Research Projects on Artificial-Muscle Robots, PFAS-Free Transition, and 3D Spatial Intelligence
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 8th that it has selected three new research themes for 2026 under the "Future Game-Changing Technology Project," an innovation-challenge type research and development program, and has begun issuing a call for project proposals to recruit researchers.
The Game-Changing Technology Project is a program promoted to secure game-changing technologies at an early stage that can reshape the landscape of future industries amid intensifying global technological competition, and to support researchers so they can pursue ambitious research without fear of failure.
Starting with three themes in 2026, the ministry plans to sequentially support a total of 10 research themes, including three in 2027 and four in 2028. The total project budget amounts to 302.6 billion won for the period from 2025 to 2035, with approximately 4 billion won allocated for 2026.
Unlike conventional research and development approaches in which the government specifies detailed technical specifications or product items, this project is characterized by presenting only research topics needed for future society and allowing researchers to autonomously design their own technology development projects.
The three research themes selected this year are: full-body artificial-muscle robots, PFAS-free transition, and end-to-end 3D spatial intelligence. These themes were finalized after eight rounds of discussion by the "Game-Changing Technology Grand Challenge Committee," which is composed of experts in industry, technology, futures studies, and science fiction.
The full-body artificial-muscle robot theme aims to realize humanoid robots similar to humans. While existing robot technologies based on joint actuators face spatial constraints and limits in precise movements, artificial-muscle technology is highly challenging because it must simultaneously achieve contraction, relaxation, and durability. However, if successful, it is expected to enable delicate operations even in confined spaces and to be utilized as everyday life-oriented robots in areas such as caregiving and disaster response.
The PFAS-free transition theme targets the development of eco-friendly materials and processes that can be applied to advanced industries such as batteries and semiconductors, in response to the tightening of regulations on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in major regions including Europe. It pursues a transition in production methods across the entire lifecycle, going beyond simple substitute material development to include the discovery and synthesis of new materials, process development, and the mass-production stage.
End-to-end 3D spatial intelligence refers to next-generation deep-learning AI technology in which a single artificial intelligence (AI) model integrally processes various forms of spatial information such as images, video, audio, and text, and carries out everything up to situation prediction and response. Through this, it is expected to become possible to create future industrial environments such as zero-accident cities and fully autonomous factories.
The call for proposals for new research-theme projects and overarching support projects will run from the 9th of this month until March 13, and detailed information can be found through the Industrial Technology R&D Researcher Support System.
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