Smart Materials and Structures for Advanced Sensors and Actuators in Robotics and Human–Machine Interface
A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Sensors and Robotics".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2025 | Viewed by 87
Special Issue Editors
Interests: bioinspired materials; smart actuators
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The ever-increasing market value of robotics and human–machine interface (HMI) necessitates the rapid development of innovative sensors and actuators with unprecedented performance. For sensors in particular, higher spatial and temporal resolutions and lower detection thresholds are required. In the meantime, novel actuators must possess high force/energy output with reduced energy consumption and weight for energy efficiency and compactness.
These challenges can be overcome by integrating sensors and actuators with smart materials and structures to maximize these performance metrics. For instance, various types of stimuli-responsive materials, including hydrogels, shape memory alloys/polymers, piezoelectric materials, dielectric materials, and triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) materials, exhibit promise as advanced sensors in electronic skin (E-skin). In addition, the utilization of smart structural designs, including mechanical metamaterials, mechanical multi-stability and instability, can significantly enhance the performance of actuators in soft robotics and haptics.
This special issue is dedicated to recent advances in the application of smart materials or structures for boosting the performance of sensors and actuators in robotics and HMIs. It welcomes the submission of original research articles and reviews, and covers topics such as the application of stimuli-responsive materials, mechanical metamaterials, mechanical multi-stability or instability in E-skin, soft robotics and haptics. Submissions that address any other topics relevant to the enhancement of sensing and actuation in robotics and HMIs are also welcome This could include enhanced sensing capabilities enabled by neural networks to strengthen the post-processing capabilities, novel sensing mechanisms, real-time controls of sensing and actuating, etc.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Kaiyang Yin
Dr. Zheliang Wang
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
- sensors
- actuators
- robotics
- human–machine interface
- electronic skin
- stimuli-responsive materials
- metamaterials
- mechanical multi-stability
- instability
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.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
