The second GRK 2250 workshop took place in Dresden on the 5th and 6th of March 2018. Within two days, the direct and associated doctoral researchers of the Research Training Group presented their main results. The presentations were followed by questions and discussions with the workshop participants. Five international experts took active part in the workshop, stimulating fruitful discussions and offering valuable recommendations to the presenting researchers. The invited experts were Prof. Francois Boussu, Prof. Ezio Cadoni, Assist. Prof. Eric Jacques, Assist. Prof. Waiching Sun and Prof. Marzia Traverso.