Crc Press Series

This volume comprises the Proceedings of the Tenth National Conference on Manufacturing Research held at the University of Technology, Loughborough, UK, in September 1994, the latest in a series of meetings first convened in 1985, and the first to be published by Taylor & Francis Ltd.; Keith Case and Steven Newman, the Conference Chairs, the book contains R. H. Weston's keynote address, "Requirements and Trends in Manufacturing Systems", and over 140 contributions, which together represent the leading edge, state-of-the-art knowledge in the area of manufacturing and production engineering and management.

Although photovoltaics are regarded by many as the most likely candidate for long term sustainable energy production, their implementation has been restricted by the high costs involved. Nevertheless, the theoretical limit on photovoltaic energy conversion efficiency-above 85%-suggests that there is room for substantial improvement of current commercially available solar cells, both silicon and thin-film based. Current research efforts are focused on implementing novel concepts to produce a new generation of low-cost, high-performance photovoltaics that make improved use of the solar spectrum.

Providing a guided tour of the pioneering work and major technical issues, Multiagent Robotic Systems addresses learning and adaptation in decentralized autonomous robots. Its systematic examination demonstrates the interrelationships between the autonomy of individual robots and the emerged global behavior properties of a group performing a cooperative task.

Did you know. . .. . . that arson has been described as the fastest-growing crime in America?. . . that arson is the most expensive crime committed?. . . that over 8 billion dollars was estimated lost due to fires in 1994?. . . that an estimated 86,000 structure fires of incendiary or suspicious origin were reported in 1994?