Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
5.6
3.4
Journals
Buildings
Special Issues
Intelligent Automation and Robotic Systems in Construction and Infrastructure
share announcement

Intelligent Automation and Robotic Systems in Construction and Infrastructure

A special issue of Buildings (ISSN 2075-5309). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction Management, and Computers & Digitization".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 March 2027 | Viewed by 606

Editors

Prof. Dr. Zhengyi Chen

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
Interests: embodied AI; construction robotics; LLM agents for infrastructure maintenance; digtial twin; computer vision
Dr. Lei Zhang

E-Mail
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing 211800, China
Interests: human–machine collaboration; structural resilience assessment; VR-based competency enhancement systems; intelligent operation and maintenance of prefabricated structures
Dr. Wenkang Du

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of C&PC Structures of Ministry of Education, School of Civil Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189, China
Interests: vision-based measurement; structural health monitoring; intelligent maintenance; bridge; damage identification

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The construction and infrastructure sectors face mounting pressure from labor shortages, aging assets, and stagnant productivity, while advances in robotics, embodied AI, and large language models open transformative pathways for the field. This Special Issue invites contributions that advance intelligent automation and robotic systems across the full lifecycle of construction and infrastructure—from on-site fabrication and assembly to inspection, maintenance, and operation.

We particularly welcome work on embodied AI and human–robot collaboration, including autonomous and semi-autonomous robots for construction tasks, mobile manipulation in unstructured environments, and active perception guided by structural or domain priors. We equally encourage submissions on intelligent automation more broadly, such as LLM-based agents for AEC workflows, vision-language models for inspection and reporting, and multi-agent systems coordinating heterogeneous platforms. Both methodological contributions and field-validated case studies are welcome.

We hope that this collection will bring together researchers from civil engineering, robotics, and artificial intelligence to shape the next generation of intelligent construction and infrastructure systems.

Prof. Dr. Zhengyi Chen
Dr. Lei Zhang
Dr. Wenkang Du
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Buildings is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2600 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

  • embodied AI
  • construction robotics
  • human–robot collaboration
  • autonomous inspection
  • active perception
  • LLM agents
  • mobile manipulation
  • digital twin

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.

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

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

10 pages, 1842 KB  
Article
Automatic Deflection Inspection of Composite Structures Using Fiber Optic Strain Sensing
by Yongkang Guan, Yangzhi Ji and Wan Hong
Buildings 2026, 16(13), 2516; https://doi.org/10.3390/buildings16132516 - 25 Jun 2026
Viewed by 236
Abstract
Deflection is a crucial indicator for structural safety assessment and maintenance of engineering structures. Traditional deflection inspection methods are confronted with the difficulty in selecting reference points, and therefore these methods are usually applied in short-term monitoring of structures. In this context, a [...] Read more.
Deflection is a crucial indicator for structural safety assessment and maintenance of engineering structures. Traditional deflection inspection methods are confronted with the difficulty in selecting reference points, and therefore these methods are usually applied in short-term monitoring of structures. In this context, a novel strategy for automatic deflection inspection of beam-like composite structures which overcomes the difficulty in selecting reference points is put forward in this article. First, deflection assessment of composite structures using long-gauge fiber optic sensing was theoretically established. The relationship between vertical displacement and monitored average strain is irrelevant to external loads. The approach is applicable to both linear and nonlinear stages of structures, and deflection distribution along the structures can be estimated. Second, a four-point loading experiment on a wood–concrete composite beam which was installed with long-gauge fiber optic sensors was performed to verify the reliability of the deflection inspection method. Deflection was estimated under three conditions: (1) without considering composite action; (2) considering composite action but neglecting interface slip; and (3) considering both composite action and interface slip. Meanwhile, displacement meters were also installed to verify the calculated results. Experimental results indicate that the presented strategy has high precision. Hence, the presented method serves as an innovative option for assessing composite structures in both the short and long term. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Intelligent Automation and Robotic Systems in Construction and Infrastructure)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-1
Back to TopTop