Sensing is the fundamental technique for sensor data acquisition in monitoring the operation condition of the machinery, structures and manufacturing processes. In this paper, we briefly discuss the general idea and advances of various new sensing technologies, including multi-physics sensing, smart materials and metamaterials sensing, microwave sensing, fibre optic sensors, and terahertz sensing, for measuring vibration, deformation, strain, acoustics, temperature, spectroscopic, etc. Based on the observations from the state of the art, we provide comprehensive discussions on the possible opportunities and challenges of these new sensing technologies so as to steer the future development.