Sensors play a significant role in our everyday life. Smart, accurate, and reliable sensors help us monitor changes in various fields and obtain critical information to improve our lives. Smart sensors are often configured into a network, in order to measure and collect data from the domain of interest, such as the environment, weather, education, traffic congestion, air and water pollution, health parameters, and human activities.

Deploying 5G technologies in smart sensor networks opens up a new ecosystem with immense potential. The most prominent potential lies in the creation of an advanced ICT infrastructure that supports connected and entangled services, including efficient communication in the context of the Internet of Things. However, the combination of smart sensor networks with 5G faces both urgent challenges and rare opportunities. New 5G service requirements, such as high network capacity and ultra-reliable and low-latency communications, are shaping the evolution not only of the smart sensor network architecture, but also of user-centric smart sensor network application scenarios with artificial intelligence and machine learning.

To unleash the full potential of 5G communications, this Special Issue intends to report on the latest theoretical and practical achievements that promote the integration between smart sensor networks and 5G. We welcome original research and review articles on the theories and applications that effectively integrate these two technologies in various fields. The submitted works should build a bridge between smart sensor networks and 5G communication and leverage new information acquisition and fusion methods based on big data, artificial intelligence, network communication, random process theory, and optimization theory.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• 5G communication technologies for smart sensor networks
• Advanced AI-based algorithms for smart sensor networks
• Advanced intelligent big data analytics in smart sensor networks
• Advanced intelligent design and networking optimization for smart sensor networks
• Foundations and theories for smart sensor networks
• Network reliability for smart sensor networks
• Security and robustness of smart sensor networks