The field of "intelligent interfaces and systems" has seen a fast growth
last decade. An impressive number of papers, conference tutorials, and
volumes were devoted to the topic. Ten years ago, intelligent systems
constituted a rather exotic topic and many were skeptic that such
systems amount to more than a nice name. Nowadays, intelligent systems
represent a powerful tool in many applications, in all industrial
fields. Their development evolved on both the horizontal dimension, with
a constantly increasing number of applications, and on the vertical
dimension, by including more capabilities going from sensoric to
neurofuzzy systems, intelligent agents, speech and image understanding,
and decision making in complex environments. The domain constituted by
the intelligent systems is now too large to be covered in a single
volume. Consequently, the Editors considered a balance between several
selected sub-fields, to insure the unity of the volume, yet allowing a
large enough horizon and a consistent understanding of the entire field,
including real-life applications. The volume represents a comprehensive
coverage of the field, including fundamental aspects, software-,
sensors-, and hardware-related issues. Moreover, the contributors to
this volume offer, beyond a systematic overview of intelligent
interfaces and systems, deep, practical knowledge in building and using
intelligent systems in various applications. A special emphasis is on
specific aspects and requirements in applications. In addition, the
second Editor proposes two chapters addressing the management of
projects dealing with intelligent systems.
