Book excerpt: Smart/intelligent systems is a primary technology for present and future applications in areas ranging from everyday life to aerospace missions, from civil to military environments, from robots to information technology. Smart materials are the critical foundation for high-performance smart devices, and smart devices are fundamental components for smart systems. The three cannot be separated. This book bridges the fields of smart materials, sensing and actuating devices, and intelligent systems, and provides an opportunity for researchers from all three arenas to channel information into a coherent, interdisciplinary community. Topics include: piezoelectric actuators; novel devices and systems; shape memory alloys and magnetostrictive devices; nanometer-scale processing and properties; piezoelectric materials; sensor materials and devices; and electroactive polymer actuators.