In 1961, the ideas of the fashionable Western science, cybernetics, went through the walls of KhADI. The institute's leadership conceived the creation of the Department of Automation. The first head appointed was Viktor Pavlovich Lomakin, who had just defended his candidate dissertation on modeling the dynamics of electromechanical systems of excavators. These studies were highly relevant and were carried out on the order of the Novokramatorsk Mechanical Plant.
A laboratory with several stands for automation devices was allocated to the new department. The production of analog modeling installations for the computer technology laboratory began.
A graduate program was established at the department, and research was conducted not only in laboratory conditions.
Extensive research was conducted on the dynamics of control processes involving human participation. Systems for protecting the boom from bucket impacts on dragline excavators were invented and manufactured for NKMZ and UZTM.
Digital computers (transistor-based!) "Promin" and later "Nairi-2" appeared in the department's laboratories.
The department was renamed the Department of Automation and Computer Technology (DACT). It gained authority throughout the country. Department staff regularly participated in All-Union and international conferences, symposiums of machine dynamics, modeling, automated electric drives, and control theory.
The first postgraduate students of the department defended their theses: V.Ya. Krakovsky, I.S. Levitan, A.I. Yudina, O.V. Makarov, M.I. Bogdanov. O.V. Fesenko started research on machine reliability.
In 1970, V.P. Lomakin defended his doctoral dissertation at MIPT. The scientific direction opened by him prompted the emergence of new works in universities and research institutes working on statistical dynamics and automatic control of machines.
At the IV All-Union Conference on Control Issues in Moscow, N.I. Bogdanov discussed the prospects for creating earth-moving robots in his report for the first time. He was elected to the council for coordinating robotics work. Dissertations by I.Ya. Faustov and A.A. Sohan were defended.
In 1972, O.V. Makarov became the head of the department. Former contractual works practically ended, and the topics continued only with UZTM. The university administration decided to separate the computing center from the Department of Automation and make it institute-wide (at that time equipped with two computers "Nairi-2").
Five years later, a competition was announced for the position of the head of the Department of Automation. Doctor of Technical Sciences V.Ye. Tyrsa from KNURE was chosen for the position. At the same time, Associate Professor K.I. Bogatyrenko came to the position from KPI.