The Internet of Things (IoT) consists of interconnected things with built-in and function-oriented sensors, essentially constituting a network of physical devices. These devices have the ability to gather measurement or observation data, and then communicate or exchange data with each other by communication networks. IoT systems can be applied in various fields to improve human life, especially applications for smarter cities or smarter homes.

However, basic IoT systems have been unable to meet the requirements of a modern smart city or smart home that features various and complex functionality with hybrid communication networks. Modern applications of IoT systems must be assisted by powerful artificial intelligence (AI) technology to process and analyze big data and deal with the problems of finding an optimal solution, making the best decision, detecting events, and identifying objects. Artificial intelligence simulates natural intelligence as exhibited by humans or animals and can make the system capable of performing tasks without the assistance of humans, and even perform tasks better than humans can. Modern AI technology usually utilizes evolutionary computation, nature-inspired algorithms, machine learning, or deep learning to solve the problems of optimization, decision making, event detection, and object identification. The integration of IoT systems and AI technology is very suitable for interconnected things to enhance intelligence, thus the artificial intelligence of things (AIoT), which enables the establishment of innovative IoT systems and applications for the modern smart city and smart home.

This Special Issue aims to solicit the submission of original research articles with a focus on challenging issues in the field of innovative AI-based IoT in smart cities and smart homes. Theoretical, experimental, and practical contributions containing innovative architectures, communications, algorithms, approaches, systems, or applications with new insights and findings are welcomed. Review articles which describe the current state of the art are especially welcomed.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Architecture of AI-based IoT for smart cities and smart homes
• Wireless and mobile sensor networks in AI-based IoT for smart cities and smart homes
• Communication protocols in AI-based IoT for smart cities and smart homes
• Mobile or hybrid networking in AI-based IoT for smart cities and smart homes
• Cloud, edge, fog, and dew computing in AI-based IoT for smart cities and smart homes
• Computation intelligence algorithms in AI-based IoT for smart cities and smart homes
• Machine learning and deep learning in AI-based IoT for smart cities and smart homes
• 5G/6G technology-aided AI-based IoT for smart cities and smart homes
• Location-aware systems (LAS) and location-based services (LBS) in AI-based IoT for smart cities and smart homes
• Visual (image and video) systems in AI-based IoT for smart cities and smart homes
• Security and privacy in AI-based IoT for smart cities and smart homes
• City brain systems with AI-based IoT
• Innovative applications and services for AI-based IoT for smart cities and smart homes