Internet of Things for Smart Planet: Present and Future

Dear Colleagues,

The Internet of Things (IoT), since it was first conceptualized in the early 1980s, has continually drawn intense attention and shaped our world. Thanks to the rapid advancements in wireless communication and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, particularly in recent years, IoT technologies and ecosystems have also witnessed enormously rapid evolution; consequently, the massive deployment has altered the present life in our cities and across the planet to a great extent. For example, IoT-based smart home automation, smart agriculture and smart oceans, satellites, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-assisted IoT networks have been gradually developed and deployed from theory to reality. 

However, our civilization continues to envision and expect further transformation of our current lifestyle and society. To fulfill these expectations, some future concerns may be worth discussing first. For example, how will IoT technologies be deployed as more energy- and cost-efficient in order to connect the unconnected? How can Industrial IoT (IIoT) be better served as the catalyst of Industry 4.0?  How will IoT technologies accelerate, reform, and reshape education, health care, home entertainment, and even the metaverse. With a more daring but still realistic vision based on the unprecedented advancement of space technology and incremental investment in the space industry, IoT technologies can be applied to more application scenarios beyond our current planet of residence, since it is expected that scientists will "make humans a multiplanetary species" (quoting Mr. Elon Musk).

In this Special Issue, we provide a platform to authors from various research backgrounds and areas to share and exchange extraordinary thoughts and address future challenges such as advanced signal processing and network design techniques in order to enable more high-performance scenarios of the application of IoT technologies. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to):

• Critical underlying signal processing, information, and communication technologies to enable future IoT systems and networks;
• Critical theories, algorithms, and methods for Internet of Things in smart homes, smart factories, smart agriculture, smart cities, and smart planet;
• Fusion of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) with the Internet of Things and AI/ML-enabled signal processing and analysis;
• Emerging system-on-chip (SoC) and hardware designs for IoT systems and signal processing: trends and challenges;
• Theories, algorithms, and methods in Integrated Space–Air–Sea–Ground networks for IoT networks;
• Investigation and analysis of network design and signal processing in enabling Internet of Satellites/Spacecraft;
• Cloud/fog/edge-based computing enabled IoT data solutions and signal processing;
• Underlying signal processing and machine learning techniques for Blockchain-enabled Internet of Things;
• Critical AI and signal processing techniques in cybersecurity technologies for secure IoT devices and networks;
• Design and deployment of practical IoT systems and networks for vertical application scenarios with a focus on signal processing techniques;
• Signal processing and AI techniques in Internet of Medical Things, IoT for smart health, and emotional care;
• Enabling Metaverse, persistent online 3-D virtual environments, through IoT-oriented signal processing technologies;
• Design and analysis of signal processing techniques in the FinTech cybersecurity empowered by the secure IoT technologies;
• Energy harvesting and wireless power transfer technologies for massive IoT networks and signals.

Submit your paper and select the Journal Signals and the Special Issue "Internet of Things for Smart Planet: Present and Future" via the MDPI submission system. Papers will be published on a rolling basis and we will be pleased to receive your submission once you have finished it.

Dr. Yiming Huo
Dr. Minh Tu Hoang
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-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Signals 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 1200 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.