sensors-logo

Journal Browser

Journal Browser

New Trends in the Sensing and Control Techniques Used for Intelligent Industrial Perception and Service Robotics

A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Sensors and Robotics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 555

Special Issue Editors

Ningbo Institute of Materials Technology and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315201, China
Interests: precision motion control; human–robot interactions; industrial automation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Hangzhou Innovation Institute, Beihang University, Hangzhou 310052, China
Interests: digital design and manufacturing; human–robot interactions; exoskeleton robot

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Zhejiang Lab, Hangzhou 311100, China
Interests: computational neuroscience; data analysis; epilepsy; sleep memory; consolidation robotic and rehabilitation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The evolution of sensing and control techniques is fundamentally reshaping intelligent systems in modern industrial automation and service robotics. Emerging applications such as smart manufacturing in dynamic environments, collaborative human–robot interactions in healthcare, autonomous logistics systems, agricultural automation under unstructured conditions, and dexterous service robotics for domestic scenarios demand unprecedented levels of real-time perception, adaptive decision-making, and closed-loop control precision. However, existing methods face critical challenges in terms of the robustness of their multi-modal sensor fusion, their self-optimizing control architectures, and their context-aware cognitive capabilities in complex operational scenarios.

This Special Issue seeks cutting-edge research and state-of-the-art surveys addressing these gaps through innovative approaches including, but not limited to, the following: bio-inspired sensory systems, embodied AI for robotic cognition, tactile–visual–thermal cross-modal perception, edge-computing-empowered control strategies, and explainable learning frameworks for safety-critical applications.

Dr. Silu Chen
Dr. Hao Zheng
Dr. Yina Wei
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. Sensors 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

  • smart manufacturing
  • human–robot collaboration
  • real-time perception
  • multi-modal sensor fusion
  • context-aware cognition

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
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

29 pages, 2460 KiB  
Review
A Survey on Design and Control Methodologies of High- Torque-Density Joints for Compliant Lower-Limb Exoskeleton
by Jingbo Xu, Silu Chen, Shupei Li, Yong Liu, Hongyu Wan, Zhuang Xu and Chi Zhang
Sensors 2025, 25(13), 4016; https://doi.org/10.3390/s25134016 - 27 Jun 2025
Viewed by 100
Abstract
The lower-limb assistance exoskeleton is increasingly being utilized in various fields due to its excellent performance in human body assistance. As a crucial component of robots, the joint is expected to be designed with a high-output torque to support hip and knee movement, [...] Read more.
The lower-limb assistance exoskeleton is increasingly being utilized in various fields due to its excellent performance in human body assistance. As a crucial component of robots, the joint is expected to be designed with a high-output torque to support hip and knee movement, and lightweight to enhance user experience. Contrasted with the elastic actuation with harmonic drive and other flexible transmission, the non-elastic quasi-direct actuation is more promising to be applied in exoskeleton due to its advanced dynamic performance and lightweight feature. Moreover, robot joints are commonly driven electrically, especially by a permanent magnet synchronous motor which is rapidly developed because of its compact structure and powerful output. Based on different topological structures, numerous research focus on torque density, ripple torque suppression, efficiency improvement, and thermal management to improve motor performance. Furthermore, the elaborated joint with powerful motors should be controlled compliantly to improve flexibility and interaction, and therefore, popular complaint control algorithms like impedance and admittance controls are discussed in this paper. Through the review and analysis of the integrated design from mechanism structure to control algorithm, it is expected to indicate developmental prospects of lower-limb assistance exoskeleton joints with optimized performance. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop