external observations. The concept is used across fields such as engineering, computer science, biology and cognitive science, and is often described in terms of self-monitoring, self-diagnosis and self-calibration.

In engineering, egenavkänning refers to built-in self-monitoring features, including self-test, health monitoring, fault detection and isolation, and self-calibration. These mechanisms rely on internal sensors, timers and data fusion to assess the system's health. When anomalies are found, the system may issue alerts, reduce functionality, reconfigure operation, or schedule maintenance.

In biological contexts, analogous processes include proprioception and interoception, where an organism senses its own body position, internal states, temperature, chemical levels, or energy status. In robotics and AI, self-detection supports autonomy by enabling the agent to monitor sensor health, resource usage and capability limits, and to adapt behavior accordingly.

Applications span industrial equipment, automotive safety systems, consumer electronics and medical devices. Benefits include improved reliability, safety, predictive maintenance and reduced downtime. Challenges involve design complexity, potential for false positives or alarms, resource overhead, and privacy or security considerations when self-monitoring data are exposed.