Preface

Engineering by nature is the art of creation, that is, creating the most efficient solution for an existing problem given a set of constraints. Engineering techniques allow navigating toward a design solution through the set of all the existing *constraints*  within an acceptable level of *uncertainties*. *Optimization techniques* are employed widely by engineers in various disciplines to conduct this navigation task.

The combination of existing constraints, uncertainties, and corresponding optimization techniques demonstrate the intrinsic nature of engineering. An example of a simple engineering problem is the design of a bookshelf, wherein the constraints include the limited available space and the objective is to maximize the number of books that can be shelved.

As the key requirement of the fourth industrial revolution, known as Industry 4.0, intelligence needs to be added to engineering solutions. This allows dynamic refinement of solutions, self-calibration, self-configuration, and self-adjustment according to the feedback received from the design environment. Dynamic feedback-based solutions have been used significantly in production and manufacturing systems in many cases, such as machining adjustment based on the intermittent data received from sensors, inspection surface fitting based on the dynamic nature of the systematic and non-systematic error patterns in the capture data points, and adaptive process planning for additive manufacturing of a product.

This book addresses a range of state-of-the-art methodologies and solutions to engineering problems. Considering the three important elements of constraints, uncertainties, and optimization techniques, the book classifies certain types of circumstances that engineering problems may be formulated for. It also provides a collective view to all these topics for a variety of engineering disciplines.

> **Marcos S.G. Tsuzuki, André K. Sato and Rogério Y. Takimoto** Computational Geometry Laboratory, Escola Politénica da USP, São Paulo, Brazil

> > **Ahmad Barari** Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, Canada

**Tomoki Saka** Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Kanazawa, Japan
