Book excerpt: The contributions for this book have been gathered over several years from conferences held in the series of Mechatronics and Machine Vision in Practice, the latest of which was held in Ankara, Turkey. The essential aspect is that they concern practical applications rather than the derivation of mere theory, though simulations and visualization are important components. The topics range from mining, with its heavy engineering, to the delicate machining of holes in the human skull or robots for surgery on human flesh. Mobile robots continue to be a hot topic, both from the need for navigation and for the task of stabilization of unmanned aerial vehicles. The swinging of a spray rig is damped, while machine vision is used for the control of heating in an asphalt-laying machine. Manipulators are featured, both for general tasks and in the form of grasping fingers. A robot arm is proposed for adding to the mobility scooter of the elderly. Can EEG signals be a means to control a robot? Can face recognition be achieved in varying illumination?"