Abstract This review paper examines the application and challenges of machine learning (ML) in intelligent welding processes within the automotive industry, focusing on resistance spot welding (RSW) and laser welding. RSW is predominant in body-in-white assembly, while laser welding is critical for electric vehicle battery packs due to its precision and compatibility with dissimilar materials. The paper categorizes ML applications into three key areas: sensing, in-process decision-making, and post-process optimization. It reviews supervised learning models for defect detection and weld quality prediction, unsupervised learning for feature extraction and data clustering, and emerging generalizable ML approaches like transfer learning and federated learning that enhance adaptability across different manufacturing conditions. Additionally, the paper highlights the limitations of current ML models, particularly regarding generalizability when moving from lab environments to real-world production, and discusses the importance of adaptive learning techniques to address dynamically changing conditions. Case studies like virtual sensing, defect detection in RSW, and optimization in laser welding illustrate practical applications. The paper concludes by identifying future research directions to improve ML adaptability and robustness in high-variability manufacturing environments, aiming to bridge the gap between experimental ML models and real-world implementation in automotive welding. 
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                            Decision-Focused Learning: Foundations, State of the Art, Benchmark and Future Opportunities
                        
                    
    
            Decision-focused learning (DFL) is an emerging paradigm that integrates machine learning (ML) and constrained optimization to enhance decision quality by training ML models in an end-to-end system. This approach shows significant potential to revolutionize combinatorial decision-making in real-world applications that operate under uncertainty, where estimating unknown parameters within decision models is a major challenge. This paper presents a comprehensive review of DFL, providing an in-depth analysis of both gradient-based and gradient-free techniques used to combine ML and constrained optimization. It evaluates the strengths and limitations of these techniques and includes an extensive empirical evaluation of eleven methods across seven problems. The survey also offers insights into recent advancements and future research directions in DFL. 
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                            - PAR ID:
- 10533578
- Publisher / Repository:
- https://www.jair.org/index.php/jair/issue/archive
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of artificial intelligence research
- Volume:
- 80
- ISSN:
- 1943-5037
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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