To be a successful competitor among other technologies, metallic laser-directed energy depositionusing a laser beam would benefit from the support of intelligent automation making the processrobust, repeatable, and cost-efficient. This calls for technology leaps towards robust and accuratedetection and estimation of the conditions during processing and control schemes for robustperformance. This chapter discusses how developments in sensor technology and model-basedsignal processing can contribute to advancements in in-process monitoring of directed energydeposition using a laser beam and how developments in model-based feedforward- and feedbackcontrol can support automation. The focus is on how machine vision, optical emission spectroscopy,thermal sensing, and electrical process signals can support monitoring, control and better processunderstanding. These approaches are industrially relevant and have a high potential to support amore sustainable manufacturing.