Chapter “A Multi-functional Design Approach to Deal with New Urban Challenges� is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

This book contains the proceedings of the 12th KES International Conference on Sustainability and Energy in Buildings 2020 (SEB20) held in Split, Croatia, during 24-26 June 2020 organized by KES International. SEB20 invited contributions on a range of topics related to sustainable buildings and explored innovative themes regarding sustainable energy systems. The aim of the conference is to bring together researchers, and government and industry professionals to discuss the future of energy in buildings, neighbourhoods and cities from a theoretical, practical, implementation and simulation perspective. The conference formed an exciting chance to present, interact and learn about the latest research and practical developments on the subject. The conference attracted submissions from around the world. Submissions for the Full-Paper Track were subjected to a blind peer-review process. Only the best of these were selected for presentation at the conference and publication in these proceedings. It is intended that this book provides a useful and informative snapshot of recent research developments in the important and vibrant area of sustainability in energy and buildings.

This book contains an introduction and 20 studies, each describing a recent research investigation in the area of sustainable and resilient buildings, built environment infrastructure and renewable energy. Contributions are from many different countries of the world and on a range of topics, representing a sample of research within the 'sustainable energy and buildings' field. The book begins with chapters on the sustainable design of buildings, followed by descriptions of issues relating to the renovation, restoration and reconstruction of existing buildings, or in one case a railway wagon. The next part of the book covers factors that form barriers or impediments to low or zero carbon buildings, followed by studies of issues relating to policy and certification. There then follow four chapters on various topics related to sustainable buildings - undergraduate courses, insurance issues, biophilia relating to buildings and thermal conductivity measurement. There are several chapters relating to renewable energy, followed by two chapters with a sustainable transport theme, one relating to electric vehicles, and the other about a sustainable road infrastructure. The final chapter is on the manufacture of sustainable building components for the UK housing sector. The book is of use to engineers, scientists, researchers, practitioners, academics and all those who are interested to develop and use sustainability science and technology for the betterment of our planet and humankind, and to mitigate climate change reality.

This book contains selected papers from the KES-IDT-2021 conference, being held as a virtual conference in June 14-16, 2021. The KES-IDT is an interdisciplinary conference with opportunities for the presentation of new research results and discussion about them under the common title "Intelligent Decision Technologies". The conference has been creating for years a platform for knowledge transfer and the generation of new ideas in the field of intelligent decision making. The range of topics discussed during the conference covered methods of classification, prediction, data analysis, big data, decision support, knowledge engineering, modeling, social networks and many more in areas such as finance, economy, management and transportation. The discussed topics covered also decision making for problems regarding the electric vehicle industry. The book contains also several sections devoted to specific topics, such as Advances in intelligent data processing and its applications Multi-criteria decision analysis methods Knowledge engineering in large-scale systems High-dimensional data analysis Spatial data analysis and sparse estimation Innovative technologies and applications in computer intelligence Intelligent diagnosis and monitoring of systems Decision making theory for economics.

This book highlights new trends and challenges in intelligent systems, which play an important part in the digital transformation of many areas of science and practice. It includes papers offering a deeper understanding of the human-centred perspective on artificial intelligence, of intelligent value co-creation, ethics, value-oriented digital models, transparency, and intelligent digital architectures and engineering to support digital services and intelligent systems, the transformation of structures in digital businesses and intelligent systems based on human practices, as well as the study of interaction and the co-adaptation of humans and systems. All papers were originally presented at the International KES Conference on Human Centred Intelligent Systems 2020 (KES HCIS 2020), held on June 17-19, 2020, in Split, Croatia.

This book highlights new trends and challenges in intelligent systems, which play an essential part in the digital transformation of many areas of science and practice. It includes papers offering a deeper understanding of the human-centred perspective on artificial intelligence, of intelligent value co-creation, ethics, value-oriented digital models, transparency, and intelligent digital architectures and engineering to support digital services and intelligent systems, the transformation of structures in digital business and intelligent systems based on human practices, as well as the study of interaction and co-adaptation of humans and systems. All papers were originally presented at the International KES Conference on Human Centred Intelligent Systems 2021 (KES HCIS 2021) held on June 14-16, 2021 in the KES Virtual Conference Centre.

This book contains selected papers from SEB-18, the Tenth International Conference on Sustainability in Energy and Buildings, which was organised by KES International and Griffith University and held in Gold Coast, Australia in June 2018. SEB-18 invited contributions on a range of topics related to sustainable buildings and renewable energy, and explored innovative topics regarding intelligent buildings and cities. Applicable areas included the sustainable design and of buildings, neighbourhoods and cities (built and natural environment); optimisation and modelling techniques; smart energy systems for smart cities; green information communications technology; and a broad range of solar, wind, wave and other renewable energy topics. The aim of the conference was to bring together researchers and government and industry professionals to discuss the future of energy in buildings, neighbourhoods and cities from a theoretical, practical, implementation and simulation perspective. In addition, SEB-18 offered an exciting opportunity to present, interact, and learn about the latest research in Sustainability in Energy and Buildings.

This book gathers selected papers presented at the KES International Symposium on Smart Transportation Systems (KES STS 2020). Modern transportation systems have undergone a rapid transformation in recent years, producing a range of technological innovations such as connected vehicles, self-driving cars, electric vehicles, Hyperloop, and even flying cars, and with them, fundamental changes in transport systems around the world. The book discusses current challenges, innovations, and breakthroughs in smart transportation systems, as well as transport infrastructure modeling, safety analysis, freeway operations, intersection analysis, and other related cutting-edge topics.

This book gathers papers presented at the 5th International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM-18), held in Gold Coast, Australia in June 2018. The conference covered a wide range of topics, including: sustainable product design and service innovation, sustainable processes and technology for the manufacturing of sustainable products, sustainable manufacturing systems and enterprises, decision support for sustainability, and the study of the societal impact of sustainability including research on the circular economy. The corresponding application areas are wide and varied. The aim of cutting-edge research into sustainable design and manufacturing is to enable the manufacturing industry to grow by adopting more advanced technologies, and at the same time improve its sustainability by reducing its environmental impact. With these goals in mind, the book provides an excellent overview of the latest research and development in the area of Sustainable Design and Manufacturing.

The book gathers selected papers presented at the KES International Symposium on Smart Transportation Systems (KES-STS 2019). Modern transportation systems have undergone a rapid transformation in recent years. This has produced a range of vehicle technology innovations such as connected vehicles, self-driving cars, electric vehicles, Hyperloop, and even flying cars, and with them, fundamental changes in transport systems around the world. The book discusses current challenges, innovations and breakthroughs in Smart Transportation Systems, as well as transport infrastructure modeling, safety analysis, freeway operations, intersection analysis, and other related cutting-edge topics.

This book highlights new trends and challenges in research on agents and the new digital and knowledge economy. It includes papers on business- process management, agent-based modeling and simulation, and anthropic-oriented computing, which were originally presented at the 13th International KES Conference on Agents and Multi-Agent Systems - Technologies and Applications (KES-AMSTA 2019) held June 17-19, 2019 at St George's Bay, St. Julians, Malta. Today's economy is driven by technologies and knowledge. Digital technologies can free, shift and multiply choices, and often intrude on the territory of other industries by providing new ways of conducting business operations and creating value for customers and companies. As such, the book covers topics such as software agents, multi-agent systems, agent modeling, mobile and cloud computing, big data analysis, business intelligence, artificial intelligence, social systems, computer embedded systems and nature inspired manufacturing, all of which contribute to the modern digital economy. The research presented is of value to researchers and industrial practitioners working in the fields of artificial intelligence, collective computational intelligence, innovative business models, the new digital and knowledge economy and, in particular, agent and multi-agent systems, technologies, tools and applications.

The book highlights new trends and challenges in research on agents and the new digital and knowledge economy. It includes papers on business process management, agent-based modeling and simulation and anthropic-oriented computing that were originally presented at the 14th International KES Conference on Agents and Multi-Agent Systems: Technologies and Applications (KES-AMSTA 2020), being held as a Virtual Conference in June 17-19, 2020. The respective papers cover topics such as software agents, multi-agent systems, agent modeling, mobile and cloud computing, big data analysis, business intelligence, artificial intelligence, social systems, computer embedded systems and nature inspired manufacturing, all of which contribute to the modern digital economy.

This volume consists of 52 peer-reviewed papers, presented at the International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM-19) held in Budapest, Hungary in July 2019. Leading-edge research into sustainable design and manufacturing aims to enable the manufacturing industry to grow by adopting more advanced technologies, and at the same time improve its sustainability by reducing its environmental impact. The topic includes the sustainable design of products and services; the sustainable manufacturing of all products; energy efficiency in manufacturing; innovation for eco-design; circular economy; industry 4.0; industrial metabolism; automotive and transportation systems. Application areas are wide and varied. The book will provide an excellent overview of the latest developments in the Sustainable Design and Manufacturing Area.

This volume focuses on smart medical and healthcare systems (modern intelligent systems for medicine and healthcare) and includes 31 papers presenting recent trends and innovations in medicine and healthcare, including biomedical engineering research and technologies; machine learning and labeling for biomedical visual data analysis and understanding; advanced ICT for medicine and healthcare; and healthcare support systems. Innovation in medicine and healthcare is an interdisciplinary research area, which combines advanced technologies and problem-solving skills with medical and biological science, and smart medical and healthcare systems can provide efficient and accurate solution to problems faced by healthcare and medical practitioners today by using advanced information communication techniques, computational intelligence, mathematics, robotics and other advanced technologies. Discussing the techniques developed in this area, which will have a significant effect on future medicine and healthcare, the book is a valuable resource for researchers, students, engineers, and professionals working in the fields of medical systems, medical technology, and intelligent systems.

This volume highlights new trends and challenges in research on agents and the new digital and knowledge economy, and includes 23 papers classified into the following categories: business process management, agent-based modeling and simulation, and anthropic-oriented computing. All papers were originally presented at the 11th International KES Conference on Agents and Multi-Agent Systems - Technologies and Applications (KES-AMSTA 2017) held June 21-23, 2017 in Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal. Today's economy is driven by technologies and knowledge. Digital technologies can free, shift and multiply choices, and often intrude on the territory of other industries by providing new ways of conducting business operations and creating value for customers and companies. The topics covered in this volume include software agents, multi-agent systems, agent modeling, mobile and cloud computing, big data analysis, business intelligence, artificial intelligence, social systems, computer embedded systems and nature inspired manufacturing, etc., all of which contribute to the modern Digital Economy. The results presented here will be of theoretical and practical value to researchers and industrial practitioners working in the fields of artificial intelligence, collective computational intelligence, innovative business models, the new digital and knowledge economy and, in particular, agent and multi-agent systems, technologies, tools and applications.

This book contains the proceedings of the KES International conferences on Innovation in Medicine and Healthcare (KES-InMed-19) and Intelligent Interactive Multimedia Systems and Services (KES-IIMSS-19), held on 17-19 June 2019 and co-located in St. Julians, on the island of Malta, as part of the KES Smart Digital Futures 2019 multi-theme conference. The major areas covered by KES-InMed-19 include: Digital IT Architecture in Healthcare; Advanced ICT for Medical and Healthcare; Biomedical Engineering, Trends, Research and Technologies and Healthcare Support System. The major areas covered by KES-IIMSS-19 were: Interactive Technologies; Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics; Intelligent Services and Architectures and Applications. This book is of use to researchers in these vibrant areas, managers, industrialists and anyone wishing to gain an overview of the latest research in these fields.

This book presents the proceedings of the KES International Conferences on Innovation in Medicine and Healthcare (KES-InMed-19), held in Split, Croatia, on June 17-19, 2020. Covering a number of key areas, including digital IT architecture in healthcare; advanced ICT for medicine and healthcare; biomedical engineering, trends, research and technologies; and healthcare support systems, this book is a valuable resource for researchers, managers, industrialists and anyone wishing to gain an overview of the latest research in these fields.

This volumes consists of 59 peer-reviewed papers, presented at the International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM-16) held in Chania, Crete Greece in April 2016. Leading-edge research into sustainable design and manufacturing aims to enable the manufacturing industry to grow by adopting more advanced technologies, and at the same time improve its sustainability by reducing its environmental impact. SDM-16 covers a wide range of topics from sustainable product design and service innovation, sustainable process and technology for the manufacturing of sustainable products, sustainable manufacturing systems and enterprises, decision support for sustainability, and the study of societal impact of sustainability including research for circular economy. Application areas are wide and varied. The book will provide an excellent overview of the latest research and development in the area of Sustainable Design and Manufacturing.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the Tenth International KES Conference on Intelligent Interactive Multimedia Systems and Services: IIMSS-17. It includes 57 full papers organized into topical sections, ranging from visual data processing to big data analytics, and from multimedia to intelligent and cognitive systems. The conference took place as part of the Smart Digital Futures 2017 multi-theme conference, held in Vilamoura, Algarve, Portugal on 21-23 June 2017, which brings together AMSTA, IDT, InHorizons, InMed, SEEL and IIMSS in one venue. It provided an international forum for researchers and scientists to share their work and experiences in the field of multimedia and intelligent interactive systems and services.

This volume includes papers presented at the 4th International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM-17) held in Bologna, Italy, in April 2017. The conference covered a wide range of topics from cutting-edge sustainable product design and service innovation, sustainable processes and technology for the manufacturing of sustainable products, sustainable manufacturing systems and enterprises, decision support for sustainability, and the study of the societal impact of sustainability including research for circular economy. Application areas are wide and varied, and the book provides an excellent overview of the latest research and development in the area of Sustainable Design and Manufacturing.

There is widespread interest in the way that smart energy control systems, such as assessment and monitoring techniques for low carbon, nearly-zero energy and net positive buildings can contribute to a Sustainable future, for current and future generations. There is a turning point on the horizon for the supply of energy from finite resources such as natural gas and oil become less reliable in economic terms and extraction become more challenging, and more unacceptable socially, such as adverse public reaction to 'fracking'. Thus, in 2016 these challenges are having a major influence on the design, optimisation, performance measurements, operation and preservation of: buildings, neighbourhoods, cities, regions, countries and continents. The source and nature of energy, the security of supply and the equity of distribution, the environmental impact of its supply and utilization, are all crucial matters to be addressed by suppliers, consumers, governments, industry, academia, and financial institutions. This book entitled 'Smart Energy Control Systems for Sustainable Buildings' contains eleven chapters written by international experts based on enhanced conference papers presented at the Sustainability and Energy in Buildings International conference series. This book will be of interest to University staff and students; and also industry practioners.

This book contains the contributions presented at the 8th International KES Conference on Smart Education and e-Learning (KES SEEL 2021), which being held as a virtual conference on June 14-16, 2021. It contains high-quality peer-reviewed papers that are grouped into several interconnected parts: smart education; smart e-learning; smart education: systems and technology; smart education: case studies and research; digital education and economics in smart university, smart university development: organizational, managerial and social Issues; smart universities and their Impact on students with disabilities. This book serves as a useful source of research data and valuable information on current research projects, best practices, and case studies for faculty, scholars, Ph.D. students, administrators, and practitioners- all those who are interested in smart education and smart e-learning.

This book features the contributions presented at the 5th International KES Conference on Smart Education and e-Learning, which took place in Gold Coast, Australia, June 20-22, 2018. The peer-reviewed papers are grouped into several interconnected parts: Part 1 - Smart Education: Systems and Technology, Part 2 - Smart Pedagogy, Part 3 - Smart Education: Case Studies and Research, and Part 4: Sustainable Learning Technologies: Smart Higher Education Futures. Smart education and smart e-learning are emerging and rapidly growing areas with the potential to transform existing teaching strategies, learning environments, and educational activities and technology in the classroom. Smart education and smart e-learning focus on enabling instructors to develop new ways of achieving excellence in teaching in highly technological smart classrooms, and providing students with new opportunities to maximize their success and select the best options for their education, location and learning style, as well as the mode of content delivery. This book serves as a useful source of research data and valuable information on current research projects, best practices and case studies for faculty, scholars, Ph.D. students, administrators, and practitioners - all those who are interested in smart education and smart e-learning.

This book consists of peer-reviewed papers, presented at the International Conference on Sustainable Design and Manufacturing (SDM 2020). Leading-edge research into sustainable design and manufacturing aims to enable the manufacturing industry to grow by adopting more advanced technologies and at the same time improve its sustainability by reducing its environmental impact. Relevant themes and topics include sustainable design, innovation and services; sustainable manufacturing processes and technology; sustainable manufacturing systems and enterprises; and decision support for sustainability. Application areas are wide and varied. The book provides an excellent overview of the latest developments in the sustainable design and manufacturing areas.

This book presents peer-reviewed contributions on smart universities by various international research, design and development teams. Smart university is an emerging and rapidly evolving area that creatively integrates innovative concepts; smart software and hardware systems; smart classrooms with state-of-the-art technologies and technical platforms; smart pedagogy based on modern teaching and learning strategies; smart learning and academic analytics; as well as various branches of computer science and computer engineering. The contributions are grouped into several parts: Part 1-Smart Universities: Literature Review and Creative Analysis, Part 2-Smart Universities: Concepts, Systems and Technologies, Part 3-Smart Education: Approaches and Best Practices, and Part 4-Smart Universities: Smart Long Life Learning. The book is a valuable source of research data and findings, design and development outcomes, and best practices for faculty, scholars, Ph.D students, administrators, practitioners and anyone interested in the rapidly growing areas of smart university and smart education.