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Uncertainty is an important consideration in structural design and optimization to produce robust and reliable solutions. This paper introduces an efficient and accurate approach to robust structural topology optimization. The objective is to minimize expected compliance with uncertainty in loading magnitude and applied direction, where uncertainties are assumed normally distributed and statistically independent. This new approach is analogous to a multiple load case problem where load cases and weights are derived analytically to accurately and efficiently compute expected compliance and sensitivities. Illustrative examples using a level set based topology optimization method are then used to demonstrate the proposed approach. Nomenclature

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The strategy of mass customisation is being increasingly adopted as companies seek to exploit market trends for greater product variety and individualisation. The implications of changing to mass customisation practice are considerable, where traditional contradictions of high volume and extensive product variety have to be reconciled. The literature discusses the need for an integrated approach to mass customisation across all business functions if micro-segmentation of markets is to be profitably pursued, and the current paper investigates extending the paradigm of mass customisation into the hitherto poorly represented sector of food processing. Product design and manufacturing system design for mass customisation are reviewed and contrasted with good practice in more traditional mass customisation industries. Via a case study based on yoghurt production this paper particularly assesses manufacturing activity, describing issues specific to a typical food business which is considering reconfiguring itself into a mass customisation operation.

This paper presents a technique to investigate the influence of aesthetic features and brand recognition of vehicles. Visual aesthetics have been shown to impact greatly on consumer perception of products and their branding, yet there exist few tools or methods to support reasoning about their influence. To explore this influence, a procedure for visually decomposing designs into constituent aesthetic features is developed. The strategy is applied to a range of saloon cars, and a consumer survey undertaken to establish the significance and potency of individual aesthetic features. Results both validate the decomposition technique and highlight certain aesthetic features which have the greatest influence on brand recognition.