The future of sensor and actuator systems

A sketch of a personal view on the future trends of sensors and actuators and their technologies is presented with the intention to stimulate thoughts and discussions. In the held of devices, besides new principles and new designs, efforts will be directed to improving the performance (stability, lifetime and cost) to increase user acceptance. Integrated sensors and actuators to form closed-loop functional units may be a way to raise the device performance and market share. Embedded distributed functional units in materials and structures to obtain on-demand material properties and programmable structure configurations will present new challenges in applications such as: noise and vibration control, programmable active surfaces for rotocraft, smart bridges, highways and buildings, smart skin for antennae and optical devices, artificial skins and muscles, etc. In the technology field, facilities and equipment specially for micromachining win be developed, and flexible and shared facilities will be set up. Packaging technology for functional units is a bottleneck now. Breakthrough in this area will need concentrated efforts. From sensors and actuators to microelectromenchanical systems (MEMS), to nanofabrication, smart materials and smart structures, the future of the held is unlimited.