This book is the third volume in the CIRP Novel Topics in Production Engineering (CNTPE), a collection of essays addressing novel research areas in production engineering, published regularly in book volumes. Each essay provides a systematization and explanation of a technology, an approach, a process, etc., and covers a novel research area once it has been published in the scientific literature for a few years. The essays provide focused and structured knowledge of a defined and limited subject in terms of detailed implementation, a systematic description of theoretical hypotheses and results, constructive and design characteristics for a product/process or experiment, and exemplary applications to real cases. These constitute the background knowledge for scientists/professionals to approach a novel scientific and technological area—addressing background concepts, relevant tools and methodologies, language, and theory.

Tullio Tolio is a Full Professor of “Manufacturing and Production Systems” at Politecnico di Milano, Italy and a Fellow of CIRP (the International Academy for Production Engineering). He has been the Director of the Institute Industrial Technologies and Automation of the National Research Council of Italy (ITIA-CNR ) in the period 2008-2018 member of the High-Level Group on KETs of the European Commission, Director of the Italian Flagship Project “Factories of the Future-Italy” of the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR), member of the Steering Committee of the program “Industry 4.0” of the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE), member of the Expert Board on Industrial Policies of the Italian Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT ex MISE), President of AITEM (the Italian Association for Manufacturing).

He is currently a CIRP Fellow and Chair of the CIRP STC O, a member of the HLG and ISG of the European Technology Platform MANUFUTURE, Italian “expert” in the Programme Committee of Horizon Europe Cluster 4, a member of the Forum for Research and Innovation of the Lombardy Region, Italy, President of the Scientific Technical Committee of the Italian Cluster “Intelligent Factories” (CFI) endorsed by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR) and President of the Scientific Technical Committee of the Cluster Intelligent Factories Lombardy (AFIL) endorsed by the Lombardy Region, Italy. 

His research interests are in the areas of circular economy, zero-defect manufacturing, resilient manufacturing, configuration and reconfiguration of production systems, performance evaluation of production systems, and process planning. He is the author of more than 200 publications in international journals, books and conferences.