The hardest data for managers and engineers in charge of the design and
implementation of robot systems to acquire is also the most valuable:
case studies detailing best current practice and the return on
investment actually achieved. It has been a major goal of the British
Robot Association, among other professional groups, to organise meetings
where such case studies are presented and discussed between members; but
the obvious restrictions of commercial confidentiality lead to
considerable difficulty, especially in relation to the best recent
installations. The authors of this book have been in the uniquely
privileged position of lecturing in the Cambridge University Production
Engineering Tripos, a course specially organised in conjunction with a
number of leading companies applying robots and automation. Actual case
studies from these companies form an important part of the course,
making this book that has emerged from it a uniquely important addition
to our Open University Press series.