A Journal of IFAC, the International Federation of Automatic Control

Control Engineering Practice strives to meet the needs of industrial practitioners and industrially related academics and researchers. It publishes papers which illustrate the direct application of control theory and its supporting tools in all possible areas of automation. As a result, the journal only contains papers which can be considered to have made significant contributions to the application of advanced control techniques. It is normally expected that practical results should be included, but where simulation only studies are available, it is necessary to demonstrate that the simulation model is representative of a genuine application. Strictly theoretical papers will find a more appropriate home in Control Engineering Practice's sister publication, Automatica. It is also expected that papers are innovative with respect to the state of the art and are sufficiently detailed for a reader to be able to duplicate the main results of the paper (supplementary material, including datasets, tables, code and any relevant interactive material can be made available and downloaded from the website). The benefits of the presented methods must be made very clear and the new techniques must be compared and contrasted with results obtained using existing methods. Moreover, a thorough analysis of failures that may happen in the design process and implementation can also be part of the paper.

The scope of Control Engineering Practice matches the activities of IFAC.

Papers demonstrating the contribution of automation and control in improving the performance, quality, productivity, sustainability, resource and energy efficiency, and the manageability of systems and processes for the benefit of mankind and are relevant to industrial practitioners are most welcome.

Fields of applications in control and automation:
•Automotive Systems •Aerospace Applications •Marine Systems •Intelligent Transportation Systems and Traffic Control •Autonomous Vehicles •Robotics •Human Machine Systems •Mechatronic Systems •Scientific Instrumentation •Micro- and Nanosystems •Fluid Power Systems •Gas Turbines and Fluid Machinery •Machine Tools •Manufacturing Technology and Production Engineering •Logistics •Power Electronics •Electrical Drives •Internet of Things •Communication Systems •Power and Energy Systems •Biomedical Engineering and Medical Applications •Biosystems and Bioprocesses •Biotechnology •Chemical Engineering •Pulp and Paper Processing •Mining, Mineral and Metal Processing •Water/Gas/Oil Reticulation Systems •Environmental Engineering •Agricultural Systems •Food Engineering •Other Emerging Control Applications

Applicable methods, theories and technologies:
•Modeling, Simulation and Experimental Model Validation •System Identification and Parameter Estimation •Observer Design and State Estimation •Soft Sensing •Sensor Fusion •Optimization •Adaptive and Robust Control •Learning Control •Nonlinear Control •Control of Distributed-Parameter Systems •Model-based Control Techniques •Optimal Control and Model Predictive Control •Controller Tuning •PID Control •Feedforward Control and Trajectory Planning •Networked Control •Stochastic Systems •Fault Detection and Isolation •Diagnosis and Supervision •Actuator and Sensor Design •Measurement Technology in Control •Software Engineering Techniques •Real-time and Distributed Computing •Intelligent Components and Instruments •Architectures and Algorithms for Control •Real-time Algorithms •Computer-aided Systems Analysis and Design •Implementation of Automation Systems •Machine Learning •Artificial Intelligence Techniques •Discrete Event and Hybrid Systems •Production Planning and Scheduling •Automation •Data Mining •Data Analytic •Performance Monitoring •Experimental Design •Other Emerging Control Theories and Related Technologies

Special Issue on Human-Centric Approaches for Safe Navigation of Intelligent Ground Vehicles
Submission Date: 2025-06-30

In recent years, intelligent ground vehicles (IGVs) have emerged as a promising solution for enhancing road safety, improving traffic efficiency, and reducing environmental impact. With rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, sensor technologies, and computational platforms, the field of intelligent vehicle planning and control has witnessed tremendous growth and innovation. Human-centric planning and control are essential to ensure these technologies not only improve vehicle performance but also prioritize the safety, comfort, and needs of human drivers and passengers.

The planning and control modules are crucial components of an intelligent vehicle, directly reflecting its intelligence and capability. Human-centric planning algorithms enable intelligent vehicles to make optimal, safety-oriented decisions and navigate through complex environments in a manner that aligns with human expectations and behaviors. Meanwhile, robust control strategies ensure the precise execution of the planned trajectory, maintaining stability and reliability even in challenging conditions such as unpredictable obstacles, or sudden changes in the driving environment. Recent advancements highlight the need for further exploration of human-centric approaches within planning and control methodologies.

This special issue aims to expand current research by focusing on human-centric planning and control mechanisms. It considers the physical dynamics of IGVs and incorporates models of human behaviors, perception, and decision-making processes. By integrating these human factors into control and planning algorithms, this issue seeks to bridge the gap between purely technical solutions and systems that can seamlessly interact with and adapt to human users, thus offering a holistic approach that differentiates it from other special issues in related areas.

Guest editors:

Dr. Anh-Tu Nguyen (Executive Guest Editor)
Associate Professor
LAMIH Research Center UMR CNRS 8201, INSA Hauts-de-France, Université Polytechnique, Hauts-de-France, France
Email: tnguyen@uphf.fr

Dr. Hamid Taghavifar
Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Industrial Engineering, Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science, Concordia University, Canada
Email: hamid.taghavifar@concordia.ca

Dr. Junmin Wang
Fletcher Stuckey Pratt Chair Professor
University of Texas at Austin, USA
Email: jwang@austin.utexas.edu

Dr. Yue Wang
Warren H. Owen – Duke Energy Professor of Engineering
Clemson University, USA
Email: yue6@clemson.edu

Special issue information:

The aim of this special issue is to provide a platform for researchers and experts from academia and industry to present their latest research findings and developments in human-centric planning and control for IGVs. We aim to showcase cutting-edge contributions that address the challenges and explore new possibilities in this field. We invite researchers to submit their original research papers and reviews that contribute to the theoretical foundations, methodologies, and applications of human-centric planning and control for IGVs. The novel contribution of this special issue lies in its focus on human-centric planning and control, which is crucial for increasing trust and acceptance of intelligent vehicle systems. This approach addresses technical challenges while also considering the psychological and social factors influencing human interaction with intelligent systems, setting this issue apart from others in the field. The topics of interest in this Special Issue include (but are not limited to) the following.

• Real-time decision-making for human-automation shared driving in complex traffic scenarios
• Learning-based obstacle detection and avoidance with human safety considerations
• Coordinated planning and control for adaptive vehicle dynamics in uncertain environments with human passengers
• Advanced estimation techniques for vehicle and human driver states in IGVs
• Integrated planning and control for IGVs with a focus on human-centric safety and comfort
• Fail-safe and fault-tolerant navigation systems for IGVs considering human factors
• Intelligent fault detection and fault-tolerant control for IGVs in human-centric contexts
• Human-machine shared planning and control for IGVs in mixed traffic scenarios
• Interfaces for seamless and intuitive human-IGV interaction
• Trust and acceptance of autonomous systems from a human perspective
• Validation and verification techniques for safety-critical driver-automation systems with human-centric focus

To align with the application-oriented nature of CEP, this SI will emphasize practical validation and real-world case studies. This focus on industrial relevance will demonstrate the applicability of human-centric control techniques across different types of intelligent ground vehicles, making the issue relevant to both academic and industrial audiences. Please note that Control Engineering Practice publishes papers which make significant contributions to the application of control techniques and are expected to contain practically relevant results based on profound theory. CEP is an applications-oriented journal. Therefore, we publish papers providing application-related information, stressing the relevance of the work in a practical industrial/applications context, with solid industrial examples rather than hypothetical ones. If only simulations have been used, these must be verified on models of real plants. The benefits must be made very clear and the new techniques must be compared and contrasted with results obtained using existing methods.

Manuscript submission information:

Manuscripts should be submitted via the Control Engineering Practice online submission system (https://www.editorialmanager.com/conengprac/default.aspx) by selecting the Article Type of “VSI: Human-centric planning and control of IGVs”. All submitted manuscripts will be screened by the editorial office and peer reviewed according to the usual standards of this journal, and will be evaluated on the basis of originality, quality, and relevance to this Special Issue. Please also note the IFAC publication policy: Papers submitted to IFAC journals with prior publication in any copyrighted conference proceedings must be substantially different from the conference publication. Authors should indicate in the cover letter in detail how the journal paper differs from the relevant conference paper or papers. In particular, the additional original contribution in the journal paper has to be pointed out explicitly. In the journal paper, the conference paper has to be cited and discussed as any other paper in the list of references.

Timeline

• First submission deadline: 30 June 2025
• Acceptance deadline: 31 December 2025

Please refer to the Guide for Authors to prepare your manuscript: https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/control-engineering-practice/publish/guide-for-authors.

For any further information, the authors may contact the Guest Editors.

Keywords:

advanced control/estimation techniques; integrated planning and control algorithms; human-machine shared planning and control; intelligent ground vehicles; fail-safe and fault-tolerant navigation

Special Issue on Fault-tolerant, robust and distributed control of hydraulic systems
Submission Date: 2025-06-30

Applications of controlled servo-hydraulics expanded uncounted over the last decades, encompassing classical presses and injection moulding machines, lifting and loading platforms and cranes, gas and steam turbine control, steering in aerospace vehicles and shipping, construction and forestry machinery, and others. Also, newer and demanding applications such as hydraulic actuators in wind turbines and offshore facilities on the one hand and compact integrated hybrid solutions such as electrohydrostatic actuators or digital hydraulic pumps, on the other hand, are driving forward the control developments required for fluid power processes. The associated control systems must be designed with increased requirements for fault-tolerant use and robustness against uncertain and time-varying operating conditions. Special aspects also come into play in distributed system architectures, with the relocation of sensor and actuator elements and the discrete operation of drives and components, like for example with on-off valves and digital hydraulic architectures.

The aim of this Special Issue is to bring together the advanced research studies in the field of control of hydraulic systems and their applications. Particularly invited are the latest developments and trends in the control of hydraulic components, actuators, processes and machines with an emphasis on fault-tolerant and robust design as well as distributed and hybrid (discrete and continuous) operation. Original works from industry and academia that imultaneously demonstrate the theoretical approach and the practical feasibility and applicability of the synthesis and implementation of the control technologies and algorithms will be particularly encouraged and brought into focus.

Guest editors:

I. Michael Ruderman (Executive Guest Editor)
University of Agder, Norway
Email: michael.ruderman@uia.no 

II. Dimitrios Papageorgiou
Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
Email: dimpa@dtu.dk 

III. Ryo Kikuuwe
Hiroshima University, Japan
Email: kikuuwe@hiroshima-u.ac.jp 

Special issue information:

The topics to be addressed in this Special Issue include, but are not limited to:

    Robust motion control of hydraulic actuators and drives​
    Control strategies and technologies in digital hydraulics
    Robotic applications of hydraulic systems
    Dynamics modeling of hydraulic systems, including valves and pumps
    Force control and impedance control of hydraulic actuators
    Robust fault estimation and accommodation in hydraulic actuators
    Cascaded control for swift commissioning of hydraulic systems
    Model-based and data-driven fault-tolerant control of hydraulic systems in wind-turbines
    Comparative analysis of advanced controls for hydraulic systems
    Monitoring for diagnosis and compensation of faults in hydraulic actuators
    Tuning of linear and nonlinear controllers for hydraulic systems

Manuscript submission information:

Manuscripts should be submitted via the Control Engineering Practice online submission system (https://www.editorialmanager.com/conengprac/default.aspx) by selecting the Article Type of “VSI: Control of hydraulic systems”. All submitted manuscripts will be screened by the editorial office and peer reviewed according to the usual standards of this journal, and will be evaluated on the basis of originality, quality, and relevance to this Special Issue. Please also note the IFAC publication policy: Papers submitted to IFAC journals with prior publication in any copyrighted conference proceedings must be substantially different from the conference publication. Authors should indicate in the cover letter in detail how the journal paper differs from the relevant conference paper or papers. In particular, the additional original contribution in the journal paper has to be pointed out explicitly. In the journal paper, the conference paper has to be cited and discussed as any other paper in the list of references. 

In Control Engineering Practice, we publish papers which make significant contributions to the application of control techniques and are expected to contain practically relevant results based on profound theory. CEP is an applications-oriented journal. Therefore, we publish papers providing application-related information, stressing the relevance of the work in a practical industrial/applications context, with solid industrial examples rather than hypothetical ones. If only simulations have been used, these must be verified on models of real plants. The benefits must be made very clear, and the new techniques must be compared and contrasted with results obtained using existing methods.

Important Dates:

    Submission deadline: June 30, 2025
    Acceptance deadline: February 28, 2026

Please refer to the Guide for Authors to prepare your manuscript: https://www.elsevier.com/journals/control-engineering-practice/0967-0661/guide-for-authors.

For any further information, the authors may contact the Guest Editors.

Keywords:

Control of hydraulic system, fluid power technology, servohydraulics, control valves, digital hydraulics, control of hydraulic machines, hydromechatronic actuators, robust controller design.

Special Issue on Development and Applications of High-order Fully Actuated System Theory
Submission Date: 2025-08-31

It is well-known that physical fully actuated systems (FASs) are a perfect type of systems in the sense that their controllers can be easily designed and the resulted closed-loop systems can often be made globally constant linear. A non-FAS is a system that is either a physical under-actuated system (UAS) or a system that cannot be classified into a FAS or UAS. If, by any chance, a non-FAS can be converted into a FAS, then the control design of all non-FASs can be systematically solved. However, under physical restrictions, this goal is not practical and achievable.

However, a recently significant achievement on the discovery of the mathematically generalized FAS model of dynamical systems made an important milestone toward this goal. Namely, although a non-FAS cannot be converted into a physical FAS, it can be converted into a mathematically generalized FAS. Moreover, like a physical FAS, the control of a mathematically generalized FAS can also be easily realized. Such facts and logic naturally produce the so-called FAS approach that solves control systems design based on generalized FAS models.

The FAS approach was systematically proposed and discussed recently for different topics and applications (see https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/tsys20/collections/HOFA). Due to its great advantages, it has attracted manys attentions ever since its emergence. By now, there are many papers published on the FAS approach about both FAS theory development and corresponding practical control applications, including but not limited to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), aerospace vehicles, industrial robots and manipulators, and high speed trains.

Guest editors:

    Prof. Michael V. Basin, The Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon, Mexico
    Prof. Yan Chen, Arizona State University, USA
    Prof. Guoxiang Gu, Louisiana State University, USA
    Prof. Josep M. Guerrero, Technical University of Catalonia, Spain
    Prof. Okyay Kaynak, Bogazici University, Turkey
    Prof. Ju H. Park, Yeungnam University, Kyongsan, Republic of Korea
    Prof. Jinjun Shan, York University, Canada

Special issue information:

The purpose of proposing this special issue is to further develop the FAS theory and simultaneously extend its applications. Researchers working in this field are encouraged to share latest results on both theory and applications in related fields. Survey or review papers about specific topics of the FAS theory and applications are also welcome. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

    Fully Actuated System Modeling and Control Theory
    Fuzzy Control of Fully Actuated Systems
    Fault Diagnosis and Fault Tolerant Control
    Robust Control of Fully Actuated systems
    Optimization and Decision of Fully Actuated Systems
    Predictive Control Based on Fully Actuated Systems
    Discrete Event Dynamic Systems and Hybrid Systems
    Nonlinear Control of Fully Actuated Systems
    Adaptive control and Learning Control
    Process Control of Fully Actuated Systems
    Underwater/Ground/Aerial/Aerospace Vehicle Control
    Intelligent Manufacturing and Industrial Control
    Industrial Applications of Fully Actauted Systems

Manuscript submission information:

Please note that Control Engineering Practice publishes papers which make significant contributions to the application of control techniques and are expected to contain practically relevant results based on profound theory. CEP is an applications-oriented journal. Therefore, we publish papers providing application-related information, stressing the relevance of the work in a practical industrial/applications context, with solid industrial examples rather than hypothetical ones. If only simulations have been used, these must be verified on models of real plants. The benefits must be made very clear and the new techniques must be compared and contrasted with results obtained using existing methods.

Tentative Schedule

    Submission Open Date: February 15, 2025
    Submission Deadline: August 31 2025
    Acceptance deadline: March 31, 2026

Submission Guidelines

Manuscripts should be submitted via the Control Engineering Practice online submission system (https://www.editorialmanager.com/conengprac/default.aspx) by selecting the Article Type of “VSI: High-order FAS”. All submitted manuscripts will be screened by the editorial office and peer reviewed according to the usual standards of this journal, and will be evaluated on the basis of originality, quality, and relevance to this Special Issue. Please also note the IFAC publication policy: Papers submitted to IFAC journals with prior publication in any copy righted conference proceedings must be substantially different from the conference publication. Authors should indicate in the cover letter in detail how the journal paper differs from the relevant conference paper or papers. In particular, the additional original contribution in the journal paper has to be pointed out explicitly. In the journal paper, the conference paper has to be cited and discussed as any other paper in the list of references.

Please refer to the Guide for Authors to prepare your manuscript: https://www.elsevier.com/journals/control-engineering-practice/0967-0661/guide-for-authors.

For any further information, the authors may contact the Guest Editors.

Keywords:

Fully Actuated System, modeling and control, stability and stabilization, linearization, high order