The technical committee on mechatronics formed by the International Federation for the Theory of Machines and Mechanisms, in Prague, Czech Republic, adopted the following definition for the term: Mechatronics is the synergistic combination of precision mechanical engineering, electronic control and systems thinking in the design products and manufa

The problem of fault diagnosis and reconfigurable control is a new and actually developing field of science and engineering. The subject becomes more interesting since there is an increasing demand for the navigation and control systems of aerospace vehicles, automated actuators etc. to be more safe and reliable. Nowadays, the problems of fault detection and isolation and reconfigurable control attract the attention the scientists in the world. The subject is emphasized in the recent international congresses such as IF AC World Congresses (San Francisco-1996, Beijing-1999, and Barcelona-2002) and lMEKO World Congresses (Tampere-1997, Osaka-1999, Vienna-2000), and also in the international conferences on fault diagnosis such as SAFEPROCESS Conferences (Hull-1997, Budapest-2000). The presented methods in the book are based on linear and nonlinear dynamic mathematical models of the systems. Technical objects and systems stated by these models are very large, and include various control systems, actuators, sensors, computer systems, communication systems, and mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical and electronic devices. The analytical fault diagnosis techniques of these objects have been developed for several decades. Many of those techniques are based on the use of the results of modem control theory. This is natural, because it is known that fault diagnosis process in control systems is considered as a part of general control process. xxii In organization of fault diagnosis of control systems, the use of the concepts and methods of modem control theory including concepts of state space, modeling, controllability, observability, estimation, identification, and filtering is very efficient.

It is in the area of Systems Diagnosis. Supervision and Control that Knowledge-Based Techniques have had their most significant impact in recent years. In this volume. Spyros Tzafestas has ably put together the current state of the art of the application of Artificial Intelligence concepts to problems of Systems Diagnosis. All the authors in this edited work are distinguished internationally. recognized experts on various aspects of Artificial Intelligence and its applications. and the coverage of the field that they provide is both readable and authoritative. The sixteen chapters break down in a natural way into three broad categories i.e •• (a) introduction to the applications of Expert Systems in Engineering. (b) Knowledge-based systems architectures. models and techniques for fault diagnosis. supervision and real time control and finally. (c) applications and case studies in three specific 'areas. namely: Manufacturing. Chemical Processes and Communications Networks. The final chapter provides a com prehensive survey of the field with an extensive bibliography. The mix of original scientific articles. tutorial and survey papers makes this col lection a very timely and valuable addition to the literature in this important field. MADAN G. SINGH Professor of Information Engineering at U.M.I.S.T.

This book provides multifaceted components and full practical perspectives of systems engineering and risk management in security and defense operations with a focus on infrastructure and manpower control systems, missile design, space technology, satellites, intercontinental ballistic missiles, and space security. While there are many existing selections of systems engineering and risk management textbooks, there is no existing work that connects systems engineering and risk management concepts to solidify its usability in the entire security and defense actions. With this book Dr. Anna M. Doro-on rectifies the current imbalance. She provides a comprehensive overview of systems engineering and risk management before moving to deeper practical engineering principles integrated with newly developed concepts and examples based on industry and government methodologies. The chapters also cover related points including design principles for defeating and deactivating improvised explosive devices and land mines and security measures against kinds of threats. The book is designed for systems engineers in practice, political risk professionals, managers, policy makers, engineers in other engineering fields, scientists, decision makers in industry and government and to serve as a reference work in systems engineering and risk management courses with focus on security and defense operations.

This book examines the autonomous management of spacecraft, which uses modern control technologies such as artificial intelligence to establish a remote intelligent body on the spacecraft so that the spacecraft can complete its flight tasks by itself. Its goal is to accurately perceive its own state and external environment without relying on external information injection and control, or rely on external control as little as possible, make various appropriate decisions based on this information and user tasks, and be able to autonomously control spacecraft to complete various tasks. - Divides the autonomous management level of spacecraft into two levels: - Basic autonomy to meet spacecraft health requirements, namely, autonomous health management, and autonomy of the advanced stage. - Divides the implementation of spacecraft autonomous management into three aspects: - Autonomous health management of spacecraft – the spacecraft can monitor and sense its own state and can autonomously detect, isolate, and recover from faults. - Autonomous mission management – the spacecraft can directly receive the mission, formulate a reasonable plan according to the current state and working environment of the spacecraft, and convert the mission into a specific sequence of instructions. - Spacecraft autonomous data management – the spacecraft processes a large amount of raw data and extracts useful information and autonomously executes or changes flight tasks. - The autonomous management model of the spacecraft is divided into two points: - Compatibility – the existing traditional control systems belong to the execution layer logic and are compatible with the existing systems. - Scalability – it adopts a layered structure, and each layer has different autonomous capabilities.

The safe and reliable operation of technical systems is of great significance for the protection of human life and health, the environment, and of the vested economic value. The correct functioning of those systems has a profound impact also on production cost and product quality. The early detection of faults is critical in avoiding performance degradation and damage to the machinery or human life. Accurate diagnosis then helps to make the right decisions on emergency actions and repairs. Fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) has developed into a major area of research, at the intersection of systems and control engineering, artificial intelligence, applied mathematics and statistics, and such application fields as chemical, electrical, mechanical and aerospace engineering. IFAC has recognized the significance of FDD by launching a triennial symposium series dedicated to the subject. The SAFEPROCESS Symposium is organized every three years since the first symposium held in Baden-Baden in 1991. SAFEPROCESS 2006, the 6th IFAC Symposium on Fault Detection, Supervision and Safety of Technical Processes was held in Beijing, PR China. The program included three plenary papers, two semi-plenary papers, two industrial talks by internationally recognized experts and 258 regular papers, which have been selected out of a total of 387 regular and invited papers submitted. * Discusses the developments and future challenges in all aspects of fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control * 8 invited and 36 contributed sessions included with a special session on the demonstration of process monitoring and diagnostic software tools

Over the past 20 years, energy conservation imperatives, the use of computer based design aids, and major advances in intelligent management systems for buildings have transformed the design and operation of comfort systems for buildings. The "rules of thumb" used by designers in the1970s are no longer viable. Today, building systems engineers must