International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials

Smart and Soft Technologies: Materials, Structures, Devices, and Robotic Applications

Smart and soft technologies and their combinations have been promoting the comfortableness, adaptability, sustainability level of intelligent systems.

This Article Collection seeks to showcase recent cutting-edge advances in smart and soft technologies. Submissions are welcome on the following topics (but not limited to), each topic area encompasses a broad range of research directions, as detailed below:

(1) Bioinspired Design and Advanced Manufacturing of Smart & Soft Materials and Structures

Scope: Bioinspired design principles, material architectures, 3D/4D printing, self-assembly, soft lithography, micro/nano fabrication, laser/plasma fabrication, and scalable processing methods

(2) Mechanics, Modelling, and Control of Smart & Soft Materials and Structures

Scope: Theoretical, computational, and experimental studies on deformation, instability, multiscale mechanics, nonlinear behaviour, stimuli-responsive mechanics, dynamic response, and control strategies of smart and soft structures

(3) Smart & Soft Devices for Sensing, Actuation, Energy Harvesting, and Health Monitoring

Scope: Development and integration of smart and soft devices for flexible sensing, soft actuation, energy harvesting, signal transduction, self-powered systems, and structural or biomedical health monitoring

(4) Applications of Smart & Soft Technologies in Robotics, Wearables, Biomedical Systems, and Aerospace Engineering

Scope: Application-oriented studies of smart and soft technologies in robotic grasping, multimodal locomotion, wearable interfaces, haptics, active implants, minimally invasive surgery, morphing structures, and aerospace systems

We not only welcome high-quality, original submissions from Smart & Soft 2026 (https://www.smartsoft2026.org/html/?pmode=welcome), but also encourage related research articles and review papers elsewhere.

All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisor for this collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member). Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 13 April 2027.

Please contact IJSNM Editorial Office at [email protected] or Agnes Zhou at [email protected] with any queries regarding this Article Collection.

Please be sure to select "Smart and Soft Technologies: Materials, Structures, Devices, and Robotic Applications" from the drop-down menu in the submission system.

Dr. Jianglong Guo is an Associate Professor in the School of Science at Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen). His research has been focusing on smart materials and structures for controllable adhesion, actuation, and soft robotics, and he has been publishing in leading journals such as SA, NC, Matter, etc.

Dr. Sang Eui Lee is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Inha University, Republic of Korea. His research focuses on fiber-reinforced composites, multifunctional polymer materials, and structural optimization. He has been serving as a senior executive director of international cooperation in KSCM since 2025.

Dr. Jiaze He is a tenured professor at Harbin Institute of Technology. He previously served as a tenure-track assistant professor at the University of Alabama, a postdoc at Princeton University, and a research scholar with NASA. He has led multiple national-level research projects in U.S./China and served on the ASME NDPD Executive Committee, and as a Chair or Co-Chair of Smart & Soft 2026/APWSHM/CKJ-CM. His research focuses on computational ultrasound imaging, smart sensing, material characterization, and structural evaluation.

Dr. Andrew Conn is a Professor of Robotics at the School of Engineering Mathematics and Technology, University of Bristol, UK. His research on soft robotics, robotic mobility, healthcare technologies, bio-inspired engineering, elastic and compliant robotic systems, and human-robot interaction.