Polymer-Based Multimodal Tactile Systems for Robotics and Haptics and Interactive Surfaces
A special issue of Polymers (ISSN 2073-4360). This special issue belongs to the section "Polymer Applications".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2027 | Viewed by 45
Editors
Interests: soft robotics; printed electronics; tactile perception mechanisms; polymer flexible electronics/sensor design; electrical and mechanical noise decoupling; human–machine interaction
Interests: printed electronics; interactive surfaces; haptic interfaces; tangible user interfaces; electroactive polymers; smart responsive materials; sensors and actuators; piezoelectric polymer acoustic transducers; human–machine interaction
Interests: functional polymer composites; piezoresistive polymers; sensing polymers; energy harvesting; additive manufacturing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Through this Special Issue, we aim to highlight recent advances in polymer-based materials and architectures which have the potential to enable the next generation of tactile sensing and haptic interfaces, as well as interactive user interfaces and user–surface interaction systems. Emphasis is placed on multifunctional polymer systems which integrate piezoresistive, piezoelectric, capacitive, thermoresistive, and hybrid transduction mechanisms through scalable fabrication approaches such as printing and additive manufacturing; contributions involving interface-oriented polymer devices and multimodal interaction concepts are also welcome. We are further searching for strategies addressing material composites; advanced sensing capabilities; and mechanical crosstalk in dense tactile arrays, including micro-structured and mechanically decoupled architectures that enhance spatial resolution and signal fidelity. Contributions exploring soft, compliant and bioinspired polymer designs for robotic manipulation, wearable haptics, and human–machine interaction are encouraged, including tangible user interfaces (TUIs), interactive surfaces, and other user-centered polymer systems. This Issue also welcomes work bridging materials, device integration and system-level validation toward physically intelligent interfaces across robotics, interactive systems, and broader application-relevant scenarios.
Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Printing and additive manufacturing of polymer-based tactile sensors, haptic devices, and interactive surfaces;
- Multimodal sensing using piezoresistive, piezoelectric, capacitive/dielectric, electromagnetic, thermoresistive or hybrid polymers;
- Mechanical decoupling strategies and micro-structured architectures for crosstalk reduction and/or performance enhancement;
- Flexible and stretchable polymer electronics for tactile skins, interactive surfaces, and user-facing systems;
- Haptic interfaces and feedback systems based on soft polymer materials, including tangible and interactive interface concepts;
- Integration of tactile systems in robotics, prosthetics, and wearable devices as well as in broader human-centered and application-driven systems, along with bio-inspired and biomimetic polymer sensing systems and interface architectures;
- Polymer-based acoustic and vibroacoustic transducers for multimodal tactile, haptic, and interactive systems;
- Polymer-based tactile and haptic interfaces for immersive and extended-reality systems.
Dr. Nelson Castro
Dr. Sérgio Abílio Pereira Gonçalves
Dr. Pedro Costa
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. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
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Keywords
- polymer-based tactile sensing
- polymer-based multimodal sensors
- crosstalk reduction
- printed electronics
- haptic interfaces
- polymer-based piezoelectric acoustic transducers
- interactive interfaces
- tangible user interfaces (TUIs)
- human–computer interaction (HCI)
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