This unique volume considers the emergence of “Industry 4.0” (i4.0) and the many ways the multifaceted field of Engineering is transforming our ideas and our options around sustainability. It points to emerging technological advances that are facilitating industrial process improvements to artificial intelligence’s promise to help us live “smartly” and manage energy demand. Engineering for a sustainable future is an exploding area of research. This book provides coverage of key case studies from industrial partners such as Ericsson, British Telecom (BT), BMW, Matrixx and research from different UK and international institutions. Examines Smart Engineering Design; Considers how Communication Technologies are developing in the age of i4.0 (from 4G to 6G and beyond); Using interesting case studies from large manufacturers such as BMW to examine Rapid Prototyping and Digital manufacturing; Covers some key issues about Big Data and network security and discusses “Blockchain”; Provides fresh insight into Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Augmented Reality; Discusses global warming and discusses how urban heat islands are having a detrimental impact on the health and wellbeing of inhabitants in major cities; Provides interesting case studies to determine the industry 4.0 (I4.0) readiness of eight Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs).

A comprehensive discussion of the findings of the PICASSO initiative on ICT policy ICT Policy, Research, and Innovation: Perspectives and Prospects for EU-US Collaboration provides a clearly readable overview of selected information and communication technology (ICT) and policy topics. Rather than deluge the reader with technical details, the distinguished authors provide just enough technical background to make sense of the underlying policy discussions. The book covers policy, research, and innovation topics on technologies as wide-ranging as: Internet of Things Cyber physical systems 5G Big data ICT Policy, Research, and Innovation compares and contrasts the policy approaches taken by the EU and the US in a variety of areas. The potential for future cooperation is outlined as well. Later chapters provide policy perspectives about some major issues affecting EU/US development cooperation, while the book closes with a discussion of how the development of these new technologies is changing our conceptions of fundamental aspects of society.

Not only are European industries shrinking and experiencing diminishment of their capability to add value, but Europe has lost more than a third of its GDP, which had been primarily based on manufacturing, and it suffers the consequences in high unemployment and weakened states finance. This book is intended as a significant contribution to the on-going European discussions after the economic crisis and the economic problems in many regions. It is meant to enrich actual political dialogues for overcoming the crises by activating new potentials of high added value. As such, it seeks to provide the necessary orientation for enacting fundamental changes of business models and factory capabilities in order to meet the challenges of the global economy and minimizing environmental impacts. It also opens perspectives for enterprise strategies and for further research topics. Concrete recommendations are made for fields of action and future development towards achieving a sustainable industrial sector in Europe. ‘Towards the Re-Industrialization of Europe’ is based on megatrends, societal challenges and objectives for factories development. Focused on the realization of these goals by 2030, the treatise addresses four major topics of the European strategy in manufacturing: manufacturing in the urban environment; green manufacturing; manufacturing in the value chain, and manufacturing in the age of knowledge and communication. One enabler of this strategic orientation is the implementation of holistic manufacturing systems which reflect manufacturing as a social-technical system that has to be innovated, optimized and adapted to the future requirements by implementation of enabling technologies and human skill. The public infrastructure and reviving industries must also be able to support the strengthening of the economy through collaboration in research and education.

The concept of Industry 5.0 was discussed among participants from research and technology organisations as well as funding agencies across Europe in two virtual workshops on 2 and 9 July 2020. The goal was to get feedback by participants on the general concept, and to discuss the enabling technologies and possible challenges. While participants had different views on the nomenclature of the concept, they agreed on the requirement to better integrate social and environmental needs into technological innovation and to shift the focus from individual technologies to a system approach. In line with this objective, several technologies that must be combined to coherent systems and associated challenges were discussed.

This publication examines the opportunities and challenges, for business and government, associated with technologies bringing about the “next production revolution”. These include a variety of digital technologies (e.g. the Internet of Things and advanced robotics), industrial...