This book contains an edited version of the lectures and selected contributions presented during the Advanced Summer Institute on Product Engineering: Tools and Methods based on Virtual Reality held at Chania (Greece), 30th May-6th June 2007. The Advanced Summer Institute (ASI) was devoted to the Product Engineering field, with particular attention being given to the aspects related to Virtual Reality (VR) technologies, and their use and added value in engineering.The objective of the ASI was to create a meeting framework for leading scientists and advanced students carrying out research in the field of Virtual Reality Technologies, Haptic systems, CAD and VR integration, Virtual Testing and Prototyping and Virtual Manufacturing.

Many EU cities are experiencing increasing problems with their water pipeline infrastructure. The cost of replacing these old, worn-out systems, if left to deteriorate beyond repair, is astronomical and clearly beyond the resources of many communities. Replacement, however, is not the only choice as many of these systems can be rehabilitated at 30 to 70 percent of the cost of replacement. Accordingly, resources are now increasingly being allocated to address pipeline rehabilitation management issues. Due to the emphasis on sustainable management, risk-based approaches for the rehabilitation management of the water supply network need to be developed. Rehabilitation decisions should be based, interalia, on inspection and evaluation of the pipeline conditions. Yet, utilities cannot locate a number of their old pipes and current inspection technologies typically do not provide the needed detailed information on pipeline damage. The objectives of this book are to describe the research work carried out in the framework of WATERPIPE project aiming: * To develop a novel, high-resolution imaging ground penetrating radar for the detection of pipes, leaks and damages and the imaging of the damaged region and evaluate it at a test site. * To produce an integrated system that will contain the equipment in "1" and a Decision-Support-System (DSS) for the rehabilitation management of the underground water pipelines that will use input from the inspections to assess, probabilistically, the time-dependent leakage and structural reliability of the pipelines and a risk-based methodology for rehabilitation decisions that considers the overall risk, including financial, social and environmental criteria. * To field test the equipment and the Decision-Support-System

This book contains an edited version of the lectures and selected contributions presented during the Advanced Summer Institute (ASI) on "Product Engineering: Tools and Methods based on Virtual Reality" held at Chania (Greece), 30th May - 6th June 2007. The ASI was devoted to the Product Engineering field, with particular attention being given to the aspects related to Virtual Reality (VR) technologies, and their use and added value in engineering.