Foreword Embedded Sensor Systems

Embedded sensor systems are gaining a role of importance in the research community because a large number of embedded computers are deeply integrated into our lives, cars, houses, and work environments. They support us in decisions, analyze and process physical quantities surrounding us in order to simplify our lives. Embedded sensor systems control our health status, allow us to prevent diseases, or help a physician to monitor us while we are at home or at work. At the same time, they prevent accidents and control our level of fatigue or attention. Embedded sensor systems may also bring significant improvements in the industrial field and factory automation. It is not futuristic to think about a world where manufacturing robots and other industrial automation systems meaningfully interact with the objects they are assembling, or a factory in which they are able to move with deftly and safety, because they know the surrounding environments well. Embedded sensor systems can allow working machines to be able to “see,” “hear,” and thus understand their surroundings. They can improve our safety, life, health, and industrial production. It clearly seems that the smart factories, such as the intelligent houses, pro-active smartphones, and wearable mobile health systems, are no longer science fiction. These applications lay the foundations for greater challenges on smart sensors and embedded sensor systems. These challenges need innovative solutions, and this Special Section realizes a forum for designers, researchers, and major industrial personalities, in which to present their latest developments in the embedded sensor systems.