Artificial Intelligence and Control-Selected Papers from the 2026 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Control (CAIC 2026)

Dear Colleagues,

The field of artificial intelligence and control is rapidly evolving from the traditional “perception–decision–control” closed-loop towards complex systems characterized by “understanding–collaboration–autonomy”. The core of this shift lies in enabling artificial intelligence to serve not only as the “brain” of a controller but also to engage in deep interactive collaboration with the physical environment, humans and other intelligent agents.

This Special Issue aims to showcase cutting-edge research and comprehensive reviews at this dynamic intersection. We invite submissions addressing, but not limited to, the following themes that combine artificial intelligence with control:

1. Theories and Algorithms

• Model-Driven and Explainable AI: Physics-informed neural networks, neuro-symbolic integration, interpretable machine learning, robust verification, safe AI, trustworthy autonomous systems.
• Data-Driven and Learning Control: Reinforcement learning control, adaptive dynamic programming, learning from demonstration, model-free control, adaptive and iterative learning control.
• Advanced Optimization and Decision-Making: AI-enhanced model predictive control (MPC), distributed and cooperative optimization, intelligent scheduling algorithms, multi-objective decision-making under uncertainty.

2. System Paradigms and Applications

• Autonomous Unmanned Systems and Swarms: Multi-agent cooperative control, swarm formation and obstacle avoidance, game-theoretic distributed decision-making, path planning for complex environments.
• Networked and Distributed Control: Resilient control against cyber-attacks, event-triggered communication, control under communication constraints, security of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
• Intelligent Perception and Cross-Domain Fusion: Multi-sensor fusion, vision-force cross-modal perception, learning-based state estimation, semantic environment understanding.

Application Domains include, but are not limited to, the following:

• autonomous driving and intelligent transportation;
• robotic manipulation and human–robot collaboration;
• smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0;
• intelligent energy systems and smart grids;
• aerospace systems;
• environmental monitoring.

This Special Issue was created in collaboration with the 2026 International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Control (CAIC 2026, https://www.iccaic.net/), which was held in Sanya, China, from 6 to 8 February 2026.

Conference participants are cordially invited to contribute a full manuscript to this Special Issue and will receive a 10% discount on the article processing charge.

Prof. Dr. Yi-Xin Su
Dr. Chenglong Gong
Prof. Dr. Duc Truong Pham
Guest Editors

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• autonomous driving and intelligent transportation
• robotic manipulation and human–robot collaboration
• smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0
• intelligent energy systems and smart grids
• aerospace systems
• environmental monitoring