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Advances in Connected and Automated Mobility: Sensing Technologies and Applications

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 3

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Software Engineering Institute, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
Interests: information security; cryptography; VANET security; cloud security; data privacy; network security
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
School of Computing and Communications, Lancaster University, Lancashire LA1 4YW, UK
Interests: cyber security; intrusion detection; mobile security and authentication; HCI security; malware analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Computing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
Interests: intersection of security, privacy, and machine learning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The integration of 5G-Advanced, artificial intelligence (AI), and next-generation infrastructure is reshaping intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Today’s mobility ecosystems span space, air, and ground domains, encompassing autonomous vehicles, low-altitude drones, and space-based assets such as navigation and Earth observation satellites, along with low-Earth-orbit communication networks. These systems are increasingly endowed with cognitive capabilities, including environmental perception, autonomous decision-making, continuous learning, and real-time adaptation.

At the core of this paradigm shift is the ability to process and interpret vast streams of data. This Special Issue invites cutting-edge research that leverages large language models (LLMs) and other advanced AI methods to fuse, interpret, and extract actionable insights from multimodal sensor data. We seek submissions on scalable architectures that enhance the resilience, safety, and efficiency of connected and automated operations across all domains. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to, the application of blockchain for ensuring data integrity and trust in distributed networks, as well as security-by-design and privacy-preserving frameworks that underpin the reliable evolution of these complex systems.

The scope of this issue comprehensively encompasses the full data lifecycle—from sensor data acquisition and fusion to intelligent interpretation and secure sharing—addressing both the unique challenges and emerging opportunities within this highly interconnected mobility landscape.

This Special Issue invites contributions on a wide range of topics, including but not limited to:

  • Sensors for UAVs (e.g., lightweight LiDAR, multispectral cameras).
  • Next-generation V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything) and U-Space (for drones) communication-sensing integration.
  • LLMs for interpreting complex traffic scenes and sensor data context.
  • AI-driven multi-sensor fusion algorithms for 3D scene reconstruction.
  • Foundation models for cross-domain (air, water, ground) perception.
  • Generative AI for sensor data simulation and augmentation.
  • Blockchain-based solutions for secure and tamper-proof sensor data sharing.
  • Privacy-preserving sensing techniques (e.g., federated learning for sensor data).
  • Secure V2X communication and cooperative perception.
  • Sensor systems for robotaxis, shared shuttles, and demand-responsive transport.
  • Autonomous navigation, obstacle detection, and port maneuvering via integrated sensing.
  • Edge computing and lightweight models for real-time sensor processing on constrained platforms (drones, vehicles).
  • Sensor data standards and interoperability across different transportation modalities.

Prof. Dr. Lei Zhang
Prof. Dr. Weizhi Meng
Guest Editors

Dr. Jiahuai Mao
Guest Editor Assistant

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-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

  • intelligent transportation systems
  • artificial intelligence (AI)
  • integrated space air ground networks
  • multimodal sensor data
  • large language models (LLMs)
  • trustworthy computing
  • privacy-preserving techniques
  • autonomous decision-making

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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