Intelligent technical systems, which combine mechanical, electrical and software engineering with control engineering and advanced mathematics, go far beyond the state of the art in mechatronics and open up fascinating perspectives. Among these systems are so-called self-optimizing systems, which are able to adapt their behavior autonomously and flexibly to changing operating conditions. Self-optimizing systems create high value for example in terms of energy and resource efficiency as well as reliability.

The Collaborative Research Center 614 "Self-optimizing Concepts and Structures in Mechanical Engineering" pursued the long-term aim to open up the active paradigm of self-optimization for mechanical engineering and to enable others to develop self-optimizing systems.

This book is directed to researchers and practitioners alike. It provides a design methodology for the development of self-optimizing systems consisting of a reference process, methods, and tools. The reference process is divided into two phases the domain-spanning conceptual design and the domain-specific design and development. For the conceptual design a holistic approach is provided. Domain-specific methods and tools developed especially for the design and development of self-optimizing systems are described and illustrated by application examples. This book will enable the reader to identify the potential for self-optimization and to develop self-optimizing systems independently."

In the world of transportation, fatigue is a silent killer that can affect us all. Understanding fatigue, including how to manage it to minimize safety risk, is of great importance. However, while it is one thing to recognize that fatigue is a critical safety issue, it is quite another to set up a successful, scientifically informed fatigue risk management programme. This book is here to help. It has been carefully designed as a comprehensive reference point, bringing together international expertise from leaders in fatigue science, and showcasing valuable insights from transportation industry practitioners. The 40 authored chapters are divided into six sections, to better understand fatigue science, the consequences of fatigue in transportation, contributors to fatigue, managing fatigue and promoting alertness, real world case studies of fatigue management in practice, and future perspectives. While it is possible to read each chapter in isolation, most will be gained by reading the book as a whole. Each chapter starts with an abstract overview and concludes with summary bullet points, creating a handy "quick check" for key points. This accessible text is for those who are interested in supporting alert and safe transportation operations. It is suitable for professionals, transport managers, government advisors, policy makers, students, academics, and anyone who wants to learn more. All transport modes (road, rail, maritime and aviation) are considered. For anyone waking up to the complex challenge of fatigue management, this handbook is a must.

This is the Proceedings of the International Workshop Heritagebot 2017 that was held in Cassino, Italy in September 2017. The papers cover a wide range of disciplines connected with Cultural Heritage, from humanistic fields up to engineering designs through legal aspects and financial/economical studies, treating aspects of theory, design, practice and applications. Topics addressed during the conference were: business models and business planning; creative cities and industries; documentation, analysis and survey of cultural heritage; economics of cultural heritage; cultural heritage, business and organizational models; cultural heritage and collaborative digital systems; citizen science for cultural heritage: service robotics for cultural heritage; legal tools for the development and innovation management in cultural heritage; capital budgeting and capital structure of cultural heritage sector; field applications in cultural heritage.

An embedded system is loosely defined as any system that utilizes electronics but is not perceived or used as a general-purpose computer. Traditionally, one or more electronic circuits or microprocessors are literally embedded in the system, either taking up roles that used to be performed by mechanical devices, or providing functionality that is not otherwise possible. The goal of this book is to investigate how formal methods can be applied to the domain of embedded system design. The emphasis is on the specification, representation, validation, and design exploration of such systems from a high-level perspective. The authors review the framework upon which the theories and experiments are based, and through which the formal methods are linked to synthesis and simulation. A formal verification methodology is formulated to verify general properties of the designs and demonstrate that this methodology is efficient in dealing with the problem of complexity and effective in finding bugs. However, manual intervention in the form of abstraction selection and separation of timing and functionality is required. It is conjectured that, for specific properties, efficient algorithms exist for completely automatic formal validations of systems. Synchronous Equivalence: Formal Methods for Embedded Systems presents a brand new formal approach to high-level equivalence analysis. It opens design exploration avenues previously uncharted. It is a work that can stand alone but at the same time is fully compatible with the synthesis and simulation framework described in another book by Kluwer Academic Publishers Hardware-Software Co-Design of Embedded Systems: The POLIS Approach, by Balarin et al. Synchronous Equivalence: Formal Methods for Embedded Systems will be of interest to embedded system designers (automotive electronics, consumer electronics, and telecommunications), micro-controller designers, CAD developers and students, as well as IP providers, architecture platform designers, operating system providers, and designers of VLSI circuits and systems.

Single-threaded software applications have ceased to see signi?cant gains in p- formance on a general-purpose CPU, even with further scaling in very large scale integration (VLSI) technology. This is a signi?cant problem for electronic design automation (EDA) applications, since the design complexity of VLSI integrated circuits (ICs) is continuously growing. In this research monograph, we evaluate custom ICs, ?eld-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and graphics processors as platforms for accelerating EDA algorithms, instead of the general-purpose sing- threaded CPU. We study applications which are used in key time-consuming steps of the VLSI design ?ow. Further, these applications also have different degrees of inherent parallelism in them. We study both control-dominated EDA applications and control plus data parallel EDA applications. We accelerate these applications on these different hardware platforms. We also present an automated approach for accelerating certain uniprocessor applications on a graphics processor. This monograph compares custom ICs, FPGAs, and graphics processing units (GPUs) as potential platforms to accelerate EDA algorithms. It also provides details of the programming model used for interfacing with the GPUs.

Any consideration of global migration in relation to work and citizenship must necessarily be situated in the context of the Great Recession. A whole historical chapter - that of neoliberalism - has now closed and the future can only be deemed uncertain. Migrant workers were key players during this phase of the global system, supplying cheap and flexible labour inputs when required in the rich countries. Now, with the further sustainability of the neoliberal political and economic world order in question, what will be the role of migration in terms of work patterns and what modalities of political citizenship will develop? While informalization of the relations of production and the precarization of work were once assumed to be the exception, that is no longer the case. As for citizenship this book posits a parallel development of precarious citizenship for migrants, made increasingly vulnerable by the global economic crisis. But we are also in an era of profound social transformation, in the context of which social counter-movements emerge, which may halt the disembedding of the market from social control and its corrosive impact. This book was published as a special issue of Globalizations.

Rapid One-of-a-kind Product Development discusses research in the development of new enabling technologies for small and medium companies. Scientific advancements presented include a novel product data modelling scheme to model product design, manufacturability and knowledge under a common data object; customised product development in a distributed environment; and new adaptive scheduling methods for the optimal production of a wide variety of customised products, taking into consideration all of the possible changes from customers and the uncertainties in manufacturing. The book also includes research towards a computer aided customer interface, which allows customer requirements and changes to be processed and integrated with technical designs in real time; adaptive and concurrent CAD methods and algorithms; and product modelling and system integration technologies. The reader will learn how to: * translate customer requirements to technical attributes; * develop new and innovative products to meet customer requirements and expectations; * evaluate and optimise a project design; * design production systems and use them efficiently; and * manage a variety of customised products. Rapid One-of-a-kind Product Development demonstrates how to develop new methods, tools and algorithms to address the problems in a mass customisation environment. It is a valuable source of information for researchers and engineers in the fields of design and manufacturing.

The design of digital (computer) systems requires several design phases: from the behavioural design, over the logical structural design to the physical design, where the logical structure is implemented in the physical structure of the system (the chip). Due to the ever increasing demands on computer system performance, the physical design phase being one of the most complex design steps in the entire process. The major goal of this book is to develop a priori wire length estimation methods that can help the designer in finding a good lay-out of a circuit in less iterations of physical design steps and that are useful to compare different physical architectures. For modelling digital circuits, the interconnection complexity is of major importance. It can be described by the so called Rent's rule and the Rent exponent. A Priori Wire Length Estimates for Digital Design will provide the reader with more insight in this rule and clearly outlines when and where the rule can be used and when and where it fails. Also, for the first time, a comprehensive model for the partitioning behaviour of multi-terminal nets is developed. This leads to a new parameter for circuits that describes the distribution of net degrees over the nets in the circuit. This multi-terminal net model is used throughout the book for the wire length estimates but it also induces a method for the generation of synthetic benchmark circuits that has major advantages over existing benchmark generators. In the domain of wire length estimations, the most important contributions of this work are (i) a new model for placement optimization in a physical (computer) architecture and (ii) the inclusion of the multi-terminal net modelin the wire length estimates. The combination of the placement optimization model with Donath's model for a hierarchical partitioning and placement results in more accurate wire length estimates. The multi-terminal net model allows accurate assessments of the impact of multi-terminal nets on wire length estimates. We distinguish between delay-related applications, ' for which the length of source-sink pairs is important, and routing-related applications, ' for which the entire (Steiner) length of the multi-terminal net has to be taken into account. The wire length models are further extended by taking into account the interconnections between internal components and the chip boundary. The application of the models to three-dimensional systems broadens the scope to more exotic architectures and to opto-electronic design techniques. We focus on anisotropic three-dimensional systems and propose a way to estimate wire lengths for opto-electronic systems. The wire length estimates can be used for prediction of circuit characteristics, for improving placement and routing tools in Computer-Aided Design and for evaluating new computer architectures. All new models are validated with experiments on benchmark circuits.

The global technological marketplace has brought with it the need to address international and local target audiences. To remain competitive, companies have begun to design ICTs with a focus on generic and specialized users and learners.""Instructional Design Frameworks and Intercultural Models"" meets the needs of practitioners and researchers by providing frameworks for integrating culture into design. This book offers practical applications for the construction of user interfaces, products, services, and other online environments useful in the development of culture-based designs.

The main goal of the book is to present fundamental concepts, theory and procedures used in the analysis of experimental data in a clear and concise fashion, without allowing the mathematical development to become unnecessarily burdensome. It is an introductory text written for engineering students which includes a balanced treatment of theory and applications. The material included in the book assumes the student is familiar with elementary statistics, calculus and introductory linear algebra.

This new edition of Collaborations in Architecture and Engineering explores how to effectively develop creative collaborations among architects and engineers. The authors, an architect and an engineer, share insights gained from their experiences and research on fostering productive communication, engaging in interdisciplinary discussions, and establishing common design goals. Together, they share the tools, methods, and best practices deployed by prominent innovative architects and engineers to provide readers with the key elements for success in interdisciplinary design collaborations. The book offers engaging stories about prominent architect and engineer collaborations--such as those between SANAA and Sasaki and Partners, Adjaye Associates and Silman, Grafton Architects and AKT II, Studio Gang and Arup, Foster + Partners and Buro Happold, Steven Holl Architects and Guy Nordenson and Associates, and among the engineers and architects at SOM. In the second edition, the newly added case studies showcase extraordinary buildings across the globe at a range of scales and typologies, tracing the facets of high-quality collaborations. Through the examples of these remarkable synergies, readers gain insights into innovative design processes that address complex challenges in the built environment. The second edition of Collaborations in Architecture and Engineering is a terrific sourcebook for students, educators, and professionals interested in integrative design practice among the disciplines.

Proceedings of the FISITA 2012 World Automotive Congress are selected from nearly 2,000 papers submitted to the 34th FISITA World Automotive Congress, which is held by Society of Automotive Engineers of China (SAE-China ) and the International Federation of Automotive Engineering Societies (FISITA). This proceedings focus on solutions for sustainable mobility in all areas of passenger car, truck and bus transportation. Volume 7: Vehicle Design and Testing (I) focuses on: *Vehicle Performance Development *Vehicle Integration Platformized and Universal Design *Development of CAD /CAE/CAM and CF Methods in Automotive Practice *Advanced Chassis, Body Structure and Design *Automotive Ergonomic, Interior and Exterior Trim Design *Vehicle Style and Aerodynamic Design *New Materials and Structures Above all researchers, professional engineers and graduates in fields of automotive engineering, mechanical engineering and electronic engineering will benefit from this book. SAE-China is a national academic organization composed of enterprises and professionals who focus on research, design and education in the fields of automotive and related industries. FISITA is the umbrella organization for the national automotive societies in 37 countries around the world. It was founded in Paris in 1948 with the purpose of bringing engineers from around the world together in a spirit of cooperation to share ideas and advance the technological development of the automobile.

Ship optimization design is critical to the preliminary design of a ship. With the rapid development of computer technology, the simulation-based design (SBD) technique has been introduced into the field of ship design. Typical SBD consists of three parts: geometric reconstruction; CFD numerical simulation; and optimization. In the context of ship design, these are used to alter the shape of the ship, evaluate the objective function and to assess the hull form space respectively. As such, the SBD technique opens up new opportunities and paves the way for a new method for optimal ship design. This book discusses the problem of optimizing ship's hulls, highlighting the key technologies of ship optimization design and presenting a series of hull-form optimization platforms. It includes several improved approaches and novel ideas with significant potential in this field

"There is a global network of academics, researchers and methodologists who will buy this book or want it in their institute libraries.
Prof. John Harbraken

"As the field of human computer interaction grows, this book is likely to be a basic resource."
Prof. Chuck Eastman

Design representation is necessary for all design activity. You will gain a guide to both theory and practical application in this discussion of representation as it occurs during the process of design. Goldschmidt and Porter give you perspectives on representational issues in design that are both informative and evocative of further inquiry. The unique interdisciplinary approach brings a new dimension to the study of representation, benefiting the global network of researchers, students and practitioners in all areas of design. Rather than addressing the larger framework directly, a series of smaller case studies are presented, each dealing with aspects of representation in architecture and engineering. Binding together historical-cultural, cognitive-social and technological perspectives eliminates the need for further reading. Innovative research methods based on numerous well-illustrated examples will leave you with new ideas to build on. International contributors focus on worldwide research activities, offering you more than just an expansion of a single viewpoint. Design Representation delves into the common roots of representation in all design disciplines through case studies, historical investigations, theoretical constructs and programming. If you are involved in any design activity, this will be a truly exciting addition to your bookshelf."

In modern electoral processes, Information and Communication Technologies play a crucial role, whether used in voter registration, ballot casting, or processing of results. Securing these systems is a necessary step in ensuring the fairness of the democratic process. Design, Development, and Use of Secure Electronic Voting Systems analyzes current research on the integration of modern technologies with traditional democratic systems, providing a framework for designing and deploying electronic voting systems in any context or society. Stakeholders, researchers, architects, designers, and scholars interested in the use of electronic systems in government processes will use this book to gain a broader understanding of some of the latest advances in this emerging field.

Left-handedness has been shown to be a possible marker for various psychological and physical abnormalities. This book presents evidence by a number of researchers who evaluate whether there are indeed differences between left- and right-handers which extend into the broader psychological and physiological realms. Several chapters show that left-handedness is found in unexpectedly high proportions in populations that suffer from various immune deficiency diseases, in alcoholics, dyslexics, mental retardates, psychopaths and other clinical groups. The book indicates why left-handedness should be a marker for such conditions. The genetic and environmental pressures on handedness are explored. A model for pathological left-handedness is presented, along with some interesting data which suggests that left-handedness may be associated with reduced life-span. Finally, several chapters discuss the implications of handedness patterns in non-clinical populations.

The seventh book in the CHDL Series is composed of a selection of the best articles from the Forum on Specification and Design Languages (FDL'04). FDL is the European Forum to learn and exchange on new trends on the application of languages and models for the design of electronic and heterogeneous systems.

The forum was structured around four workshops that are all represented in the book by outstanding articles: Analog and Mixed-Signal Systems, UML-based System Specification and Design, C/C++-Based System Design and Languages for Formal Specification and Verification.

The Analog and Mixed-Signal Systems contributions bring some answers to the difficult problem of co-simulating discrete and continuous models of computation. The UML-based System Specification and Design chapters bring insight into how to use the Model Driven Engineering to design Systems-on-Chip. The C/C++-Based System Design articles mainly explore system level design with SystemC. The Languages for Formal
Specification and Verification is represented by an invited contribution on the use of temporal assertions for symbolic model checking and simulation. And finally chapter in this book contributed by preeminent members of the automotive design industry presents the recent industry standard AutoSAR.

Overall Advances in Design and Specification Languages for SoCs is an excellent opportunity to catch up with the latest research developments in the field of languages for electronic and heterogeneous system design.

Building upon the fundamental principles of decision theory, Decision-Based Design: Integrating Consumer Preferences into Engineering Design presents an analytical approach to enterprise-driven Decision-Based Design (DBD) as a rigorous framework for decision making in engineering design. Once the related fundamentals of decision theory, economic analysis, and econometrics modelling are established, the remaining chapters describe the entire process, the associated analytical techniques, and the design case studies for integrating consumer preference modeling into the enterprise-driven DBD framework. Methods for identifying key attributes, optimal design of human appraisal experiments, data collection, data analysis, and demand model estimation are presented and illustrated using engineering design case studies. The scope of the chapters also provides: A rigorous framework of integrating the interests from both producer and consumers in engineering design, Analytical techniques of consumer choice modelling to forecast the impact of engineering decisions, Methods for synthesizing business and engineering models in multidisciplinary design environments, and Examples of effective application of Decision-Based Design supported by case studies. No matter whether you are an engineer facing decisions in consumer related product design, an instructor or student of engineering design, or a researcher exploring the role of decision making and consumer choice modelling in design, Decision-Based Design: Integrating Consumer Preferences into Engineering Design provides a reliable reference over a range of key topics.

This book introduces the reader to the subject of Human Factors and provides practical and pragmatic advice to assist engineers in designing interactive systems that are safer, more secure and easier to use - thereby reducing accidents due to human error, increasing system integrity and enabling more efficient process operations. The book discusses human factors integration methodology and reviews the issues that underpin consideration of key topics such as human error, automation and human reliability assessment. The book also examines design considerations, including control room and interface design, and acceptance and verification considerations.

This book is devoted to the PSI method. Its appearance was a reaction to the unsatisfactory situation in applications of optimization methods in engineering. After comprehensive testing of the PSI method in various fields of machine engineering it has become obvious that this method substantially surpasses all other available techniques in many respects. It has now become known that the PSI method is successfully used not only in machine design, at which it was initially aimed, but also in polymer chemistry, pharmacy, nuclear energy, biology, geophysics, and many other fields of human activity. To all appearances this method has become so popular for its potential of taking into account the specific features of applied optimization better than other methods, being, at the same time, comparatively simple and friendly, and because, unlike traditional optimization methods which are intended only for searching for optimal solutions, the PSI method is also aimed at correctly formulating engineering optimization problems. One well-known aircraft designer once said, "To solve an optimization problem in engineering means, first of all, to be able to state this problem properly." In this sense the PSI method has no competitors. Although this method has been presented in Russia in numerous papers and books, Western readers have had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with this method only recently (Ozernoy 1988; Lieberman 1991; Stadler and Dauer 1992; Dyer, Fishburn, Steuer, Wallenius, and Zionts 1992; Steuer and Sun 1995, etc. ).

Gain a Deeper Understanding of Mechanical Fastening: Assemble More Efficient and Competitive Products A good design, quality parts, and properly executed assembly procedures and processes result in well-fastened assemblies. Utilizing a combined knowledge of mechanical assembly engineering and fastening technology, Mechanical Fastening, Joining, and Assembly, Second Edition provides readers with a solid understanding of mechanical fastening, joining, and assembly information. Based on the author's experience in the field, this updated mechanical arts guide and reference chronicles the technical progress since the first edition was published more than a decade ago. Provides Case Studies Showing Real-World Applications for Commonly Used Assemblies The second edition addresses recent trends in the industry, and looks at new fastening technologies used in aerospace, automotive, and other key areas. It explains the fastening function in depth, and describes the types of fastening approaches that can be used effectively. The revised text expands on the presentation and review of fastened components, detailing the assembly, design, manufacturing, and installation of fastener products and procedures. It covers specific joining applications, including vibration, standard, and special materials; details environmental factors; and provides useful reference charts for future use. What's New in the Second Edition: Provides an up-to-date selection of technologies Contains practical approaches to modern fastener technology Reviews engineering fundamentals with a focus on their application in the fastener industry Includes a section on fastener statics Expands on fastener manufacturing processes, most specifically cold heading and roll threading Adds fastener dynamics to draw attention to forces in motion (wind turbine hub turning in strong winds) and fastener strength of materials Extends review of the economics of fastening and provides some tools for engineering economics Examines the difference in static and dynamic strengths Considers fastener materials in this new century, provides some observations about the fastener laboratory, and discusses electrical theory Addresses sustainability, application product management, thermodynamics, energy systems, and new thought maps for application analysis Takes a look at a favorite application, D&D 100, and more Mechanical Fastening, Joining, and Assembly, Second Edition is accessible to novices and experienced technologists and engineers, and covers the latest in fastener technology and assembly training.

Shape interrogation is the process of extraction of information from a geometric model. It is a fundamental component of Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) systems. The authors focus on shape interrogation of geometric models bounded by free-form surfaces. Free-form surfaces, also called sculptured surfaces, are widely used in the bodies of ships, automobiles and aircraft, which have both functionality and attractive shape requirements. Many electronic devices as well as consumer products are designed with aesthetic shapes, which involve free-form surfaces. This book provides the mathematical fundamentals as well as algorithms for various shape interrogation methods including nonlinear polynomial solvers, intersection problems, differential geometry of intersection curves, distance functions, curve and surface interrogation, umbilics and lines of curvature, geodesics, and offset curves and surfaces. This book will be of interest both to graduate students and professionals.

This volume consists of papers presented at the Variational Analysis and Aerospace Engineering Workshop II held in Erice, Italy in September 2010 at the International School of Mathematics "Guido Stampacchia." The workshop provided a platform for aerospace engineers and mathematicians (from universities, research centers and industry) to discuss the advanced problems requiring an extensive application of mathematics. The presentations were dedicated to the most advanced subjects in engineering and, in particular to computational fluid dynamics methods, introduction of new materials, optimization in aerodynamics, structural optimization, space missions, flight mechanics, control theory and optimization, variational methods and applications, etc.

This book will capture the interest of researchers from both academia and industry.

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