Original ResearchVol. 32, Issue 12 • pp. 100-112DOI: 10.1088/1674-4926/24121701• Jan 15, 2024
Authors: Zhuoran Wang, Yang Li, Qilin Hua
The evolution of information technology has propelled the advancement of sensors into a new era, referred to as Sensors 4.0. This era is characterized by the integration of key technological developments, including the internet of things (IoT), Industry 4.0, big data, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, and digital health. These innovations necessitate that sensors become increasingly interconnected and intelligent. The concept of 'everything is connected' demands that sensors undertake a broader and more complex range of tasks, a challenge that conventional, bulky devices are ill-equipped to address. In addition to pursuing improvements in sensitivity and bandwidth, as seen in the 'more Moore' approach—focused on extracting the last few nanometers from process nodes—the paradigm of 'more than and beyond Moore' presents new opportunities in the Sensors 4.0 era. A key breakthrough in this context is the development of devices with flexibility, which introduces a new mechanical dimension to the conventional sensor form factor. This innovation lays the foundation for next-generation distributed sensory applications that are deformable, miniaturized, and lightweight. Furthermore, recent advancements in multimodal, biomimetic, AI-enhanced, and all-in-one sensing materials and devices are pushing the boundaries of smart electronics. These developments aim to achieve minimal power consumption while enhancing overall functionality. Consequently, flexibility and intelligence have emerged as two critical features driving the development of novel and compelling electronic sensory applications in Sensors 4.0, thus lead to the organization of our Special Issue at the very beginning of 2025 that collects critical research progress and strategic reviews across multidisciplinary subjects of flexible and smart electronics. Specifically, this Special Issue features six research articles and ten review articles contributed by leading experts in the field, categorized into three themes: 1) Sensory applications for light, gas, and temperature measurement, focusing on the fabrication and design of flexible platforms; 2) neuromorphic electronic devices that integrate sensing, memory, and computation to develop next-generation parallel and low-power sensory systems; 3) integrated and multimodal sensory systems for IoT applications in areas such as biology and healthcare.
