Journal profile · Robotics
Journal of Field Robotics
ISSN 1556-4959 · eISSN 1556-4967 · John Wiley and Sons Inc. · UNITED STATES · Monthly
Journal of Field Robotics: CAS Zone 2 · Computer Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 5.06; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,590; median 259 days to acceptance (99 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: fairly easy; 277 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Journal of Field Robotics is published by John Wiley and Sons Inc. and is in Zone 2 of Computer Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Robotics and Sensor-Based Localization, Robotic Path Planning Algorithms and Underwater Vehicles and Communication Systems, together about 39.8% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Journal of Field Robotics seeks to promote scholarly publications dealing with the fundamentals of robotics in unstructured and dynamic environments. We welcome and encourage the submission of papers on robotics research covering: Real-world applications: environment, construction, forestry, agriculture, mining, nuclear, subsea, intelligent highways, healthcare, search and rescue, military, and space (orbital and planetary). Technical and scientific topics: sensing, sensors, mechanical design, computing architectures, communication, planning, learning, and control, human-robot interaction, robotic verification, validation and security. The Journal encourages publication of work that has both theoretical and practical significance. Authors will be encouraged to implement their work and demonstrate its utility on significant problems with an emphasis on the underlying principles. That is, the Journal will encourage reporting on what was learned in doing the work, rather than merely on what was done. Also encouraged are comparative or meta-studies and verification of theoretical results as well as reports of extended field experiments that seek to validate autonomous systems in representative environments. Accepted paper submission categories include the research paper, review paper, research note (or short paper), field report, and invited paper. The Journal will push the frontiers of electronic publishing in the following ways: Exploitation of the medium via multimedia that accompany articles. JFR will publish code, models, data, and animations (either synthetic or actual video demonstrations) as appendices to articles. Such appendices will not be a requirement for publication but will be encouraged. Low-cost access to articles and appendices. JFR will be deliberately structured so as to reduce the costs of publication. Fast and easy access to the journal will accelerate the pace at which new results can be absorbed by other researchers. It will also allow access to new results by a large population across the globe currently not privileged to the infrastructure required to support robotics research and, in some cases, who do not have easy access to archival quality printed journals. Reduced time to publication. JFR will organize the reviewing and publication process in such a way that a short turnaround time is possible. Reviews will be led by members of the Editorial Board and by notable researchers. Papers and reviews will be managed via a Web interf
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Robotics
Editor-in-chief Yang GaoPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 12 in mainland China (about 33%); most named Mainland China 12, United States 4, United Kingdom 4, Canada 3, Hong Kong, China 2 (36 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Robotics and Sensor-Based LocalizationEngineering18%
- Robotic Path Planning AlgorithmsComputer Science13.7%
- Underwater Vehicles and Communication SystemsEngineering8%
- Modular Robots and Swarm IntelligenceEngineering6.5%
- Robotic Locomotion and ControlEngineering5.2%
- Smart Agriculture and AIAgricultural and Biological Sciences5%
- Soft Robotics and ApplicationsEngineering4.8%
- Robot Manipulation and LearningEngineering3.5%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Computer Science Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Robotics | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Computer Science Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Robotics | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Computer Science Zone 2
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 2 |
| Minor | Robotics | Zone 2 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexWeb of ScienceINSPECCAB AbstractszbMATHDBLPCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: EBSCO, ProQuest
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 5.06LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher)
- 5.1Publisher website ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 5.1Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 9.4LetPub ·
- CiteScore (publisher)
- 9.4Publisher website ·
- CiteScore (publisher) 2025
- 9.4Publisher website ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 1.14LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 2.16LetPub ·
- h-index
- 80LetPub ·
- h-index
- 132OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 1,022OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 4.18OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 9.8%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 24.26%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 254LetPub ·
- Articles per year (publisher)
- 5Publisher website ·
- Articles per year (publisher) 2025
- 254Publisher website ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 396,709Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 2,122 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 212 | 69 | 118 |
| 2025 | 277 | 112 | 937 |
| 2024 | 226 | 114 | 1,933 |
| 2023 | 140 | 79 | 2,643 |
| 2022 | 101 | 31 | 2,325 |
| 2021 | 58 | 11 | 1,506 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
259 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 175 days – 345 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 20 days (99 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 281 days
- Sample
- 99 articles with submission and acceptance dates (539 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 2 monthsLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- Fairly easyLetPub ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher)
- 16%Publisher website ·
- Acceptance rate (publisher) 2025
- 16%Publisher website ·
- Submission to first decision
- 16 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to first decision 2025
- 16 daysPublisher website ·
- Submission to acceptance 2025
- 234 daysPublisher website ·
- Acceptance to publication 2025
- 22 daysPublisher website ·
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,590 / EUR 3,010 / GBP 2,380 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | Yes, amount not published | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare3 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- ≤ 250 words
- Keywords
- 7
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Article types accepted2
- research articleResearch ArticleLength not stated
- review articleReview ArticleLength not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAuthorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Peer review, Preprints
- Authorship Authorship
Please refer to the journal’s authorship policy the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section for details on author listing eligibility.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Conflict of Interest Statement
Authors will be asked to provide a conflict of interest statement during the submission process. For details on what to include in this section, see the section ‘Conflict of Interest’ in the Editorial Policies and Ethical Considerations section below. Submitting authors should ensure they liaise with all co-authors to confirm agreement with the final statement.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data Sharing and Data Accessibility
Data sharing expected in public repository Model summary
Journal of Field Robotics expects that data supporting the results in the paper will be archived in an appropriate public repository. Authors are required to provide a data availability statement to describe the availability or the absence of shared data. When data have been shared, authors are required to include in their data availability statement a link to the repository they have used, and to…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Publication Ethics
COPE member Model summary
This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Note this journal uses iThenticate’s CrossCheck software to detect instances of overlapping and similar text in submitted manuscripts. Read Wiley'sTop 10 Publishing Ethics Tips for Authors here. Wiley’s Publication Ethics Guidelines can be found here.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Reproduction of Copyright Material
If excerpts from copyrighted works owned by third parties are included, credit must be shown in the contribution. It is the author’s responsibility to also obtain written permission for reproduction from the copyright owners. For more information visit Wiley’s Copyright Terms & Conditions FAQ
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review Peer Review and Acceptance
The acceptance criteria for all papers are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to journal readership. Papers will only be sent to review if the Editor-in-Chief determines that the paper meets the appropriate quality and relevance requirements.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Preprints Preprint Policy
Preprint policy allows preprints on non-commercial servers Model summary
This journal will consider for review articles previously available as preprints on non-commercial servers such as ArXiv, bioRxiv, psyArXiv, SocArXiv, engrXiv, etc. Authors may also post the submitted version of a manuscript to non-commercial servers at any time. Authors are requested to update any pre-publication versions with a link to the final published article. Free Format
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- John Wiley and Sons Inc.
- Country or region
- UNITED STATES
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Monthly
- ISSN
- 1556-4959
- Electronic ISSN
- 1556-4967
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 43, Issue 7 (October 2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Journal of Field Robotics
What CAS zone is Journal of Field Robotics in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Journal of Field Robotics is in Zone 2 of Computer Science, and in Zone 2 of the minor category Robotics. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 2 of Computer Science. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Journal of Field Robotics?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 5.06; CiteScore 9.4, h-index 132.
How long does peer review take at Journal of Field Robotics?
Based on the dates recorded on 99 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 259 days (interquartile range 175–345 days); authors report an average review time of about 2 months; the community-reported acceptance is “Fairly easy”; the journal's website gives an acceptance rate of 16% (2025). Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Journal of Field Robotics?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: ≤ 250 words; Keywords: 7; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Journal of Field Robotics based?
Of the 36 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 12 (about 33%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Mainland China (12), United States (4) and United Kingdom (4). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Journal of Field Robotics?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Journal of Field Robotics is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, Web of Science, INSPEC, CAB Abstracts, zbMATH, DBLP and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Journal of Field Robotics open access, and what is the APC?
Journal of Field Robotics is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,590.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, Publisher website, OpenAlex; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-25). Last updated: .