Closing the Gap is an accessible overview of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and the impact it is set to have on various sectors in South Africa and Africa. It explores the previous industrial revolutions that have led up to this point and outlines South Africa’s position been through each one.

With a focus on artificial intelligence as a core concept in understanding the 4IR, this book uses familiar concepts to explain artificial intelligence, how it works and how it can be used in banking, mining, medicine and many other fields.

Written from an African perspective, Closing the Gap addresses the challenges and fears around the 4IR by pointing to the opportunities presented by new technologies and outlining some of the challenges and successes to date

A Generalized Framework of Linear Multivariable Control proposes a number of generalized models by using the generalized inverse of matrix, while the usual linear multivariable control theory relies on some regular models. The book supports that in H-infinity control, the linear fractional transformation formulation is relying on the inverse of the block matrix. If the block matrix is not regular, the H-infinity control does not apply any more in the normal framework. Therefore, it is very important to relax those restrictions to generalize the classical notions and models to include some non-regular cases. This book is ideal for scholars, academics, professional engineer and students who are interested in control system theory.

This book is a simple and didactic account of the developments and practical applications of predictive, adaptive predictive, and optimized adaptive control from a perspective of stability, including the latest methodology of adaptive predictive expert (ADEX) control. ADEX Optimized Adaptive Control Systems is divided into six parts, with exercises and real-time simulations provided for the reader as appropriate. The text begins with the conceptual and intuitive knowledge of the technology and derives the stability conditions to be verified by the driver block and the adaptive mechanism of the optimized adaptive controller to guaranty the desired control performance. The second and third parts present strategic considerations of predictive control and related adaptive systems necessary for the proper design of driver block and adaptive mechanism and thence their technical realization. The authors then proceed to detail the stability theory that supports predictive, adaptive predictive and optimized adaptive control methodologies. Benchmark applications of these methodologies (distillation column and pulp-factory bleaching plant) are treated next with a focus on practical implementation issues. The final part of the book describes ADEX platforms and illustrates their use in the design and implementation of optimized adaptive control systems to three different challenging-to-control industrial processes: * waste-water treatment;* sulfur recovery; and* temperature control of superheated steam in coal-fired power generation. The presentation is completed by a number of appendices containing technical background associated with the main text including a manual for the ADEX COP platform developed by the first author to exploit the capabilities of adaptive predictive control in real plants. ADEX Optimized Adaptive Control Systems provides practicing process control engineers with a multivariable optimal control solution which is adaptive and resistant to perturbation and the effects of noise. Its pedagogical features also facilitate its use as a teaching tool for formal university and Internet-based open-education-type graduate courses in practical optimal adaptive control and for self-study.

Working through this student-centred text readers will be brought up to speed with the modelling of control systems using Laplace, and given a solid grounding of the pivotal role of control systems across the spectrum of modern engineering. A clear, readable text is supported by numerous worked example and problems.
* Key concepts and techniques introduced through applications
* Introduces mathematical techniques without assuming prior knowledge
* Written for the latest vocational and undergraduate courses

Mechatronics, a synergistic combination of mechanical, electronic and computing engineering technologies, is a truly multidisciplinary approach to engineering. New products based on mechatronic principles are demonstrating reduced mechanical complexity, increased performance and often previously impossible capabilities. This book contains the papers presented at the UK Mechatronics Forum's 6th International Conference, held in Skovde, Sweden, in September 1998. Many of these high-quality papers illustrate the tremendous influence of mechatronics on such areas as manufacturing machinery, automotive engineering, textiles manufacture, robotics, and real-time control and vision systems. There are also papers describing developments in sensors, actuators, control and data processing techniques, such as fuzzy logic and neural networks, all of which have practical application to mechatronic systems.

This volume on implementation techniques in digital signal processing systems clearly reveals the significance and power of the techniques that are available, and with further development, the essential role they will play as applied to a wide variety of areas. The authors are all to highly commended for their splendid contributors to this volume, which will provide a significant and unique international reference source for students, research workers, practicing engineers, and others for years to come.

Arduino, Teensy, and related microcontrollers provide a virtually limitless range of creative opportunities for musicians and hobbyists who are interested in exploring "do it yourself" technologies. Given the relative ease of use and low cost of the Arduino platform, electronic musicians can now envision new ways of synthesizing sounds and interacting with music-making software. In Arduino for Musicians, author and veteran music instructor Brent Edstrom opens the door to exciting and expressive instruments and control systems that respond to light, touch, pressure, breath, and other forms of real-time control. He provides a comprehensive guide to the underlying technologies enabling electronic musicians and technologists to tap into the vast creative potential of the platform. Arduino for Musicians presents relevant concepts, including basic circuitry and programming, in a building-block format that is accessible to musicians and other individuals who enjoy using music technology. In addition to comprehensive coverage of music-related concepts including direct digital synthesis, audio input and output, and the Music Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), the book concludes with four projects that build on the concepts presented throughout the book. The projects, which will be of interest to many electronic musicians, include a MIDI breath controller with pitch and modulation joystick, "retro" step sequencer, custom digital/analog synthesizer, and an expressive MIDI hand drum. Throughout Arduino for Musicians, Edstrom emphasizes the convenience and accessibility of the equipment as well as the extensive variety of instruments it can inspire. While circuit design and programming are in themselves formidable topics, Edstrom introduces their core concepts in a practical and straightforward manner that any reader with a background or interest in electronic music can utilize. Musicians and hobbyists at many levels, from those interested in creating new electronic music devices, to those with experience in synthesis or processing software, will welcome Arduino for Musicians.

This text is designed for the junior/senior level (3rd/4th year) control systems courses taught in departments of electrical and mechanical engineering. This new edition incorporates comprehensive keying of this text to MATLAB. There are now sections of "Computer Aided Learning" in which each student can learn how the MATLAB® platform can be used to verify all figures and tables included in the text. The text can be divided into six areas that represent the building blocks of constructing a course. All revisions are made to bring this book up-to-date with modern analytical software use, mainly MATLAB®.

An accessible overview of the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and the impact it is set to have on various sectors in South Africa and Africa. It explores the previous industrial revolutions that have led up to this point and outlines what South Africa’s position has been through each one.

With a focus on artificial intelligence as a core concept in understanding the 4IR, this book uses familiar concepts to explain artificial intelligence, how it works and how it can be used in banking, mining, medicine and many other fields.

Written from an African perspective, Closing the Gap addresses the challenges and fears around the 4IR by pointing to the opportunities presented by new technologies and outlining some of the challenges and successes to date.

The Future of Creative Work provides a unique overview of the changing nature of creative work, examining how digital developments and the rise of intangible capital are causing an upheaval in the social institutions of work. It offers a profound insight into how this technological and social evolution will affect creative professions. Expert international contributors explore how robotics, artificial intelligence, blockchain, global digital platforms and autonomous systems will shape the design, production and consumption of culture. Taking a multidisciplinary approach incorporating creative industries studies, business, education and economics, the book analyses the technological drivers of disruption in the world of creative work. Chapters reveal how these changes will create new axes of power and inequality in the global sphere of creative work, predicting that conventional creative professions will be challenged and different species of creative work will evolve as a result. By charting the impact of digital and technological developments, The Future of Creative Work challenges traditional views of creative work, careers and education. This book will be a valuable resource for students and researchers undertaking creative industries studies. Its discussion of the application of creative careers across the economy will also be beneficial for scholars and practitioners interested in business, economics, and advertising and marketing studies.

In recent decades, there has been a groundbreaking evolution in technology. Every year, technology not only advances, but it also spreads throughout industries. Many fields such as law, education, business, engineering, and more have adopted these advanced technologies into their toolset. These technologies have a vastly different effect ranging from these different industries. The Handbook of Research on Applying Emerging Technologies Across Multiple Disciplines examines how technologies impact many different areas of knowledge. This book combines a solid theoretical approach with many practical applications of new technologies within many disciplines. Covering topics such as computer-supported collaborative learning, machine learning algorithms, and blockchain, this text is essential for technologists, IT specialists, programmers, computer scientists, engineers, managers, administrators, academicians, students, policymakers, and researchers.

Written by a team of experts, Advances in Flowmeter Technology surveys the full range of modern flowmeters for product managers, strategic planners, engineers, distributors, and students. The origins, principles of operation,controls and instrumentation, and the relative advantages of each major flowmeter type are thoroughly explained. Extensive coverage of new types that employ cutting-edge technologies - such as coriolis, magnetic, ultrasonic, vortex, thermal flowmeters - is provided. The text includes comparative examples, placing these new types of meters in the context of more traditional ones, such as differential pressure, turbine, and positive displacement flowmeters.

Fractional Order Systems: Optimization, Control, Circuit Realizations and Applications consists of 21 contributed chapters by subject experts. Chapters offer practical solutions and novel methods for recent research problems in the multidisciplinary applications of fractional order systems, such as FPGA, circuits, memristors, control algorithms, photovoltaic systems, robot manipulators, oscillators, etc. This book is ideal for researchers working in the modeling and applications of both continuous-time and discrete-time dynamics and chaotic systems. Researchers from academia and industry who are working in research areas such as control engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, computer science, and information technology will find the book most informative.

This book focuses on transmission systems for pure electric and hybrid vehicles. It first discusses system development and optimization technologies, comprehensively and systematically describing the development trends, structures and technical characteristics, as well as the related technologies and methods. It highlights the principles, implementation process and energy management of the power transmission system based on the pure electric and hybrid mode management method, and examines the reliability and NVH characteristic tests and optimization technologies. Combining research theory and engineering practice, the book is a valuable reference resource for engineering and technical professionals in the field of automobile and related power transmission machinery as well as undergraduate and graduate students.