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Next-Generation Haptic Technologies: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2025 | Viewed by 655

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
Interests: stretchable electronics; tactile technology; soft robotics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Electronic & Nanoscale Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
Interests: energy harvesting; engineering education

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
James Watt School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
Interests: wearable robotics; wearable sensors; robotic grasping and manipulation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue entitled “Next-Generation Haptic Technologies: Materials, Mechanisms, and Applications” explores groundbreaking advancements in haptic systems, focusing on their core components—materials, mechanisms, and diverse applications. With the growing demand for immersive and interactive experiences across domains like virtual reality, robotics, medical simulation, and wearable technology, the development of innovative haptic technologies is more critical than ever.

This Special Issue encourages contributions that demonstrate novel material designs (e.g., soft, stretchable, and bio-inspired materials), advanced mechanisms for force and tactile feedback, and their integration into next-generation haptic devices. It emphasizes studies on adaptable systems that enhance user experiences through improved sensitivity, durability, and multifunctionality. Moreover, special topics in application areas may include education (e.g., haptics in experiential learning, vocational training, or tactile-based remote learning), healthcare (e.g., haptics for telesurgery, prosthetics, or remote physical therapy), or entertainment and gaming (e.g., how haptics can enhance experiences in VR, AR, and gaming environments).

Submissions are encouraged from fields including material science, biomedical engineering, robotics, and human–computer interaction, offering insights into cutting-edge research and practical applications. This Special Issue provides a platform for researchers, engineers, and practitioners to share findings that will shape the future of haptic technologies.

Dr. Haotian Chen
Prof. Dr. Rami Ghannam
Dr. Lucas Ferrari Gerez
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

  • haptic feedback
  • tactile sensing
  • stretchable electronics
  • soft robotics
  • virtual and augmented reality
  • wearable haptic devices
  • human–machine interfaces
  • biomedical applications of haptics

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

10 pages, 4672 KiB  
Article
A Cost-Effective Method for the Spectral Calibration of Photoplethysmography Pulses: The Optimal Wavelengths for Heart Rate Monitoring
by Vinh Nguyen Du Le, Sophia Fronckowiak and Elizabeth Badolato
Sensors 2025, 25(7), 2311; https://doi.org/10.3390/s25072311 - 5 Apr 2025
Viewed by 454
Abstract
A photoplethysmography (PPG) pulse in reflection mode represents the change in diffuse reflectance at the skin surface during a cardiac cycle and is commonly used in wearable devices to monitor heart rate. Commercial PPG sensors often rely on the reflectance signal from light [...] Read more.
A photoplethysmography (PPG) pulse in reflection mode represents the change in diffuse reflectance at the skin surface during a cardiac cycle and is commonly used in wearable devices to monitor heart rate. Commercial PPG sensors often rely on the reflectance signal from light sources at two different wavelength regions, green, such as λ = 523 nm, and near infrared (NIR), such as λ = 945 nm. Early in vivo studies of wearable sensors showed that green light is more beneficial than NIR light in optimizing PPG sensitivity. This contradicts the common trends in the standard near infrared spectroscopy techniques, which rely on the long optical pathlengths at NIR wavelengths to achieve optimal depth sensitivity. To quantitatively analyze the spectral characteristics of PPG across the wavelength region of 500–900 nm in a controlled environment, this study performs the spectral measurement of PPG signals using a simple and cost-effective optical phantom model with two distinct layers and a customized diffuse reflectance spectroscopy system. In addition, Monte Carlo simulations are used to elaborate the underlying phenomena at the green and NIR wavelengths when considering different epithelial thicknesses and source–detector distances (SDD). Full article
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