Next-Generation Wearable Sensing for Intelligent Multimodal Systems

Wearable sensing is reshaping health monitoring, rehabilitation, sports, occupational safety, and human–machine interaction by enabling continuous measurement of physiological, biomechanical, biochemical, and environmental signals. Flexible and stretchable materials, functional nanocomposites, microfluidics, fiber-optic platforms, and low-power electronics are expanding the capabilities of skin-mounted, textile-integrated, and body-worn devices. Nevertheless, motion artifacts, signal drift, mechanical fatigue, limited selectivity, biofouling, biocompatibility, and inconsistent performance across users continue to restrict practical deployment. Fiber-optic and spectroscopic technologies offer advantages including miniaturization, electromagnetic immunity, multiplexing, and operation in demanding environments, while artificial intelligence can support calibration, data fusion, and personalized interpretation. Further investigation is needed to establish robust materials, reliable architectures, and standardized validation strategies that can translate promising prototypes into dependable wearable technologies.

This Research Topic aims to advance wearable sensing systems that are sensitive, selective, mechanically robust, comfortable, energy efficient, manufacturable, and stable during long-term use. It will bring together interdisciplinary research on fiber-optic and spectroscopic sensors integrated into textiles, patches, prostheses, and assistive devices, as well as hybrid platforms combining physiological, mechanical, chemical, and environmental measurements. Contributions may address machine-learning methods for artifact rejection, feature extraction, sensor selection, calibration transfer, personalization, intent recognition, and edge inference. Particular emphasis will be placed on practical challenges, including temperature and humidity cross-sensitivity, biofouling, repeatability, data privacy, and performance across diverse users and activities. The Research Topic will also seek to develop rigorous design principles and evaluation practices for clinically, operationally, and socially relevant wearable sensing systems.

To gather further insights into wearable sensing technologies spanning materials, transduction mechanisms, device integration, intelligent analytics, and real-world validation, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

- Flexible, stretchable, textile-integrated, and skin-interfaced sensors based on biocompatible and functional materials.
- Fiber-optic and spectroscopic wearable sensors for strain, pressure, motion, temperature, respiration, and chemical or biochemical markers.
- Electrochemical, optical, acoustic, piezoelectric, triboelectric, and hybrid multimodal sensing platforms.
- Artificial intelligence for calibration, artifact suppression, sensor fusion, personalized modeling, intent recognition, and edge analytics.
- Low-power electronics, wireless communication, self-powered operation, packaging, scalable manufacturing, reliability, and standardization.
- Metrology, calibration transfer, repeatability, uncertainty quantification, and long-term performance assessment.
- Clinical, rehabilitation, sports, occupational, and human–machine interaction applications.
- Usability, human-centered design, ethics, privacy, accessibility, and equitable deployment.