This book offers insight into the current issues of the merger between reliability engineering and computational intelligence. The intense development of information technology allows for designing more complex systems as well as creating more detailed models of real-world systems which forces traditional reliability engineering approaches based on Boolean algebra, probability theory, and statistics to embrace the world of data science. The works deal with methodological developments as well as applications in the development of safe and reliable systems in various kinds of distribution networks, in the development of highly reliable healthcare systems, in finding weaknesses in systems with the human factor, or in reliability analysis of large information systems and other software solutions. In this book, experts from various fields of reliability engineering and computational intelligence present their view on the risks, the opportunities and the synergy between reliability engineering and computational intelligence that have been developed separately but in recent years have found a way to each other. The topics addressed include the latest advances in computing technology to improve the real lives of millions of people by increasing safety and reliability of various types of real-life systems by increasing the availability of software services, reducing the accident rate of means of transport, developing high reliable patient-specific health care, or generally, save cost and increase efficiency in the work and living environment. Though this book, the reader has access to professionals and researchers in the fields of reliability engineering and computational intelligence that share their experience in merging the two as well as an insight into the latest methods, concerns and application domains.

Computational intelligence is rapidly becoming an essential part of reliability engineering. This book offers a wide spectrum of viewpoints on the merger of technologies. Leading scientists share their insights and progress on reliability engineering techniques, suitable mathematical methods, and practical applications. Thought-provoking ideas are embedded in a solid scientific basis that contribute to the development the emerging field. This book is for anyone working on the most fundamental paradigm-shift in resilience engineering in decades. Scientists benefit from this book by gaining insight in the latest in the merger of reliability engineering and computational intelligence. Businesses and (IT) suppliers can find inspiration for the future, and reliability engineers can use the book to move closer to the cutting edge of technology.

This book presents the proceedings of the Thirteenth International Conference on Dependability and Complex Systems (DepCoS-RELCOMEX), which took place in the Brunów Palace in Poland from 2nd to 6th July 2018. The conference has been organized at the Faculty of Electronics, Wrocław University of Science and Technology since 2006, and it continues the tradition of two other events: RELCOMEX (1977–89) and Microcomputer School (1985–95). The selection of papers in these proceedings illustrates the broad variety of topics that are investigated in dependability analyses of today’s complex systems. Dependability came naturally as a contemporary answer to new challenges in the reliability evaluation of these systems. Such systems cannot be considered only as structures (however complex and distributed) built on the basis of technical resources (hardware): their analysis must take into account a unique blend of interacting people (their needs and behaviours), networks (together with mobile properties, cloud-based systems) and a large number of users dispersed geographically and producing an unimaginable number of applications (working online). A growing number of research methods apply the latest advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and computational intelligence (CI). Today’s complex systems are really complex and are applied in numerous different fields of contemporary life.

Complex high-technology devices are in growing use in industry, service sectors, and everyday life. Their reliability and maintenance is of utmost importance in view of their cost and critical functions. This book focuses on this theme and is intended to serve as a graduate-level textbook and reference book for scientists and academics in the field. The chapters are grouped into five complementary parts that cover the most important aspects of reliability and maintenance: stochastic models of reliability and maintenance, decision models involving optimal replacement and repair, stochastic methods in software engineering, computational methods and simulation, and maintenance management systems. This wide range of topics provides the reader with a complete picture in a self-contained volume.

This volume includes chapters presenting applications of different metaheuristics in reliability engineering, including ant colony optimization, great deluge algorithm, cross-entropy method and particle swarm optimization. It also presents chapters devoted to cellular automata and support vector machines, and applications of artificial neural networks, a powerful adaptive technique that can be used for learning, prediction and optimization. Several chapters describe aspects of imprecise reliability and applications of fuzzy and vague set theory.

Condition Monitoring Using Computational Intelligence Methods promotes the various approaches gathered under the umbrella of computational intelligence to show how condition monitoring can be used to avoid equipment failures and lengthen its useful life, minimize downtime and reduce maintenance costs. The text introduces various signal-processing and pre-processing techniques, wavelets and principal component analysis, for example, together with their uses in condition monitoring and details the development of effective feature extraction techniques classified into frequency-, time-frequency- and time-domain analysis. Data generated by these techniques can then be used for condition classification employing tools such as: • fuzzy systems; rough and neuro-rough sets; neural and Bayesian networks;hidden Markov and Gaussian mixture models; and support vector machines.

This utterly comprehensive work is thought to be the first to integrate the literature on the physics of the failure of complex systems such as hospitals, banks and transport networks. It has chapters on particular aspects of maintenance written by internationally-renowned researchers and practitioners. This book will interest maintenance engineers and managers in industry as well as researchers and graduate students in maintenance, industrial engineering and applied mathematics.

This book gathers the proceedings of the 2017 DepCoS-RELCOMEX, an annual conference series that has been organized by the Department of Computer Engineering at the Faculty of Electronics, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, since 2006. Its mission is to continue the heritage of the other two cycles of events – the RELCOMEX conferences (1977–89) and Microcomputer Schools (1985–95) – so this year we can celebrate the 40th anniversary of its origins. In contrast to those preceding series, which were focused on conventional reliability analysis, the goal of DepCoS is to promote a more comprehensive approach to system performability, which is now commonly called dependability. This innovative research area provides answers to the latest challenges in reliability evaluation for contemporary complex systems. Its novelty is based on a multi-disciplinary approach to system theory, technology and maintenance of systems operating in real environments. Dependability analyses concentrate on the efficient completion of tasks, services and jobs by a system considered as a combination of technical, information and human assets, in contrast to “classical” reliability, which is generally limited to the analysis of technical resources and associated components and structures. The selection of papers for this volume illustrates the diversity of topics that need to be considered, from mathematical models and design methodologies through software engineering and data security issues, to practical engineering problems in technical systems. In addition, this edition of the conference hosted the 7th CrISS-DESSERT Workshop, which was devoted to the analysis and assurance of safety and cyber security in critical infrastructure and computer systems.

This graduate textbook imparts the fundamentals of reliability and risk that can be connected mathematically and applied to problems in engineering and medical science and practice. The book is divided into eight chapters, the first three of which deal with basic fundamentals of probability theory and reliability methods. The fourth chapter illustrates simulation methods needed to solve complex problems. Chapters 5-7 explain reliability codes and system reliability (which uses the component reliabilities discussed in previous chapters). The book concludes in chapter 8 with an examination of applications of reliability within engineering and medical fields. Presenting a highly relevant competency for graduates entering product research and development, or facilities operations sectors, this text includes many examples and end of chapter study questions to maximize student comprehension. Explains concepts of reliability and risk estimation techniques in the context of medicine and engineering; Elucidates the interplay between reliability and risk from design to operation phases; Uses real world examples from engineering structures and medical devices and protocols; Adopts a lucid yet rigorous presentation of reliability and risk calculations; Reinforces students understanding of concepts covered with end-of-chapter exercises.