Focused Section on the Second Edition of TMECH/AIM Emerging Topics

Abstract

On the heels of the successful launch of the inaugural edition of Focused Section on TMECH/AIM Emerging Topics, which was published in the August issue of TMECH in 2020, the second edition has experienced a difficult start due to worldwide pandemic outbreak. However, for this edition, a total of 86 submissions were received by January 8, 2021, on a broad range of mechatronics topics as mentioned before. Two rounds of rigorous review processes were then completed by this dedicated Editorial Board with the support of more than 210 anonymous peer reviewers, strictly following the high-quality standard and the scope of TMECH. A total of 29 articles were finally accepted for publication in this Focused Section and for presentation in AIM 2021 simultaneously. The submissions are from almost all continents in the world and representing various areas such as robotics, intelligent control, automotive systems, sensors and actuators, manufacturing, etc. Interesting and innovative technologic breakthroughs are observed in these submissions covering hardware structure, modeling, mechanisms, and algorithms in novel sensors and actuators, medical robotics and rehabilitation devices, soft robotics, bio-inspired robotic designs, service robots, data-driven and learning methods in robotics and control, motion planning and control, and control of autonomous vehicles and automotive systems.