Motion Control for Novel Emerging Robotic Devices and Systems

Motion Control for Novel Emerging Robotic Devices and Systems W ITH THE ADVENT OF NEW FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, MEMS actuators and sensors, or embedded computers, as well as the latest advance in real-time intelligence, machine learning and computational modeling, a lot of more intelligent, powerful, miniaturized or user-friendly engineered devices and robots are emerging, that are either bio-inspired, biomimetic, or special purpose designed. At the core of these emerging robotic products is essentially the Motion Control that coordinates the sensors that detect interactions with the surroundings and sense internal states, and also commands the actuators to achieve the action functionalities, and delivers the machine intelligence. Due to the small size for micro-/nano-devices, the many degrees of freedom for soft robots, the embodiment of actuators/sensors/controllers, the level of intelligence, speed, precision or compliance required, unique challenges emerge concerning the design and realization of novel controllers involving their methodology, algorithms and techniques. While a considerable amount of work has been published in recent years in various journals with varying scopes, no journal has devoted a special issue to the motion control for these emerging smart devices and robots. The objective of this Special Section is to bring the ideas of the worldwide research community into common platform, and to present the latest advances and developments in the motion control methods, algorithms and techniques for emerging and novel smart robotic devices, machines and systems. Editors invite original manuscripts presenting recent advances in these fields with special reference to the following topics: