The core of ths book presents a theory developed by the author to combine the recent insight into empirical data with mathematical models in freeway traffic research based on dynamical non-linear processes.

The work on Autonomic Road Transport Support (ARTS) presented here aims at meeting the challenge of engineering autonomic behavior in Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) by fusing research from the disciplines of traffic engineering and autonomic computing. Ideas and techniques from leading edge artificial intelligence research have been adapted for ITS over the last 30 years. Examples include adaptive control embedded in real time traffic control systems, heuristic algorithms (e.g. in SAT-NAV systems), image processing and computer vision (e.g. in automated surveillance interpretation). Autonomic computing which is inspired from the biological example of the body’s autonomic nervous system is a more recent development. It allows for a more efficient management of heterogeneous distributed computing systems. In the area of computing, autonomic systems are endowed with a number of properties that are generally referred to as self-X properties, including self-configuration, self-healing, self-optimization, self-protection and more generally self-management. Some isolated examples of autonomic properties such as self-adaptation have found their way into ITS technology and have already proved beneficial. This edited volume provides a comprehensive introduction to Autonomic Road Transport Support (ARTS) and describes the development of ARTS systems. It starts out with the visions, opportunities and challenges, then presents the foundations of ARTS and the platforms and methods used and it closes with experiences from real-world applications and prototypes of emerging applications. This makes it suitable for researchers and practitioners in the fields of autonomic computing, traffic and transport management and engineering, AI, and software engineering. Graduate students will benefit from state-of-the-art description, the study of novel methods and the case studies provided.

Neutrices and External Numbers: A Flexible Number System introduces a new model of orders of magnitude and of error analysis, with particular emphasis on behaviour under algebraic operations. The model is formulated in terms of scalar neutrices and external numbers, in the form of an extension of the nonstandard set of real numbers. Many illustrative examples are given. The book starts with detailed presentation of the algebraic structure of external numbers, then deals with the generalized Dedekind completeness property, applications in analysis, domains of validity of approximations of solutions of differential equations, particularly singular perturbations. Finally, it describes the family of algebraic laws characterizing the practice of calculations with external numbers. Features Presents scalar neutrices and external numbers, a mathematical model of order of magnitude within the real number system. Outlines complete algebraic rules for the neutrices and external numbers Conducts operational analysis of convergence and integration of functions known up to orders of magnitude Formalises a calculus of error propagation, covariant with algebraic operations Presents mathematical models of phenomena incorporating their necessary imprecisions, in particular related to the Sorites paradox

Annotation Contains abstracts of 440 papers presented at the January 2001 conference in nine major tracks. The session topics are collaboration systems and technology, complex systems, decision technologies for management, digital documents, emerging technologies, information technology in health care, Internet and the digital economy, organizational systems and technology, and software technology. Subject headings within the sessions include asynchronous learning networks, intelligent systems in traffic and transportation, e- government, telemedicine, web engineering, community informatics, trends in outsourcing of information systems, mobile computing and wireless networks, and domain-specific languages for software engineering. No subject index. The CD-ROM contains the complete papers in Abode Acrobat format. The disc is of a hybrid structure that allows access from PCs, Macintosh, and UNIX. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR.

Logistics and supply chain management deal with managing the ?ow of goods or services within a company, from suppliers to customers, and along a supply chain where companies act as suppliers as well as customers. As transportation is at the heart of logistics, the design of tra?c and transportation networks combined with the routing of vehicles and goods on the networks are important and demanding planning tasks. The in?uence of transport, logistics, and s- ply chain management on the modern economy and society has been growing steadily over the last few decades. The worldwide division of labor, the conn- tion of distributed production centers, and the increased mobility of individuals lead to an increased demand for e?cient solutions to logistics and supply chain management problems. On the company level, e?cient and e?ective logistics and supply chain management are of critical importance for a company’s s- cessanditscompetitiveadvantage. Properperformanceofthelogisticsfunctions can contribute both to lower costs and to enhanced customer service. Computational Intelligence (CI) describes a set of methods and tools that often mimic biological or physical principles to solve problems that have been di?cult to solve by classical mathematics. CI embodies neural networks, fuzzy logic, evolutionary computation, local search, and machine learning approaches. Researchersthat workinthis areaoften comefromcomputer science,operations research,or mathematics, as well as from many di?erent engineering disciplines. Popular and successful CI methods for optimization and planning problems are heuristic optimization approaches such as evolutionary algorithms, local search methods, and other types of guided search methods.