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The purpose of this paper is to show the benefits to be obtained from radio frequency ID (RFID) for improved asset management and accountability.

Examines the technology's potential for asset management across industry sectors.

Finds that the majority of companies have very little grasp of how inaccurate the asset register can be, believing stored data could only be a maximum of 5 per cent inaccurate. RFID tags allow those responsible for managing fixed assets far greater visibility into the true condition and value of those assets. For example, workers of heavy machinery, such as mechanics and drivers, can gain instant insight to all the machinery parts' maintenance history as well as information on unique identifiers including part numbers, serial numbers and manufacturers' codes.

By adopting RFID, scanning can be undertaken by line managers on a regular basis in a matter of minutes, without impacting the organisation's core operations in any way. The tight integration with the full asset history and general ledger ensures unprecedented accuracy and auditability of the entire asset register.

Draws attention to the benefits of RFID and the current under‐utilisation of this established technology.

The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative new technology for assembling lens elements to electronic image capture modules with high‐image quality.

Applying robotic technology, innovative high‐precision optical sensing of focus and quick UV curing of fastening adhesive to accurately combine lens with sensor using 5 degree of freedom alignment.

Automation using five degrees of motion freedom can more accurately assemble digital camera systems than previous 1 degree of freedom approaches. The approach is also more cost effective.

Electronic camera systems can be assembled more quickly and accurately than with previous methods and with overall cost savings. Companies may also find that other high‐accuracy devices can be assembled more precisely and cheaper using quick UV cure adhesives and vision systems for accurate placement.

Digital camera/image systems will be more accurate and less costly, increasing the number of applications to which they can be applied.

The purpose of this paper is to propose an automatic pattern matching template generating method for the automatic optical inspection system in TFT LCD assembly and positioning process, to improve the conventional image technology. Besides, focusing on integrating the image system with the existing control system, the double aligner mark searching time is decreased to reduce the working time of the integrated system.

The improved pattern matching method of genetic algorithm was adopted, including setting for template image selecting, encoding, calculating fitness function, pattern matching, template generating and genetic algorithm steps. The predetermined pixels were selected from the target template based on the minimum difference to the block image to be tested by utilizing the genetic algorithm, and the other pixels which have not been selected were neglected.

The selected pixels were encoded for recording by sequence mode, and then the target template and the image to be tested were compared based on the calculated fitness function. This method has the advantages of using the fitness function to reduce the searching time, with the help of genetic algorithm to find the optimal target template, and saving memory space by recording target template based on the sequence mode.

The genetic algorithm used in this study is a kind of optimal tool free from gradient data. As long as the fitness function and after continuous iteration are determined, the optimal solution can be found out, and then the optimal target template can be generated.

This system uses fitness function to reduce the pattern matching time. Plural pixels are preset inside the target template, and its fitness function value is calculated. When the target template is compared with the image to be tested, only the fitness function value (also the difference of the plural pixels) is calculated and compared.

The remaining pixels are neglected, so that the searching time can be reduced greatly. The sequence mode is used to save the required memory space for recording target template. Since sequence mode is adopted to record the information of selected pixels, lots of required memory space for recording target template information will be saved.

The purpose of this paper is to review the different methods of isolating sensitive equipment from the effects of vibrations.

The passive mechanisms of springs and dampers, air tables, and negative stiffness are explained, and practical examples given. Next is a description of various active systems in which actuators respond in real time to feedback from motion sensors. Finally, some unusual and interesting applications are explored.

The need for vibration isolation is growing, because of increasing vibrations and the requirement for higher spatial resolution. Ingenious mechanical design allows passive systems to work with frequencies of the order of 1 Hz. Modern accelerometers detect absolute motion and allow disconnection from the vibrations of the floor. Applications include the stabilisation of interferometric gravitational‐wave detectors.

The paper points out a range of solutions to the engineer combating problematic metrology environments.

The objective of this paper included developing a polar robot (SPBot) for rotating and transferring car engine block (CEB) around and along two different axes in a confined workspace envelope.

The complex transfer operations of the CEB requires sweeping complete surface of the half sphere, and thus a polar robot is best suited to such a task in a confined space. Considering the limited space for this operation, a specially designed manipulator is built comprising 2 degrees of freedom driven by electrical servo motors. Also due to the special form of CEB, an especially designed pneumatic gripper is developed. Kinematics models, static and dynamic equations, together with trajectory planning for such a manipulator are described.

The high‐speed complex transfer in a limited environment is successfully implemented.

The developed polar robot provides for complex transfer operations that significantly increases the speed of the product line and thus reducing the cycle time from 60 s using manpower to just 20 s using the robot.

A binary integer programming model for the simple assembly line balancing problem (SALBP), which is well known as SALBP‐1, was formulated more than 30 years ago. Since then, a number of researchers have extended the model for the variants of assembly line balancing problem. The model is still prevalent nowadays mainly because of the lower and upper bounds on task assignment. These properties avoid significant increase of decision variables. The purpose of this paper is to use an example to show that the model may lead to a confusing solution.

The paper provides a remedial constraint set for the model to rectify the disordered sequence problem.

The paper presents proof that the assembly line balancing model formulated by Patterson and Albracht may lead to a confusing solution.

No one previously has found that the commonly used model is incorrect.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a flexible registration method for markerless augmented reality (AR) systems.

The proposed method distinguishes itself as follows: firstly, the method is simple and efficient, as no man‐made markers are needed for both indoor and outdoor AR applications. Secondly, an adaptation method is presented to tune the particle filter dynamically. The result is a system which can achieve tolerance to fast motion and drift during tracking process. Thirdly, the authors use the reduced scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) and scale prediction techniques to match natural features. This method deals easily with the camera pose estimation problem in the case of large illumination and visual angle changes.

Some experiments are provided to validate the performance of the proposed method.

The paper proposes a novel camera pose estimation method based on adaptive particle filter and natural features matching techniques.

The purpose of this paper is to review the fundamental concept of supply chain management (SCM) and discusses the facts that a road to success in the process of design, development, implementation and operation of a supply chain (SC) is the identification of superior strategies and clear objectives. To understand important SC strategies for a complete success, main strategies need to be identified. The literature of SC is filled with a wide range of strategies applied successfully across various enterprises that reviewed briefly in this paper.

The paper provides key strategies of SCM, and discusses the fact that the vision for the excellent SCM can be built on principles as such as speed, quality, cost, flexibility, quality leadership, customer focused, collaboration, and integrated information system.

To make the excellent SCM successful, management must be committed to high standard of performance including competitive lead times to customers, significantly reduced inventories, world‐class product quality, and reduced process and product complexity.

Because a better management of production system is related to the full understanding of the technologies implemented and the system under consideration, the excellent SCM system including its three As are discussed and metrics used to measure performance are elaborated.

The purpose of this paper is to develop a computer aided decision‐making model for flexible manufacturing system (FMS) situations when multiple conflicting objectives are addressed by the management.

It is assumed that the problem is the managerial level schedule rather than the operational schedule. As a tool, goal programming has been employed for measuring the trade‐offs among the objectives. As a safeguard, the level of the reliability of the constraints associated with the random coefficients is taken into consideration. As an optimization technique, the approach of chance constrained programming which has been an operational way for introducing probabilistic constraints into the collection of the linear programming and goal programming problem constraints is stated and mathematically formulated.

The approach of chance constrained programming is suitable to introduce management concerns about the reliability of the constraints of the problem in the FMS.

The paper gives an overview of the FMS and proposes a goal programming model for the analysis of problem. The proposed model acknowledges the randomness of customer demands for better standardization of production planning and inventory management systems. By the fact that customer demands are not always deterministic the hypothesis that sale level for each period is normally distributed is imposed. A sample example problem is provided to show how the proposed model can work.