**Preface to "Applied Sciences to the Study of Technical Historical Heritage and/or Industrial Heritage"**

More initiatives from national, regional, and local administration and private institutions are being implemented to recover the legacy of technical historical and industrial heritage, since it constitutes a clear example of the technological evolution footprint that improves our understanding of the advances in societies and of the development of humanity.

The study of cultural heritage, in particular of technical historical and/or industrial heritage, is becoming increasingly important. In general, cultural heritage creates a value chain consisting of seven differentiated milestones: identification; registration and research; protection; training, conservation, and restoration; value and dissemination; heritage management; and the application of new technologies. However, this Special Issue focuses only on valorization and diffusion, as well as the use of the new technologies, concentrating on research from three main aspects: location, documentation, and dissemination.

The numerous examples that can be found are, in most cases, in a very poor state of conservation, demonstrating development ideas, or simply providing geometric documentation examples that were not preserved, necessitating its reconstruction, recovery, and study.

Thus, the different tools used for the study and recovery of technical historical and industrial heritage rely heavily on the use of engineering graphics techniques, such as geometric modelling, computer-aided design, computer-aided engineering, virtual reality and augmented reality techniques, and 3D printing, as well as knowledge of engineering and architecture in their different fields of application.

The scope of the case studies is broad, covering different engineering disciplines, such as mechanical, civil, chemical, electrical, electronic, automation and robotic, and telecommunications engineering, among others, as well as industrial architecture. In particular, research is required on historical inventions related to these fields of engineering and architecture, as well as studies of the work (historical inventions) of world-renowned engineers and architects.

Therefore, this book includes recent theoretical and practical advances in the sciences applied to the study of technical historical and/or industrial heritage related to engineering and architecture.

> **Jos ´e Ignacio Rojas Sola** *Special Issue Editor*
