Automation, Collaboration, & E-Services – serie

This book focuses on the systematic modeling of complex situations characterized by escalating disruptions, and on cycles of dynamic collaboration for the best handling of disruptions. What can we do about disruptive events and their cascading effects? Thanks to the evolution of intelligent technologies for interaction, communication, sharing, and collaboration, cyberspace is a rapidly expanding world. Our systems of machines, software services, and human organizations have become increasingly interdependent, in other words – networked. As a result, disruptions that initially affect only a small part of any network tend to escalate. At the same time, cyber solutions can support first responders and emergency handlers, enhancing their responsiveness and ability to collaborate with one another in controlling disruptions and preventing their escalation. In this book, we are chiefly interested in how effectively these collaborations can be supported and how we canfurther optimize such support. Solution guidelines for optimizing collaborations are illustrated with examples in various application domains: agricultural robotics, civil cyber-physical infrastructure, visual analytics, manufacturing automation, and supply chains. Open-source simulation tools are also provided to supplement the main content.

This book focuses on the systematic modeling of complex situations characterized by escalating disruptions, and on cycles of dynamic collaboration for the best handling of disruptions. What can we do about disruptive events and their cascading effects? Thanks to the evolution of intelligent technologies for interaction, communication, sharing, and collaboration, cyberspace is a rapidly expanding world. Our systems of machines, software services, and human organizations have become increasingly interdependent, in other words – networked. As a result, disruptions that initially affect only a small part of any network tend to escalate. At the same time, cyber solutions can support first responders and emergency handlers, enhancing their responsiveness and ability to collaborate with one another in controlling disruptions and preventing their escalation. In this book, we are chiefly interested in how effectively these collaborations can be supported and how we canfurther optimize such support. Solution guidelines for optimizing collaborations are illustrated with examples in various application domains: agricultural robotics, civil cyber-physical infrastructure, visual analytics, manufacturing automation, and supply chains. Open-source simulation tools are also provided to supplement the main content.

Today’s real-world problems and applications in sensory systems and target detection require efficient, comprehensive and fault-tolerant multi-sensor allocation. This book presents the theory and applications of novel methods developed for such sophisticated systems. It discusses the advances in multi-agent systems and AI along with collaborative control theory and tools. Further, it examines the formulation and development of an allocation framework for heterogeneous multi-sensor systems for various real-world problems that require sensors with different performances to allocate multiple tasks, with unknown a priori priorities that arrive at unknown locations at unknown time. It demonstrates how to decide which sensor to allocate to which tasks when and where. Lastly, it explains the reliability and availability issues of task allocation systems, and includes methods for their optimization.The presented methods are explained, measured, and evaluated by extensive simulations, and the results of these simulations are presented in this book. This book is an ideal resource for academics, researchers and graduate students as well as engineers and professionals and is relevant for various applications such as sensor network design, multi-agent systems, task allocation, target detection, and team formation.

Today’s real-world problems and applications in sensory systems and target detection require efficient, comprehensive and fault-tolerant multi-sensor allocation. This book presents the theory and applications of novel methods developed for such sophisticated systems. It discusses the advances in multi-agent systems and AI along with collaborative control theory and tools. Further, it examines the formulation and development of an allocation framework for heterogeneous multi-sensor systems for various real-world problems that require sensors with different performances to allocate multiple tasks, with unknown a priori priorities that arrive at unknown locations at unknown time. It demonstrates how to decide which sensor to allocate to which tasks when and where. Lastly, it explains the reliability and availability issues of task allocation systems, and includes methods for their optimization.The presented methods are explained, measured, and evaluated by extensive simulations, and the results of these simulations are presented in this book. This book is an ideal resource for academics, researchers and graduate students as well as engineers and professionals and is relevant for various applications such as sensor network design, multi-agent systems, task allocation, target detection, and team formation.

This book discusses the principles, methodologies, and challenges of robotic musicianship through an in-depth review of the work conducted at the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology (GTCMT), where the concept was first developed. Robotic musicianship is a relatively new research field that focuses on the design and development of intelligent music-making machines. The motivation behind the field is to develop robots that not only generate music, but also collaborate with humans by listening and responding in an expressive and creative manner. This combination of human and machine creativity has the potential to surprise and inspire us to play, listen, compose, and think about music in new ways.The book provides an in-depth view of the robotic platforms designed at the GTCMT Robotic Musicianship Group, including the improvisational robotic percussionists Haile and Shimon, the personal robotic companion Shimi, and a number of wearable robots, such as the Robotic Drumming Prosthesis, The Third Drumming Arm, and the Skywalker Piano Hand. The book discusses numerous research studies based on these platforms in the context of five main principles: Listen like a Human, Play Like a Machine, Be Social, Watch and Learn, and Wear It.

This book discusses the principles, methodologies, and challenges of robotic musicianship through an in-depth review of the work conducted at the Georgia Tech Center for Music Technology (GTCMT), where the concept was first developed. Robotic musicianship is a relatively new research field that focuses on the design and development of intelligent music-making machines. The motivation behind the field is to develop robots that not only generate music, but also collaborate with humans by listening and responding in an expressive and creative manner. This combination of human and machine creativity has the potential to surprise and inspire us to play, listen, compose, and think about music in new ways.The book provides an in-depth view of the robotic platforms designed at the GTCMT Robotic Musicianship Group, including the improvisational robotic percussionists Haile and Shimon, the personal robotic companion Shimi, and a number of wearable robots, such as the Robotic Drumming Prosthesis, The Third Drumming Arm, and the Skywalker Piano Hand. The book discusses numerous research studies based on these platforms in the context of five main principles: Listen like a Human, Play Like a Machine, Be Social, Watch and Learn, and Wear It.

This book explains network science and its applications in data analytics for critical infrastructures, engineered systems, and knowledge acquisition. Each chapter describes step-by-step processes of how network science enables and automates data analytics through examples. The book not only dissects modeling techniques and analytical results but also explores the intrinsic development of these models and analyses. This unique approach bridges the gap between theory and practice and channels’ managerial and problem-solving skills.Engineers, researchers, and managers would benefit from the extensive theoretical background and practical examples discussed in this book. Advanced undergraduate students and graduate students in mathematics, statistics, engineering, business, public health, and social science may use this book as a one-semester textbook or a reference book. Readers who are more interested in applications may skip Chapter 1 and peruse through the rest of the book with ease.

This book explains network science and its applications in data analytics for critical infrastructures, engineered systems, and knowledge acquisition. Each chapter describes step-by-step processes of how network science enables and automates data analytics through examples. The book not only dissects modeling techniques and analytical results but also explores the intrinsic development of these models and analyses. This unique approach bridges the gap between theory and practice and channels’ managerial and problem-solving skills.Engineers, researchers, and managers would benefit from the extensive theoretical background and practical examples discussed in this book. Advanced undergraduate students and graduate students in mathematics, statistics, engineering, business, public health, and social science may use this book as a one-semester textbook or a reference book. Readers who are more interested in applications may skip Chapter 1 and peruse through the rest of the book with ease.

This book provides practical guidance and awareness for a growing body of knowledge developing across a variety of disciplines and many countries. This book is a celebration of the Gavriel Salvendy International Symposium (GSIS) and provides a survey of topics and emerging areas of interest in human–automation interaction.  This book for the GSIS emphasizes main thematic areas: manufacturing, services and user experience.  Main areas of coverage include Section A:  Advanced Production Management and Production Control; Section B: Healthcare Automation; Section C: Measuring and Modeling Human Performance; Section D: Usability and User Experience; Section E: Safety Management and Occupational Ergonomics; Section F: Manufacturing and Services; Section G: Data and Probabilistic Information; Section H: Training and Collaboration Technologies.  Contributions from especially early career researchers were featured as part of this (virtual) symposium and celebration.  Gavriel Salvendy initiated the conferences that run annually as Human–Computer Interaction International and Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics International (AHFE), both within the Lecture Notes in Springer. The book is inclusive of human–computer interaction and human factors and ergonomics principles, yet it is intended to serve a much wider audience that has interest in automation and human modeling. The emerging need for human–automation interaction expertise has developed from an ever-growing availability and presence of automation in our everyday lives.

This book provides practical guidance and awareness for a growing body of knowledge developing across a variety of disciplines and many countries. This book is a celebration of the Gavriel Salvendy International Symposium (GSIS) and provides a survey of topics and emerging areas of interest in human–automation interaction.  This book for the GSIS emphasizes main thematic areas: manufacturing, services and user experience.  Main areas of coverage include Section A:  Advanced Production Management and Production Control; Section B: Healthcare Automation; Section C: Measuring and Modeling Human Performance; Section D: Usability and User Experience; Section E: Safety Management and Occupational Ergonomics; Section F: Manufacturing and Services; Section G: Data and Probabilistic Information; Section H: Training and Collaboration Technologies.  Contributions from especially early career researchers were featured as part of this (virtual) symposium and celebration.  Gavriel Salvendy initiated the conferences that run annually as Human–Computer Interaction International and Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics International (AHFE), both within the Lecture Notes in Springer. The book is inclusive of human–computer interaction and human factors and ergonomics principles, yet it is intended to serve a much wider audience that has interest in automation and human modeling. The emerging need for human–automation interaction expertise has developed from an ever-growing availability and presence of automation in our everyday lives.

This book provides practical guidance and awareness for a growing body of knowledge developing across a variety of disciplines. This initiative is a celebration of the Gavriel Salvendy International Symposium (GSIS) and provides a survey of topics and emerging areas of interest in human–automation interaction.  This set of articles for the GSIS emphasizes a main thematic area: transportation.  Main areas of coverage include Section A: Interaction with Vehicle Automation; Section B: HCI in Automated Vehicles; Section C: Trust in Vehicle Automation; Section D: Physical Modeling of Vehicle Cabs; Section E: Task Simulation Automation via Digital Human Models; Section F: Maintenance and Manufacturing; Section G: Smart Cities and Connected Vehicles.  Contributions from especially early career researchers were featured as part of this (virtual) symposium and celebration.  Gavriel Salvendy initiated the conferences that run annually as Human–Computer Interaction within LNCS of Springer and Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics International (AHFE). The book is inclusive of human–computer interaction and human factors and ergonomics principles, yet it is intended to serve a much wider audience that has interest in automation and human modeling.  The emerging need for human–automation interaction expertise has developed from an ever-growing availability and presence of automation in our everyday lives. This initiative is intended to provide practical guidance and awareness for a growing body of knowledge developing across a variety of disciplines and many countries.

This book provides practical guidance and awareness for a growing body of knowledge developing across a variety of disciplines. This initiative is a celebration of the Gavriel Salvendy International Symposium (GSIS) and provides a survey of topics and emerging areas of interest in human–automation interaction.  This set of articles for the GSIS emphasizes a main thematic area: transportation.  Main areas of coverage include Section A: Interaction with Vehicle Automation; Section B: HCI in Automated Vehicles; Section C: Trust in Vehicle Automation; Section D: Physical Modeling of Vehicle Cabs; Section E: Task Simulation Automation via Digital Human Models; Section F: Maintenance and Manufacturing; Section G: Smart Cities and Connected Vehicles.  Contributions from especially early career researchers were featured as part of this (virtual) symposium and celebration.  Gavriel Salvendy initiated the conferences that run annually as Human–Computer Interaction within LNCS of Springer and Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics International (AHFE). The book is inclusive of human–computer interaction and human factors and ergonomics principles, yet it is intended to serve a much wider audience that has interest in automation and human modeling.  The emerging need for human–automation interaction expertise has developed from an ever-growing availability and presence of automation in our everyday lives. This initiative is intended to provide practical guidance and awareness for a growing body of knowledge developing across a variety of disciplines and many countries.

This book provides practical guidance and awareness for a growing body of knowledge developing across a variety of disciplines. This initiative is a celebration of the Gavriel Salvendy International Symposium (GSIS) and provides a survey of topics and emerging areas of interest in human–automation interaction.  This set of articles for the GSIS emphasizes a main thematic areas: mobile computing.  Main areas of coverage include Section A: Health, Care and Assistive Technologies; Section B: Usability, User Experience and Design; Section C: Virtual Learning, Training and Collaboration; Section D: Ergonomics in Work, Automation and Production. In total, there are more than 600 pages emphasizing contributions from especially early career researchers that were featured as part of this (virtual) symposium and celebration.  Gavriel Salvendy initiated the conferences that run annually as Human–Computer Interaction within LNCS of Springer and Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics International (AHFE). The book is inclusive of human–computer interaction and human factors and ergonomics principles, yet is intended to serve a much wider audience that has interest in automation and human modeling.  The emerging need for human–automation interaction expertise has developed from an ever-growing availability and presence of automation in our everyday lives. This initiative is intended to provide practical guidance and awareness for a growing body of knowledge developing across a variety of disciplines and many countries.

This book provides practical guidance and awareness for a growing body of knowledge developing across a variety of disciplines. This initiative is a celebration of the Gavriel Salvendy International Symposium (GSIS) and provides a survey of topics and emerging areas of interest in human–automation interaction.  This set of articles for the GSIS emphasizes a main thematic areas: mobile computing.  Main areas of coverage include Section A: Health, Care and Assistive Technologies; Section B: Usability, User Experience and Design; Section C: Virtual Learning, Training and Collaboration; Section D: Ergonomics in Work, Automation and Production. In total, there are more than 600 pages emphasizing contributions from especially early career researchers that were featured as part of this (virtual) symposium and celebration.  Gavriel Salvendy initiated the conferences that run annually as Human–Computer Interaction within LNCS of Springer and Applied Human Factors and Ergonomics International (AHFE). The book is inclusive of human–computer interaction and human factors and ergonomics principles, yet is intended to serve a much wider audience that has interest in automation and human modeling.  The emerging need for human–automation interaction expertise has developed from an ever-growing availability and presence of automation in our everyday lives. This initiative is intended to provide practical guidance and awareness for a growing body of knowledge developing across a variety of disciplines and many countries.

This book presents social welfare functions as a unified multidisciplinary framework for various resource allocation problems. By measuring the impact of local decisions on broader society, social welfare functions enable “socialized” decisions and thereby produce an emergent property that “global” balance and welfare emerge from “local” welfare-maximizing behaviors. Social welfare functions are originally used in economics to quantify income welfare, jointly considering average and inequality to arrive at better measures of welfare than average alone. Wishing the readers to find opportunities for their problems of interest, this book introduces research results of social welfare functions applied in five different engineering applications, defining welfare metrics pertaining to the characteristics of the application.  The “energy welfare” in wireless sensor network measures richness of distributed sensors in energy. The “preparedness welfare” in emergency medical services quantifies the preparedness level of an entire service area by aggregating preparedness levels of individual zones. The “preference welfare” in intelligent shared environments represents the opinions of real people for groups. The “resource welfare” in multi-robot task allocation quantifies the efficiency of utilizing distributed resources across robots. The “utility welfare” in complex cyber-physical systems quantifies the impact of local resource sharing decisions on the broader task communities.

This book presents social welfare functions as a unified multidisciplinary framework for various resource allocation problems. By measuring the impact of local decisions on broader society, social welfare functions enable “socialized” decisions and thereby produce an emergent property that “global” balance and welfare emerge from “local” welfare-maximizing behaviors. Social welfare functions are originally used in economics to quantify income welfare, jointly considering average and inequality to arrive at better measures of welfare than average alone. Wishing the readers to find opportunities for their problems of interest, this book introduces research results of social welfare functions applied in five different engineering applications, defining welfare metrics pertaining to the characteristics of the application.  The “energy welfare” in wireless sensor network measures richness of distributed sensors in energy. The “preparedness welfare” in emergency medical services quantifies the preparedness level of an entire service area by aggregating preparedness levels of individual zones. The “preference welfare” in intelligent shared environments represents the opinions of real people for groups. The “resource welfare” in multi-robot task allocation quantifies the efficiency of utilizing distributed resources across robots. The “utility welfare” in complex cyber-physical systems quantifies the impact of local resource sharing decisions on the broader task communities.

This book is a groundbreaking exploration of the historical and contemporary challenges in systems collaboration and integration. This exceptional book delves into engineering design, planning, control, and management, offering invaluable insights into the evolving nature of systems and networks. In an era defined by the ongoing cyber and digital transformation, coupled with artificial intelligence and machine learning, this book offers insights into the future of systems collaboration and integration. Over the past three decades, the PRISM Center and its affiliated PRISM Global Research Network (PGRN) have spearheaded pioneering theories, technologies, and applications in the realm of systems collaboration and integration. Their research, driven by the motto “Knowledge through information; Wisdom through collaboration,” has yielded remarkable advancements. Those achievements and papers presented and updated by the PGRN scholars in the 26th ICPR are included in this book.

This book is a groundbreaking exploration of the historical and contemporary challenges in systems collaboration and integration. This exceptional book delves into engineering design, planning, control, and management, offering invaluable insights into the evolving nature of systems and networks. In an era defined by the ongoing cyber and digital transformation, coupled with artificial intelligence and machine learning, this book offers insights into the future of systems collaboration and integration. Over the past three decades, the PRISM Center and its affiliated PRISM Global Research Network (PGRN) have spearheaded pioneering theories, technologies, and applications in the realm of systems collaboration and integration. Their research, driven by the motto “Knowledge through information; Wisdom through collaboration,” has yielded remarkable advancements. Those achievements and papers presented and updated by the PGRN scholars in the 26th ICPR are included in this book.

Revolutionizing the field of complex system optimization and management, this book introduces the innovative concept of cyber-collaborative protocols (CCP), representing a new approach to managing the complexity of interconnected systems. Departing from traditional methods, this book emphasizes collaboration, efficiency, and intelligence within cyber-physical systems (CPS), with a specific focus on precision agriculture and agricultural robotics systems (ARS). With a combination of theoretical foundations and practical applications, the book explores CCP’s unique advantages and potential to enhance system effectiveness to address real-world critical issues such as food security. This book is an essential resource for diverse audiences, including academics and students in the fields of complex systems design and management, as well as professionals and practitioners. Importantly, the book provides a forward-looking perspective on the role of engineered collaboration in complex CPS.

Revolutionizing the field of complex system optimization and management, this book introduces the innovative concept of cyber-collaborative protocols (CCP), representing a new approach to managing the complexity of interconnected systems. Departing from traditional methods, this book emphasizes collaboration, efficiency, and intelligence within cyber-physical systems (CPS), with a specific focus on precision agriculture and agricultural robotics systems (ARS). With a combination of theoretical foundations and practical applications, the book explores CCP’s unique advantages and potential to enhance system effectiveness to address real-world critical issues such as food security. This book is an essential resource for diverse audiences, including academics and students in the fields of complex systems design and management, as well as professionals and practitioners. Importantly, the book provides a forward-looking perspective on the role of engineered collaboration in complex CPS.

Interoperability is the ability for two or more systems to interoperate, i.e., to share and use common information and/or to use functionality of one another. The purpose of the book is to explain what one should know to be able to understand or implement systems interoperability at the technical, semantic and organization levels of an enterprise system or of a collaborative automated system. In particular, it presents the rationale, the basics, the common methods and the essential standards for the engineering of interoperable systems. The book is intended to serve as a textbook for those who need (1) to study basic principles, concepts and techniques along with applications of systems interoperability and (2) need to know applicable standards for planning, engineering or implementing interoperability solutions. Applications will concern, but are not limited to, automated (collaborative) environments. The book should also serve as a reference document for students and academia at under-graduate and graduate levels or in engineering schools as well as for researchers, practitioners, consultants and engineers faced with interoperability problems in service, industrial, government or administrative sectors.

Interoperability is the ability for two or more systems to interoperate, i.e., to share and use common information and/or to use functionality of one another. The purpose of the book is to explain what one should know to be able to understand or implement systems interoperability at the technical, semantic and organization levels of an enterprise system or of a collaborative automated system. In particular, it presents the rationale, the basics, the common methods and the essential standards for the engineering of interoperable systems. The book is intended to serve as a textbook for those who need (1) to study basic principles, concepts and techniques along with applications of systems interoperability and (2) need to know applicable standards for planning, engineering or implementing interoperability solutions. Applications will concern, but are not limited to, automated (collaborative) environments. The book should also serve as a reference document for students and academia at under-graduate and graduate levels or in engineering schools as well as for researchers, practitioners, consultants and engineers faced with interoperability problems in service, industrial, government or administrative sectors.

This book provides a bridge between theory and practice, ensuring that readers confidently apply bibliometric analysis and systematic review methods to their own areas of interest. Practical examples, student perspectives and detailed cases in bibliometric analysis and systematic review illustrate applications of modern techniques. These led to 100 student co-authored publications after pandemic protocols in 2020.  From introductory concepts to trend analysis, insights, tools and detailed methodologies are explained throughout. While identifying emerging areas, practical insights are provided and explained from a learner's viewpoint. Digital human modeling is included to illustrate this emerging area in relation to well-known terms like ergonomics, human factors and industrial engineering.  This text was tested in real classroom settings and provides a relatable and practical guide to conducting bibliometric analysis and systematic review. The comprehensive coverage of methods and tools equips early career researchers with the knowledge and resources they need to organize, analyze, visualize, summarize and interpret research effectively.

This book explores an emerging demand related to digital transformation to design a strategic and sound roadmap leading from I3.0 to the appropriate maturity level of I4.0. The roadmap results from a system design process, moving from a product-dominant stage to a service-dominant proposition. Therefore, this book questions the efficiency of conventional design methods for this purpose, proposing their replacement for other goal-oriented methods, especially in the early steps, where strategic decisions are required. The proposed approach comprises Model-Based System Engineering (MBSE) and Goal-oriented Requirements Engineering (GORE) in a design cycle centered on digital documentation, an essential issue in modern design. This book intends to bring researchers and practitioners together toward a joint approach where formal methods can fit practical problems, and practical problems generate insights that can be useful, especially in the requirements modeling stage.

This book aims to inspire readers and designers to build successful collaborations in personal and professional environments. Systems, including human participants, must collaborate effectively to integrate their strengths. We explore how, in the age of AI, robotics, and intelligent agents, we can design systems that enhance our lives rather than confuse or endanger us. Developments in collaborative control theory (CCT) and e-work systems have led to "collaboratives" in education, production, business, services, medical imaging, smartphones, gaming, human-robot assembly, supply chains, and GPS navigation. Collaboratives share activities, responsibilities, and resources.  How can we ensure their success and benefits? Beyond human-automation interactions, collaborative automation impacts dynamics among humans, robots, and enterprises. Over 40 years of research have led to 14 principles for effective collaboration, along with protocols, algorithms, and platforms.

This book advocates for the adoption of digital twins as technological artifacts of smart factories to support decision-making by different roles in a manufacturing company. Digital twins of manufacturing systems, in fact, support decisions in the various activities required for their design, management, and improvement. Furthermore, they represent a promising prospect for a future characterized by human-centric, sustainable and circular manufacturing. Given the rapid progress observed in recent years, which has led to conceptual fragmentation, heterogeneous implementations, and divergent interpretations, a forward-looking vision is therefore offered on the role of digital twins for the future of manufacturing. The book is structured into three parts, which reflect expectations regarding the theorization and practice of digital twins. The first part illustrates the conceptual basis, identifying the key characteristics that differentiate digital twins from digital models, while also analyzing the virtualization of decision‑making processes. The second part aims to delve deeper into the topic of digital twins from both an operational and architectural perspective, discussing their role in collaborative decision-making, as well as the architectures and frameworks, methodologies, and technologies for the development and implementation of digital twins in the context of cyber‑physical integration of manufacturing. The third and last part aims to illustrate how digital twins apply to the entire lifecycle of a manufacturing system, supporting design and commissioning, production management and control, reconfiguration and performance management, and ultimately extending to sustainability, circularity, and human-centricity. This part concludes with an overview of future research directions. Overall, through its forward-looking vision, the book’s overarching goal is to inspire innovation relevant to manufacturing practice, share knowledge to stimulate research advances, and contribute to future human and technological development.

Mismatch or best match? This book demonstrates that best matching of individual entities to each other is essential to ensure smooth conduct and successful competitiveness in any distributed system, natural and artificial. Interactions must be optimized through best matching in planning and scheduling, enterprise network design, transportation and construction planning, recruitment, problem solving, selective assembly, team formation, sensor network design, and more. Fundamentals of best matching in distributed and collaborative systems are explained by providing:§ Methodical analysis of various multidimensional best matching processes § Comprehensive taxonomy, comparing different best matching problems and processes§ Systematic identification of systems’ hierarchy, nature of interactions, and distribution of decision-making and control functions § Practical formulation of solutions based on a library of best matching algorithms and protocols, ready for direct applications and apps development.Designed for both academics and practitioners, oriented to systems engineers and applied operations researchers, diverse types of best matching processes are explained in production, manufacturing, business and service, based on a new reference model developed at Purdue University PRISM Center: “The PRISM Taxonomy of Best Matching”. The book concludes with major challenges and guidelines for future basic and applied research in the area of best matching.

This is a book about how management and control decisions are made by persons who collaborate and possibly use the support of an information system. The decision is the result of human conscious activities aiming at choosing a course of action for attaining a certain objective (or a set of objectives). The act of collaboration implies that several entities who work together and share responsibilities to jointly plan, implement and evaluate a program of activities to achieve the common goals. The book is intended to present a balanced view of the domain to include both well-established concepts and a selection of new results in the domains of methods and key technologies. It is meant to answer several questions, such as: a) “How are evolving the business models towards the ever more collaborative schemes?”; b) “What is the role of the decision-maker in the new context?” c) “What are the basic attributes and trends in the domain of decision-supporting information systems?”; d) “Which are the basic methods to aggregate the individual preferences?” e)“What is the impact of modern information and communication technologies on the design and usage of decision support systems for groups of people?”.

Real-world supply chains and networks are inherently complex, formed by a large number of self-governing interconnected agents which dynamically update their behavior rules and connections based on context and environment changes. Oftentimes, these complex systems fail, almost inexplicably, due to unforeseen events leading to disruption. Exploration and research of the mechanisms behind the failure of supply chains and networks have revealed that those capable of surviving are not only robust, but resilient. The purpose of this book is to explain the meaning of resilience and its design in the broad context, and with a focus on the design and management of supply chains and supply networks. Written by Dr. Reyes Levalle, an experienced supply chains designer and supply networks engineer, the book is intended for beginners and advanced professionals, students, designers, policy makers, and managers. It is a pioneering effort to base resilience engineering and management on CCT, the collaborative control theory and tools.