Manufacturing will unquestionably be a very different enterprise in 2020 from what it is today. This book presents an exciting picture of the profitable and productive potential of manufacturing two decades hence. This book takes an international view of future manufacturing that considers the leaps and bounds of technological innovation and the blurring of the lines between the manufacturing and service industries. The authors identify ten strategic technology areas as the most important for research and development and they recommend ways to address crosscutting questions. Representing a variety of industries, the authors identify six "grand challenges" that must be overcome for their vision to be realized, including the human/technology interface, environmental concerns, and miniaturization. A host of issues are discussed that will push and pull at manufacturing over the next 20 years: the changing workforce, the changing consumer, the rise of bio- and nanotechnology, the prospects for waste-free processing, simulation and modeling as design tools, shifts in global competition, and much more. The information and analyses in this book will be vitally important to everyone concerned about the future of manufacturing: policymakers, executives, design and engineering professionals, researchers, faculty, and students.

Manufacturing will unquestionably be a very different enterprise in 2020 from what it is today. This book presents an exciting picture of the profitable and productive potential of manufacturing two decades hence. This book takes an international view of future manufacturing that considers the leaps and bounds of technological innovation and the blurring of the lines between the manufacturing and service industries. The authors identify ten strategic technology areas as the most important for research and development and they recommend ways to address crosscutting questions. Representing a variety of industries, the authors identify six "grand challenges" that must be overcome for their vision to be realized, including the human/technology interface, environmental concerns, and miniaturization. A host of issues are discussed that will push and pull at manufacturing over the next 20 years: the changing workforce, the changing consumer, the rise of bio- and nanotechnology, the prospects for waste-free processing, simulation and modeling as design tools, shifts in global competition, and much more. The information and analyses in this book will be vitally important to everyone concerned about the future of manufacturing: policymakers, executives, design and engineering professionals, researchers, faculty, and students.

Manufacturing plays a vital role in European economy and society, and is expected to continue as a major generator of wealth in the foreseeable future. A competitive manufacturing industry is essential for the prosperity of Europe, especially in the face of accelerating deindustrialisation. This book provides a broad vision of the future of manufac

Virtual Manufacturing presents a novel concept of combining human computer interfaces with virtual reality for discrete and continuous manufacturing systems. The authors address the relevant concepts of manufacturing engineering, virtual reality, and computer science and engineering, before embarking on a description of the methodology for building augmented reality for manufacturing processes and manufacturing systems. Virtual Manufacturing is centered on the description of the development of augmented reality models for a range of processes based on CNC, PLC, SCADA, mechatronics and on embedded systems. Further discussions address the use of augmented reality for developing augmented reality models to control contemporary manufacturing systems and to acquire micro- and macro-level decision parameters for managers to boost profitability of their manufacturing systems. Guiding readers through the building of their own virtual factory software, Virtual Manufacturing comes with access to online files and software that will enable readers to create a virtual factory, operate it and experiment with it. This is a valuable source of information with a useful toolkit for anyone interested in virtual manufacturing, including advanced undergraduate students, postgraduate students and researchers.

The manufacturing industry will reap significant benefits from encouraging the development of digital manufacturing science and technology. Digital Manufacturing Science uses theorems, illustrations and tables to introduce the definition, theory architecture, main content, and key technologies of digital manufacturing science. Readers will be able to develop an in-depth understanding of the emergence and the development, the theoretical background, and the techniques and methods of digital manufacturing science. Furthermore, they will also be able to use the basic theories and key technologies described in Digital Manufacturing Science to solve practical engineering problems in modern manufacturing processes. Digital Manufacturing Science is aimed at advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students, academic researchers and researchers in the manufacturing industry. It allows readers to integrate the theories and technologies described with their own research works, and to propose new ideas and new methods to improve the theory and application of digital manufacturing science.

Throughout human history, technological advancements have been made for the ease of human labor. With our most recent advancements, it has been the work of scholars to discover ways for machines to take over a large part of this labor and reduce human intervention. These advancements may become essential processes to nearly every industry. It is essential to be knowledgeable about automation so that it may be applied. Research Anthology on Cross-Disciplinary Designs and Applications of Automation is a comprehensive resource on the emerging designs and application of automation. This collection features a number of authors spanning multiple disciplines such as home automation, healthcare automation, government automation, and more. Covering topics such as human-machine interaction, trust calibration, and sensors, this research anthology is an excellent resource for technologists, IT specialists, computer engineers, systems and software engineers, manufacturers, engineers, government officials, professors, students, healthcare administration, managers, CEOs, researchers, and academicians.

The LESS 2010 conference was the first scientific conference dedicated to advancing the “lean enterprise software and systems” body of knowledge. It fostered interactions by joining the lean product development community with the agile community coupled with innovative ideas nurtured by the beyond budgeting school of thinking. The conference was organized in collaboration with the Lean Software and Systems Consortium (LSSC). The conference is established as a conference series. The idea of the conference was to offer a unique platform for advancing the state of the art in research and practice by bringing the leading researchers and practitioners to the same table. Indeed, LESS 2010 attracted a unique mix of participants including academics, researchers, leading consultants and industry practitioners. The aim of the conference was to use this diverse community to advance research and practical knowledge concerning lean thinking within the field of software business and development. LESS 2010 had more than 60% of its speakers come from the industry and the remaining from academia. LESS is poised to grow as we advance into future iterations of the conference and become the conference for lean thinking in systems and software development. Its growth and credibility will be advanced by the communities and knowledge exchange platform it provides. LESS offers several avenues for knowledge exchange to create a highly collaborative environment. Each year, we aim to bring novelty to a program that fosters collaboration, letting new ideas thrive during and after the conference.