Servo Pneumatic Positioning, an Interactive Multimedia Presentation

A CIMware and Festo Automation joint development aimed at undergraduate and graduate engineering students, professional engineers and managers in industry. The CD‐ROM is offered as a multimedia introduction to pneumatic positioning, servo pneumatics and their application, with some 330 screens of information, photographs, diagrams and digital videos. The information is presented in relatively non‐technical easily digested chunks, and video clips of components, machinery and Festo personnel amply illustrate points made in the text. The reproduction of the photographs and videos is good on the whole, though there is little commentary on the videos which would be useful. An alphabetical index offers direct access to significant topics, and once acquainted with the screen structure and proprietary user interface, navigation around the information is straightforward if not second nature. As a joint venture with a leading hardware supplier the content tends to lean more towards that of a promotional vehicle rather than a purely educational tool, however, the CD serves as a useful introduction to the relatively new technology of servo pneumatics.