Control of smart actuators is limited due to hysteresis effects which affect the accuracy of these actuators in micropositioning applications. In this paper, a generalized Prandtl-Ishlinskii hysteresis model is presented to characterize hysteresis effects in smart actuators, where a generalized play operator is adopted to formulate the generalized Prandtl-Ishlinskii model. The capability of the formulated model to characterize hysteresis in smart actuators is demonstrated by comparing its outputs with experimental results obtained from piezoceramics, shape memory alloy (SMA), and magnetostrictive actuators. Considering the dynamics of the smart actuators, a robust control is developed to ensure the system stability and improve the output performance. The simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.