mini-review, and hypothesis-and-theory articles, spanning mixed-reality digital twin systems, medical robotic design and learning-based modeling, imitation learning for legged locomotion, and cognitive control structures inspired by global workspace theory. Together, they reflect the diversity, depth, and practical impact of AI-enabled robotics. Collectively, these four articles illustrate how AI innovations strengthen robotic design, interaction, modeling, locomotion, and cognitive control. They address real-world demands in special operations, healthcare, agile mobility, and real-time autonomy, while advancing both methodological and theoretical foundations of the field.We sincerely thank all authors for their contributions, the reviewers for their rigorous and constructive feedback, and the editorial office of Frontiers in Robotics and AI for their strong support. We hope this special issue inspires further cross-disciplinary research and collaboration, accelerating the translation of AI-driven design and control into reliable, intelligent, and human-friendly robotic systems.Guimin Chen, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Chin Xiaohu Li, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Chin Ke Wu, Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence (MBZUAI), Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Peng Xia, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
Chen et al. (Tue,) studied this question.