Abstract
While bottom-up approaches to object recognition are simple to design and implement, they do not yield the same performance as top-down approaches. On the other hand, it is not trivial to obtain a moderate number of plausible hypotheses to be efficiently verified by top-down approaches. To address these shortcomings, we propose a hybrid top-down bottom-up approach to object recognition where a bottom-up procedure that generates a set of hypothesis based on data is combined with a top-down process for evaluating those hypotheses. We use the recognition of rectangular cuboid shaped objects from 3D point cloud data as a benchmark problem for our research. Results obtained using this approach demonstrate promising recognition performances.

Abstract
This paper demonstrates the potential benefits of the integration of robot based sensing and Enterprise Information Systems extended with information about the geometric location and volumetric information of the parts contained in logistic supermarkets. The comparison of this extended world model with hierarchical spatial representations produced by a fleet of robots traversing the logistic supermarket corridors enables the continuous assessment of inconsistencies between reality, i.e., the spatial representations collected from online 3D data, and the modelled information, i.e., the world model. Results show that it is possible to detect inconsistencies reliably and in real time. The proposed approach contributes to the development of more robust and effective Enterprise Information Systems.

Abstract
This chapter presents an innovative collaborative planning (CP) approach for non-hierarchical production networks that enhances collaboration between partners in two different lifecycle phases of the virtual organizations (VOs). The first phase concerns the first planning iteration for the customer, and it basically defines the operations plan and a quotation for the customer, supported by a negotiation process between partners. The second phase concerns a detailed specification of the manufacturing operation and its planning. The chapter first presents a summary of the main trends and previous work concerning collaborative network (CN), governance models and approaches for CP. Next, it provides the requirements for the CP. The chapter ends with the methodology proposed for CP, considering two planning schemes and the evaluation of the quality of the solutions. © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Abstract
Growing interest on business collaboration motivates today's industries, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to establish and manage dynamic and non-hierarchical business networks to respond to market opportunities with added business benefits. This business environment requires concurrent work and real-time information sharing between key business partners in order to design and develop customised products. The use of traditional communication media such as e-mail, phone and fax is not satisfactory to get real-time information and is time-consuming and most often ineffective. In such environments, an Information and Communication Technology (ICT)/Web-based technology supports real-time information sharing among networked SMEs for the collaborative design and manufacturing of customised products. This study proposes an innovative ICT platform supporting SMEs collaboration, through Web and the Internet of Things technologies, which follows the Net-Challenge conceptual approach and methodological guidelines for SMEs to form and operate virtual organisations for the collaborative development and delivery of customised products. The ICT Platform was assessed in three different industry domains, namely the textile and apparel, the footwear and the machine tools, respectively. This ICT solution promotes collaboration, with substantial advantages for SMEs including the reduction of costs and delivery time and improvement of the innovation potential.

Abstract
Cognitive robots, able to adapt their actions based on sensory information and the management of uncertainty, have begun to find their way into manufacturing settings. However, the full potential of these robots has not been fully exploited, largely due to the lack of vertical integration with existing IT infrastructures, such as the manufacturing execution system (MES), as part of a large-scale cyber-physical entity. This paper reports on considerations and findings from the research project STAMINA that is developing such a cognitive cyber-physical system and applying it to a concrete and well-known use case from the automotive industry. Our approach allows manufacturing tasks to be performed without human intervention, even if the available description of the environment-the world model-suffers from large uncertainties. Thus, the robot becomes an integral part of the MES, resulting in a highly flexible overall system.

Abstract
Cyber-physical systems (CPS) are a new generation of systems that integrate computation and physical processes interacting with humans in different ways. Integrated networks of computers, sensors and similar technologies monitor and control the physical processes, reporting relevant data to planners and decision-makers, and vice versa. By means of case research, this paper analyzes the implementation of cyber-physical systems aiming at lead-time reduction in two manufacturing contexts, namely footwear and natural cork stoppers. The results of this research contribute to literature and practice with a conceptual framework for the implementation of cyber-physical systems and the discussion of the challenges of implementing this technology.