Why do some laboratories generate ideas that are more commercialized than others? This book compares 120 R&D laboratory organizations and 267 scientists and engineers to provide an answer. The most important single factor was practicing the principles of concurrency, which means diverse functions perform their tasks simultaneously rather than serially. For example, laboratory organizations engaged in teaming across functions, such as research, development, manufacturing, marketing, and headquarters were not only more inventive, but also more commercially successful.

The automation of visual inspection is becoming more and more important in modern industry as a consistent, reliable means of judging the quality of raw materials and manufactured goods . The Machine Vision Handbook equips the reader with the practical details required to engineer integrated mechanical-optical-electronic-software systems. Machine vision is first set in the context of basic information on light, natural vision, colour sensing and optics. The physical apparatus required for mechanized image capture lenses, cameras, scanners and light sources are discussed followed by detailed treatment of various image-processing methods including an introduction to the QT image processing system. QT is unique to this book, and provides an example of a practical machine vision system along with extensive libraries of useful commands, functions and images which can be implemented by the reader. The main text of the book is completed by studies of a wide variety of applications of machine vision in inspecting and handling different types of object.

Plant Maintenance and Reliability Engineering provides both theoretical and practical knowledge together with the latest technological concepts and research in the field. The topics covered in this book are an integral part of the syllabi in most of the universities in India and meet the requirements of the course plant maintenance and reliability engineering taught in mechanical engineering and all allied branches.