\- Preface - List of Figures - List of Tables - List of Acronyms and Abbreviations - Preface - Introduction - Basics of Noncontact Thermal Measurement - Matching the Instrument to the Application - Instruments Overview - Using IR Sensing and Imaging Instruments - Introduction to Applications - Plant Condition Monitoring and Predictive Maintenance - Buildings and Infrastructure - Materials Testing - Product and Process Monitoring Control - Night Vision, Security, and Surveillance - Life Sciences Thermography - Appendix A: Commercial Instrument Performance Characteristics - Appendix B: Manufacturers of IR Sensing and Imaging Instruments - Appendix C: Table of Generic Normal Emissivities of Materials - Appendix D: A Glossary of Terms for the Infrared Thermographer

Welding is a complex process, is increasingly automated, and operates at higher speeds in more difficult environments. Defects also need to be detected as they arise to ensure efficient, high-quality production. All these needs have led to a growing interest in the use of sensors to provide accurate, robust, real-time monitoring where this cannot be achieved by more traditional testing and inspection techniques. This important book reviews the range of monitoring techniques available and their applications.After an introductory chapter, the first part of the book reviews the range of sensor technologies in welding, from arc and optical sensors to infrared and ultrasonic techniques. Part two discusses the monitoring of particular aspects of welding such as weld seams and profiles, the analysis of weld penetration and weld pool surface, as well as monitoring of resistance and laser welding.With its distinguished editor and international team of contributors, Real-time weld process monitoring is a valuable reference to all those concerned with improving the quality of welding and welded components. - Reviews the range of monitoring techniques available - Examines the range of sensor technologies in welding from arc and optical sensors to infrared and ultrasonic techniques - Discusses the monitoring of specific aspects of welding such as weld seams, resistance and laser welding

Infrared Thermography (IRT) is commonly as a NDE tool to identify damages and provide remedial action. The fields of application are vast, such as, materials science, life sciences and applied engineering. This book offers a collection of ten chapters with three major sections - relating to application of infrared thermography to study problems in materials science, agriculture, veterinary and sports fields as well as in engineering applications. Both mathematical modeling and experimental aspects of IRT are evenly discussed in this book. It is our sincere hope that the book meets the requirements of researchers in the domain and inspires more researchers to study IRT.

In modern photovoltaic systems, there is an ever-increasing need to improve the system efficiency, to detect internal faults and to guarantee service continuity. The only way to meet these objectives is to utilize and create synergies between diagnostic techniques and control algorithms. Diagnostic methods can be implemented through module-dedicated electronics, by running on real-time embedded systems or by using a huge database on the cloud, profiting from artificial intelligence, machine learning, and classifiers. Model-based diagnostic approaches and data-driven methods are attracting the interest of the scientific community for the automatic detection of phenomena like the occurrence of hot spots, the increase of the ohmic losses, the degradation due to unexpected potentials (PID), switch failures in power electronic converters, and also the reduction of the power production due to soiling or partial shadowing. The detection of malfunctioning or even faults affecting the whole power conversion chain, from the photovoltaic modules to the power conversion stages, allows to perform proper control actions, also in terms of MPPT. Control algorithms, running on an embedded system, are optimized, e.g., through the online adaptation of their own parameters, by suitably processing data coming from the diagnostic algorithms. This book presents recent and original results about the diagnostic approaches to photovoltaic modules and related power electronics and control strategies with the aim to maximize the photovoltaic output power, to increase the whole system efficiency and to guarantee service continuity.

Agricultural automation is the emerging technologies which heavily rely on computer-integrated management and advanced control systems. The tedious farming tasks had been taken over by agricultural machines in last century, in new millennium, computer-aided systems, automation, and robotics has been applied to precisely manage agricultural production system. With agricultural automation technologies, sustainable agriculture is being developed based on efficient use of land, increased conservation of water, fertilizer and energy resources. The agricultural automation technologies refer to related areas in sensing & perception, reasoning & learning, data communication, and task planning & execution. Since the literature on this diverse subject is widely scattered, it is necessary to review current status and capture the future challenges through a comprehensive monograph. In this book we focus on agricultural automation and provide critical reviews of advanced control technologies, their merits and limitations, application areas and research opportunities for further development. This collection thus serves as an authoritative treatise that can help researchers, engineers, educators, and students in the field of sensing, control, and automation technologies for production agriculture.