Researchers have developed an enhanced LiDAR-IMU SLAM framework designed to improve localization accuracy and robustness during autonomous modular bus docking, a step that could help make autonomous modular bus systems more reliable, thereby supporting safer, smoother, and more energy efficient next-generation public transport.

The research team led by Liying Qu and Weisong Zhao from Harbin Institute of Technology, in collaboration with Peking University, has developed Adaptive-SN2N, an innovative self-supervised learning framework. By introducing a risk-aware adaptive normalization strategy, this method successfully eliminates background artifacts commonly induced by deep learning, preserving high biological fidelity and enabling highly accurate live-cell quantitative analysis.

Event cameras have mostly been used to track motion, where large brightness changes at moving edges generate dense event streams. In a new PhotoniX study, researchers in South Korea instead apply these sensors to functional brain imaging, a harder regime where activity-related brightness changes are noticeably smaller. By characterizing the camera for this regime and using it to record cortical vascular dynamics at kilohertz frame rates, they show that event-based acquisition can faithfully capture fast blood-flow signals in vivo. For the imaging of calcium activity in cultured neurons and the rodent brain, an unsupervised reconstruction method converts the sparse event streams to continuous ΔF/F₀ activity signals. The framework opens new possibilities for high-resolution, data-efficient functional imaging in biology.

Information transmission with structured light continues to advance in performance. In a study published in PhotoniX, researchers from Nanjing University have introduced the LightELF system to tackle a key challenge in structured light detection. The team developed and validated an event‑driven method for dynamic singularity detection and topological signal encoding, providing a new technical pathway to overcome the long‑standing challenge of real‑time processing and information transmission using optical topological knots.

Curious about how 6G will achieve smarter, more efficient communication? A new study in Engineering introduces Wireless Environmental Information Theory, a fresh framework for 6G’s environment intelligence communication. It moves past traditional static channel models, uses sensing and AI for real-time channel prediction, and tests its effectiveness across key 6G tasks, while exploring practical challenges for real-world use.

Climate change has been driving the rise of extreme weather conditions in recent years, placing immense strain on urban infrastructure such as sewer systems. Compromised sewer systems can lead to leakage, overflow and even flash flooding, threatening public health and safety. To address these vulnerabilities, a research team at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed a multi-tiered model integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT), facilitating more cost-effective and intelligent sewer system management, ranging from predicting exfiltration severity and pinpointing leakage-prone zones to monitoring and forecasting overflow occurrences in high-risk areas. 

Plant cells do not easily abandon their mature identity. In apple, that transformation is especially important because somatic embryogenesis underpins regeneration and genetic improvement. 

New research outlines a multi-dimensional strategy for fungal conservation, prioritizing species recognition, evolutionary analysis and targeted habitat protection to safeguard this understudied keystone group of life.

This research presents a high-performance near-infrared polarized photodetector based on a 1T'-MoTe₂/2H-MoTe₂ homologous polymorphic van der Waals heterojunction. It underscores the significant advantages of utilizing different phases of the same material for designing advanced optoelectronic devices. The findings provide a valuable and generalizable design strategy for developing future integrated, multifunctional sensing, and imaging systems.