A research team at the Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has proposed a method for optimizing superconducting integrated circuits based on “time scaling”. By constructing a dual-active-device layer within a single wafer, the researchers successfully transformed key logic paths from planar structures into vertically compressed ones, significantly reducing pulse propagation time and paving a new path for superconducting computing in the post-Moore’s Law era.

CHANGWON, South Korea — Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS), led by President Chul-jin Choi, announced that a research team led by Jihee Yoon of the Advanced Materials Research Division, in collaboration with a team led by Insung Hwang of Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI), has developed Korea’s first shape-controlled graphite granule-based dry electrode manufacturing technology capable of producing high-performance batteries without using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a key material in conventional dry-electrode processes.

Since 2017, the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) has annually organized the Global Engineering Frontiers strategic consulting program to assess major trends in engineering science and technology, identify emerging frontiers, and guide the development of engineering-driven industries. The program is supported by CAE’s nine disciplinary divisions and the Engineering Journal series.

Researchers from the Cognitive Neurotechnology Unit, Vision and Action Laboratory, and Visual Perception and Cognition Laboratory in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Toyohashi University of Technology have conducted a psychophysical study using virtual reality (VR) to investigate how humans flexibly use exploratory behaviors—such as changing their viewpoint by moving their head and manipulating objects with their hands—when discriminating the material properties of objects. Participants wore a head-mounted display and freely observed and manipulated virtual objects while judging whether each object appeared more metallic or more glass-like. The results showed that the more ambiguous the material was between metal and glass, the more actively participants explored it by moving their heads and hands. Moreover, individual differences in these exploratory behaviors were associated with a tendency to discriminate material properties more accurately. The researchers also found that participants flexibly switched their exploration strategies depending on the viewing context: they relied more on head movements to change their viewpoint when multiple objects could be compared simultaneously, whereas they relied more on hand movements to manipulate the object when only a single object was available for observation. These findings suggest that human material perception may rely not only on passively seeing an object, but also on actively seeking the visual information needed for material discrimination by moving the head and hands.