Symmetry-Inspired Approaches in Control, Robotics, and Intelligent Systems

A special issue of Symmetry (ISSN 2073-8994). This special issue belongs to the section "Computer".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 2325

Editors


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Guest Editor
Faculty of Electronics and Communications Engineering, Universidad Veracruzana, Poza Rica 93390, Mexico
Interests: numerical and computational methods; fractional calculus; developing and implementing advanced strategies for dynamic system control; integrating artificial intelligence into embedded systems; optimizing algorithms based on fuzzy logic and machine learning
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Computer Science Department, Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE), San Andrés Cholula 72840, Mexico
Interests: signal processing; IoT; cybersecurity; artificial neural network; biomedical; circuit design

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Guest Editor
Facultad de Ingeniería en Electrónica y Comunicaciones, Universidad Veracruzana, Av. Venustiano Carranza S/N, Poza Rica 93390, Mexico
Interests: engineering; general mathematics; probability and statistics; signal and systems modeling; developing digital watermarking schemes; developing applications of fractional calculus for engineering problems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Recent advances in control engineering, robotics, and intelligent systems increasingly leverage symmetric and asymmetric structures in both modeling and algorithmic design. Symmetry principles can be found in physical system dynamics, controller architectures, optimization frameworks, and learning-based decision mechanisms. Likewise, asymmetry may be intentionally introduced to enhance robustness, ensure stability under disturbances, or improve adaptability in uncertain and nonlinear environments.

This Special Issue aims to gather contributions that explore how symmetry—or deliberate asymmetry—can be exploited in the analysis, design, optimization, and implementation of control strategies, robotic systems, and intelligent decision-making algorithms. Both theoretical developments and practical applications are welcome, including methodologies based on fuzzy logic, neural networks, evolutionary computation, model-based control, hybrid AI techniques, and cyber-physical implementations.

Authors are invited to submit original research or review articles on (but not limited to) the following:

  • Symmetry-based modeling in dynamical and control systems;
  • Asymmetric control strategies for robustness and fault tolerance;
  • Intelligent control (fuzzy, neural, reinforcement learning);
  • Symmetric structures in adaptive, predictive, or optimal control;
  • Robotics and autonomous systems with symmetry-exploiting algorithms;
  • Symmetry in consensus, formation, and coordination control;
  • Bio-inspired and swarm intelligence with symmetric behaviors;
  • Symmetry/asymmetry in metaheuristic tuning of controllers;
  • Symmetric filters, observers, and estimation frameworks;
  • Mechatronic and cyber-physical systems with symmetric properties.

Dr. José R. García-Martínez
Dr. Alejandro Medina Santiago
Dr. Mario González-Lee
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-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Symmetry is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2400 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

  • symmetry in control systems
  • asymmetric control strategies
  • intelligent control
  • fuzzy logic and neuro-fuzzy systems
  • model predictive control (MPC)
  • robust and adaptive control
  • reinforcement learning for control
  • evolutionary and metaheuristic optimization
  • robotics
  • multi-agent and swarm systems
  • cyber-physical systems
  • fault-tolerant and resilient control
  • bio-inspired and symmetry-based algorithms
  • system identification and dynamic modeling
  • motion planning and trajectory control
  • mechatronics systems

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

34 pages, 9754 KB  
Article
Comparative Evaluation of Quarter-Car-Model-Based Modular Synthesis and Symmetry-Based Full-Car-Based Centralized Synthesis for Active Suspension Control
by Seongjin Yim
Symmetry 2026, 18(7), 1067; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18071067 - 23 Jun 2026
Viewed by 265
Abstract
This paper presents a comparative evaluation of quarter-car-model-based modular synthesis (QCMS) and full-car-based centralized synthesis (FCCS) for active suspension control in full-car systems. FCCS explicitly accounts for the coupled vertical, pitch, and roll dynamics by incorporating the geometric configuration of the sprung mass; [...] Read more.
This paper presents a comparative evaluation of quarter-car-model-based modular synthesis (QCMS) and full-car-based centralized synthesis (FCCS) for active suspension control in full-car systems. FCCS explicitly accounts for the coupled vertical, pitch, and roll dynamics by incorporating the geometric configuration of the sprung mass; however, this centralized formulation increases model complexity and controller–synthesis effort. In contrast, QCMS reduces the synthesis complexity by designing local suspension controllers using a quarter-car model and applying them modularly to the four suspension corners of a full-car system. Within both synthesis frameworks, linear quadratic (LQ) static output feedback (SOF) controllers and recursive-least-squares/extended-Kalman-filter (RLS/EKF)-based controllers are developed under comparable but structurally different control objectives. In particular, the proposed FCCS framework uses the geometric symmetry of the sprung mass not merely as a modeling assumption but as an explicit force-allocation structure that transforms the desired vertical force, roll moment, and pitch moment into four suspension actuator forces. Thus, four controllers are considered: LQSOF-QCMS and RLS/EKF-QCMS as modular quarter-car-based controllers, and LQSOF-FCCS and RLS/EKF-FCCS as centralized full-car-based controllers. In addition, the computational complexity of the LQSOF- and RLS/EKF-based controllers is compared in terms of their implementation burden. The main contribution of this study is not merely to show that the full-car-based FCCS improves the suppression of coupled body motions, but to clarify, under identical control and simulation conditions, the quantitative trade-off between the modular simplicity of QCMS and the symmetry-based centralized performance of FCCS. These controllers are evaluated through CarSim-based simulations under selected representative road-profile conditions in terms of ride comfort, motion-sickness mitigation, sensor requirements, and implementation complexity. The simulation results show that QCMS offers a low-complexity and modular implementation with acceptable ride-comfort performance, whereas FCCS justifies its increased synthesis and implementation burden when the suppression of coupled vertical, pitch, and roll motions and motion-sickness-related responses is required. Full article
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36 pages, 4327 KB  
Article
PetriLink: A Web-Based Platform for Control of Discrete-Event and Hybrid Systems Using Hybrid Colored Petri Nets and OPC UA
by Ondrej Kolimár, Erik Kučera, Oto Haffner and Kamil Kušnirák
Symmetry 2026, 18(6), 1039; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18061039 - 16 Jun 2026
Viewed by 238
Abstract
Petri nets represent a highly versatile mathematical formalism for modeling discrete event and hybrid systems. For the development of modern complex production processes for Industry 4.0, integrating these formal models with industrial communication standards is an appropriate and effective option. The main aim [...] Read more.
Petri nets represent a highly versatile mathematical formalism for modeling discrete event and hybrid systems. For the development of modern complex production processes for Industry 4.0, integrating these formal models with industrial communication standards is an appropriate and effective option. The main aim of the proposed article is to design a new web-based software tool for the modeling, simulation, and control of mechatronic systems with OPC Unified Architecture support. To accomplish this task, an original software solution called PetriLink is proposed. This platform leverages an intuitive graphical interface and significantly expands the formalism by combining hybrid Petri nets with Colored Petri Nets (CPN) data extensions and a reactive OPC UA subscription model. These new features greatly expand the area of systems that can be modeled and controlled, bridging the gap between theoretical academic tools and practical industrial automation. Furthermore, the structural flexibility of the implemented Petri net models enables the explicit representation of symmetric cyber-physical architectures, as well as the design of asymmetric, event-driven control strategies (e.g., using inhibitor and reset arcs) for enhanced system robustness. The platform was evaluated on a reference net of 5000 places and 2500 transitions, where an incremental dirty-flag evaluation mechanism keeps the per-step engine cost below 1 ms for sparse industrial markings and at about 350 µs for a moderate workload of one hundred concurrent tokens, yielding a speed-up of up to roughly three orders of magnitude over naive full re-evaluation and confirming consistent soft real-time behavior on commodity hardware. Offering a graphical environment for the design of discrete event and hybrid system control algorithms, it can be used for education, research and practice in cyber-physical systems (Industry 4.0). Full article
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18 pages, 1673 KB  
Article
Optimal Preview Control of Active Suspension System Augmented by Active Aerodynamic Surface Based on Quarter Car Model
by Syed Babar Abbas, Sungki Lyu and Iljoong Youn
Symmetry 2026, 18(6), 1001; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym18061001 - 11 Jun 2026
Viewed by 316
Abstract
This paper presents an integrated optimal preview control strategy where an active suspension system (AAS) collaborates with an active aerodynamic control surface (AACS), utilizing the information of incoming road disturbance. The optimal preview controller utilizes a feedforward and feedback controller to anticipate future [...] Read more.
This paper presents an integrated optimal preview control strategy where an active suspension system (AAS) collaborates with an active aerodynamic control surface (AACS), utilizing the information of incoming road disturbance. The optimal preview controller utilizes a feedforward and feedback controller to anticipate future road disturbances while addressing the conflicting objectives of passenger comfort and road-holding attributes. The active aerodynamic surface generates a desired lift or downward force to change the sprung mass vertical load distribution, further improving the ultimate target indices. The preview-based optimal controller was synthesized by optimizing and tuning two sets of weighting factors, each based on passenger comfort and road-holding preferences. A numerical simulation study was performed for a 2-DOF quarter-of-vehicle (QoV) model in MATLAB® (R2025b). Detailed time- and frequency-domain analyses were performed to validate the performance of the proposed scheme. The mean squared values of the total performance measure, vertical sprung mass acceleration, suspension travel, and road-holding indices were calculated and compared with the passive, active, active suspension with preview controller, and active suspension with an active aerodynamic surface (AAS). From the numerical results, it can be concluded that the proposed control strategy extraordinarily improves both ride comfort and road-holding capabilities of the vehicle model while maintaining the suspension rattle space requirements within the bounds and ensuring the dynamic stability of the vehicle. Full article
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22 pages, 2710 KB  
Article
An Inverse Kinematics Solution for Mobile Manipulators in Textile Workshops Based on an Improved Particle Swarm Optimization
by Wei Xie, Zhongxu Wang, Jiachen Ma, Jun Chen and Xingjian Xie
Symmetry 2025, 17(11), 1980; https://doi.org/10.3390/sym17111980 - 16 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 672
Abstract
To enhance the operational performance of mobile manipulators in textile workshops and address the difficulty of inverse kinematics (IK) for this class of redundant manipulators, this paper leverages the robot’s structural symmetries and proposes a chaotic-mutation particle swarm optimization (CMPSO)-based IK algorithm for [...] Read more.
To enhance the operational performance of mobile manipulators in textile workshops and address the difficulty of inverse kinematics (IK) for this class of redundant manipulators, this paper leverages the robot’s structural symmetries and proposes a chaotic-mutation particle swarm optimization (CMPSO)-based IK algorithm for mobile manipulators, thus simplifying the solution process and ensuring balanced exploration of the search space. First, the coordinate–transformation relationships of the mobile manipulator are analyzed to establish its forward kinematic model. Then, a multi-objective constrained IK model is formulated according to the manipulator’s operating characteristics. The model incorporates a pose-error function, the ‘compliance’ principle, and joint-limit avoidance. To solve this model accurately, we refine the population initialization and boundary-violation handling of the particle swarm algorithm and introduce an asymmetric mechanism via an adaptive mutation strategy, culminating in a CMPSO-based IK solver. On this basis, single-pose IK tests and trajectory-planning experiments are conducted, and simulation results verify the effectiveness and stability of the proposed algorithm. Full article
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