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Actuators
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Wearable E-Textile Technologies: Sensors, Actuators, and Integrated Systems
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Wearable E-Textile Technologies: Sensors, Actuators, and Integrated Systems

A special issue of Actuators (ISSN 2076-0825). This special issue belongs to the section "Actuators for Robotics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 28359

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Rong Yin

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science, Wilson College of Textiles, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
Interests: wearable electronics; smart textiles and structures; fiber-based sensors and actuators; condutive materials; textile technology
Dr. Xiaomeng Fang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science, Wilson College of Textiles, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
Interests: fiber actuators and sensors; responsive materials; protective textiles; textile technology; functional textile design
Dr. Wei Gao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Textile Engineering, Chemistry and Science, Wilson College of Textiles, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA
Interests: graphene oxide; two-dimensional materials; wearable energy-storage devices; yarn-shaped supercapacitors and batteries; tribielectric nanogenerators; nonwoven; textile chemistry; fiber science

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to invite you to submit your papers to our Special Issue on Wearable E-Textile Technologies: Sensors, Actuators, and Integrated Systems.

Wearable actuators are gaining momentum and starting to appear in people's lives. More and more wearable actuators have begun to enter our field of vision. The continuous application of wearable actuators also allows us to see their broad market prospects. Wearable actuators may become the next industry explosion point. Wearable actuators have many applications, such as AR/VR driving components, rehabilitation medical devices, and human exoskeleton muscles, etc. They involve cross-scientific knowledge such as materials, machinery, sensors, chips, and actuators, as well as artificial intelligence and other fields. They are highly integrated high-tech industries. They are still in the early stage of the industry and have good development prospects.

At present, wearable actuators are still facing many technical challenges. The year-on-year growth rate of wearable actuating devices in the consumer market is still slower than expected. Only by overcoming these challenges will the long-awaited "year of wearable actuating technology" come about. Such challenges include:

(1) Miniaturization of wearable actuators and integration with everyday wear items: one challenge is the seamless integration of wearable actuators in everyday clothing.

(2) High-precision sensing components: the development and integration of high-precision, miniaturized, low-power or self-powered sensor components.

(3) High-efficiency actuating components: the development and integration of high-efficiency, miniaturized, and low-power actuating components.

(4) Material development, structural design, and real-time control of novel soft and flexible wearable actuators.

(5) Higher touch and skin affinity wearable devices for safe and user-friendly human–machine interaction.

(6) By integrating devices that actuate and sense in response to external stimuli such as electricity, heat, light, moisture, and magnetic fields, etc.

(7) Unified standards: including but not limited to product design, use, life, communication and standards, etc.

The topics of interest for the Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

  • Electronic textiles;
  • Wearable sensors and actuators;
  • Acoustics and haptics;
  • Textile-based sensors and sensing algorithms;
  • New wearable architectures and layout;
  • Multi-actuator and cooperative systems;
  • Integrated sensor–actuator systems;
  • Design, fabrication, and optimization of novel sensors and actuators;
  • System-level modelling and simulation;
  • Innovative driving/sensing electronics;
  • Control concepts for actuator systems;
  • Self-powered sensing and actuating;
  • Data analysis and data mining.

Dr. Rong Yin
Dr. Xiaomeng Fang
Dr. Wei Gao
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Actuators is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • wearable sensors
  • wearable actuators
  • rehabilitation robot
  • exoskeleton
  • wearables
  • acoustics
  • haptics
  • signal control and feedback
  • integrated system

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 5828 KiB  
Article
Flexible Pressure and Temperature Microsensors for Textile-Integrated Wearables
by Dimitri Emmanuel dos Santos, José Bento Queiroz, Inês Sofia Garcia, João Vieira, José Fernandes, Edoardo Sotgiu, Graça Minas, Maria Bouçanova, Luisa Mendes Arruda, Raul Fangueiro, Anabela Salgueiro-Oliveira, Alar Ainla, Filipe Serra Alves and Rosana Alves Dias
Actuators 2024, 13(1), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/act13010042 - 20 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3355
Abstract
Environmental factors, such as pressure and temperature, are known to contribute to the formation of ulcers that seriously affect bedridden individuals. Researchers have proposed several technologies to achieve the long-term monitoring of those parameters, usually relying on sensing mats, which poses difficulties in [...] Read more.
Environmental factors, such as pressure and temperature, are known to contribute to the formation of ulcers that seriously affect bedridden individuals. Researchers have proposed several technologies to achieve the long-term monitoring of those parameters, usually relying on sensing mats, which poses difficulties in correlating the measurements with specific parts of the body. In this work, we aim to develop microsensors to be integrated into patient clothing. They should be highly flexible, thin with a small footprint, and can be achieved by taking advantage of the microfabrication on polyimide (PI) thin-film substrates (total device thicknesses below 30 µm). Both resistive and capacitance transduction mechanisms were explored, targeting operation ranges of 1 to 40 kPa and 24 to 42 °C. The sensors were integrated into textiles using silicone elastomers and electrical connections based on conductive silver yarn. The experimental characterization showed a nominal capacitance of 21 pF, a sensitivity of −8.44 fF/kPa for the pressure sensors, and a 0.0021 Ω/Ω°C sensitivity of the temperature sensor (with resistance of 29 kΩ at 22 °C). The proposed approach can potentially be implemented not only in wearable devices but also in many other applications for health monitoring or human–machine interfaces. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wearable E-Textile Technologies: Sensors, Actuators, and Integrated Systems)
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17 pages, 5958 KiB  
Article
A Lightweight Exoskeleton Force Feedback Glove
by Shigang Peng, Meng Yu, Xinyu Geng, Xiang Cheng and Pengfei Wang
Actuators 2023, 12(5), 199; https://doi.org/10.3390/act12050199 - 12 May 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3708
Abstract
The wearable force feedback glove provides a promising solution for enhancing immersion during teleoperation. In this study, a lightweight five-finger exoskeleton force feedback glove (EFFG) was designed, enabling driving force detection and flexible force feedback. This wireless prototype weighs only 278 g. The [...] Read more.
The wearable force feedback glove provides a promising solution for enhancing immersion during teleoperation. In this study, a lightweight five-finger exoskeleton force feedback glove (EFFG) was designed, enabling driving force detection and flexible force feedback. This wireless prototype weighs only 278 g. The glove features a bionic structure and optimized linkage length to ensure operator safety while providing extensive coverage of the finger working space. Moreover, a detailed illustration of the kinematic and dynamic analyses, as well as the circuit structure, was presented. With this prototype as the basis, an isomorphic teleoperation system is designed to achieve force feedback during teleoperation. Concurrently, a driving force-based impedance controller was proposed to enable smooth and precise force feedback. Finally, the performance of the EFFG prototype was evaluated in both unconstrained and constrained environments, demonstrating that the proposed glove is lightweight, capable of detecting driving force, and provides flexible force feedback. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wearable E-Textile Technologies: Sensors, Actuators, and Integrated Systems)
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13 pages, 3720 KiB  
Article
Effect of Material Properties on Fiber-Shaped Pneumatic Actuators Performance
by Muh Amdadul Hoque, Emily Petersen and Xiaomeng Fang
Actuators 2023, 12(3), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/act12030129 - 18 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 17663
Abstract
Thin fiber-shaped pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM) can generate contractile motions upon stimulation, and it is well known for its good compliance, high weight-to-power ratio, resemblance to animal muscle movements, and, most importantly, the capability to be integrated into fabrics and other textile forms [...] Read more.
Thin fiber-shaped pneumatic artificial muscle (PAM) can generate contractile motions upon stimulation, and it is well known for its good compliance, high weight-to-power ratio, resemblance to animal muscle movements, and, most importantly, the capability to be integrated into fabrics and other textile forms for wearable devices. This fiber-shaped device, based on McKibben technology, consists of an elastomeric bladder that is wrapped around by a braided sleeve, which transfers radial expansion into longitudinal contraction due to the change in the sleeve’s braiding angle while being inflated. This paper investigates the effect of material properties on fiber-shaped PAM’s behavior, including the braiding yarn and bladder’s dimensional and mechanical properties. A range of samples with combinations of yarn and bladder parameters were developed and characterized. A robust fabrication process verified through several calibration and control experiments of PAM was applied, which ensured a more accurate characterization of the actuators. The results demonstrate that material properties, such as yarn stiffness, yarn diameter, bladder diameter, and bladder hardness, have significant effects on PAMs’ deformation strains and forces generated. The findings can serve as fundamental guidelines for the future design and development of fiber-shaped pneumatic actuators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wearable E-Textile Technologies: Sensors, Actuators, and Integrated Systems)
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Review

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20 pages, 2995 KiB  
Review
Revolutionizing Patient Care: A Comprehensive Review of Recent Advances in Flexible Printed Heaters for Wearable Medical Applications
by Hundessa Daba Nemomssa, Frederick Bossuyt, Bjorn Vandecasteele, Herbert De Pauw, Netsanet Workneh Gidi and Pieter Bauwens
Actuators 2025, 14(1), 1; https://doi.org/10.3390/act14010001 - 26 Dec 2024
Viewed by 2489
Abstract
Recent developments in flexible printed heaters (FPHs) for wearable thermal applications, driven by the advancement of printed electronics, show great promise in revolutionizing patient care through the development of wearable flexible heaters for medical applications. Wearable heaters with high thermal stability, heat uniformity, [...] Read more.
Recent developments in flexible printed heaters (FPHs) for wearable thermal applications, driven by the advancement of printed electronics, show great promise in revolutionizing patient care through the development of wearable flexible heaters for medical applications. Wearable heaters with high thermal stability, heat uniformity, safety, flexibility, comfort, biocompatibility, biodegradability, recyclability, and power efficiency are desirable for standalone medical thermotherapy applications. This paper reviews recent advancements in the design of FPHs for wearable thermal applications. Materials used in the FPHs, fabrication methods, design considerations, temperature control mechanisms, medical applications, and performance analysis of specific FPHs are all thoroughly discussed. Materials used in FPHs, such as conductive and substrate materials, receive special attention along with the heater design parameters. Additionally, the paper addresses the challenges and future directions for the advancement of FPHs in wearable medical applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Wearable E-Textile Technologies: Sensors, Actuators, and Integrated Systems)
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