Sacrificial ink-writing technique developed at Harvard allows 3D printed organs to include large, vascularized building blocks.
‘Roboats’ from MIT can now autonomously change configurations
MIT researchers have added capabilities to ‘roboats,’ allowing them to form pop-up bridges, stages, and other structures.
MIT robot performs Bottle Cap Challenge
You’ve probably already seen, or even participated in, the Bottle Cap Challenge. It’s the viral challenge of the week where people try to unscrew a bottle cap with a 360-degree kick. MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) didn’t want to be left out. So it got in on the fun using its RoboRaise…
Automated system from MIT generates robotic actuators for novel tasks
When designing actuators involves too many variables for humans to test by hand, this system can step in.
Artificial muscles based on MIT fibers could make robots more responsive
New MIT system of contracting fibers could be a boon for biomedical devices and robotics.
MIT algorithm helps robots quickly find objects hidden in dense point clouds
A new MIT-developed technique enables robots to quickly identify objects hidden in a 3D cloud of data, reminiscent of how some people can make sense of a densely patterned “Magic Eye” image if they observe it in just the right way. Robots typically “see” their environment through sensors that collect and translate a visual scene…
Roboats, autonomous boats from MIT and AMS Institute, can connect for different applications
MIT and the Advanced Metropolitan Solutions Institute in Amsterdam have developed “roboats,” autonomous boats that can connect for a variety of uses. Researchers are scaling up their designs to be more stable.
MIT glove with tactile sensors builds map that could help train robot manipulation
The STAG or scalable tactile glove out of MIT helps build a tactile map that can be used to train a neural network to improve object recognition, grasping, and manipulation by robots and prostheses.
Giving robots a better feel for object manipulation
A new learning system developed by MIT researchers improves robots’ abilities to mold materials into target shapes and make predictions about interacting with solid objects and liquids. The system, known as a learning-based particle simulator, could give industrial robots a more refined touch – and it may have fun applications in personal robotics, such as…
Laundry robots could get foothold in the home for automation
Last week, attending the Our Crowd Summit, I felt engulfed by the breadth of innovation and minds gathered in Jerusalem’s International Convention Center. Jonathan Medved’s billion-dollar crowd-funding platform has launched some of Israel’s most promising mechatronic startups, including ReWalk, Intuition Robotics, Airobotics, and Argus Cyber Security. Household robotics, such as laundry robots, could yet be the next big…
MIT mini cheetah is the first four-legged robot to do a backflip
MIT’s new mini cheetah robot is springy and light on its feet, with a range of motion that rivals a champion gymnast. The four-legged power pack can bend and swing its legs wide, enabling it to walk either right-side up or upside down. The robot can also trot over uneven terrain about twice as fast…
MIT engineers program marine robots to take calculated risks
We know far less about the Earth’s oceans than we do about the surface of the moon or Mars. The sea floor is carved with expansive canyons, towering seamounts, deep trenches, and sheer cliffs, most of which are considered too dangerous or inaccessible for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to navigate. But what if the reward…
MIT robot combines vision and touch to learn the game of Jenga
In the basement of MIT’s Building 3, a robot is carefully contemplating its next move. It gently pokes at a tower of blocks, looking for the best block to extract without toppling the tower, in a solitary, slow-moving, yet surprisingly agile game of Jenga. The robot, developed by MIT engineers, is equipped with a soft-pronged…
Robotics & geopolitics: World problems, from food to crime, get robot help
AI and robotics are becoming sophisticated enough that they can help solve world problems such as hunger, alternative energy, disease, and crime. But we need to be realistic about the work still needed to develop them.
Helping computers perceive human emotions
Personalized machine-learning models capture subtle variations in facial expressions to better gauge how we feel. MIT Media Lab researchers have developed a machine-learning model that takes computers a step closer to interpreting our emotions as naturally as humans do. In the growing field of “affective computing,” robots and computers are being developed to analyze facial…
Personalized deep learning improves robots for autism therapy
Children with autism spectrum conditions often have trouble recognizing the emotional states of people around them – distinguishing a happy face from a fearful face, for instance. To remedy this, some therapists use kid-friendly robots for autism therapy to demonstrate those emotions and to engage the children in imitating the emotions and responding to them…
Navion computer chip makes nanodrones smarter
Researchers at MIT, who in 2017 designed a tiny computer chip called “Navion” to help honeybee-sized drones navigate, have now shrunk the chip design even further, both in size and power consumption. Navion is just 20 square millimeters in size and consumes just 24 milliwatts of power. However, the Navion chip is still able to process in real-time…
Controlling robots with brainwaves, hand gestures
A new system spearheaded by researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) allows users to control robots using hand gestures and brainwaves. The researchers say this allows users to instantly correct a robot’s mistakes with nothing more than brain signals and the flick of a finger. Building off the team’s past work…
MIT CSAIL director Daniela Rus added to ROBO Global advisory board
ROBO Global, creator of the first benchmark index tracking the global robotics and automation market, has expanded the strength and expertise of its advisory board with the addition of Daniela Rus, Ph.D., Professor and Director of MIT CSAIL (Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory), one of the largest AI departments in the US. In addition to 30…
MIT algorithm keeps data fresh for wireless networks
For wireless networks that share time-sensitive information on the fly, it’s not enough to transmit data quickly. That data also need to be fresh. Consider the many sensors in your car. While it may take less than a second for most sensors to transmit a data packet to a central processor, the age of that…
VirtualHome simulator could teach robots about household tasks
Researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and the University of Toronto are developing a 3D simulator that could eventually teach robots how to complete household tasks like making coffee or setting the table. “VirtualHome” is a system that simulates detailed household tasks and has artificial “agents” execute them. Using crowdsourcing, the team tested VirtualHome…
MapLite enables autonomous vehicles to navigate unmapped roads
Navigating roads less traveled in self-driving cars is a difficult task. One reason is that there aren’t many places where self-driving cars can actually drive. Companies like Google only test their fleets in major cities where they’ve spent countless hours meticulously labeling the exact 3-D positions of lanes, curbs, off-ramps, and stop signs. “The cars…