In the Media

NBC News reports on the new phase-changing material developed by MIT researchers. The material could be used to develop shape-shifting robots to be used in surgery and search and rescue operations. 

MIT Career Development Specialist Lily Zhang writes about the value of making mistakes. Citing a speech by Dr. Marilyn Tam, Zhang argues that taking risks and making big mistakes is key to learning and development.

In a piece for Forbes, Federico Guerrini writes about the FingerReader, a device designed to help visually impaired people read. Guerrini writes that the device, which allows users to scan a line of text and receive an audio feedback, has the potential to be a, “real game changer.” 

"We wanted produce something that would produce significant volume change, but something that could still be useful, support payloads and enforce payloads on the environment," says Nadia Cheng of the phase-changing material developed by MIT researchers in an interview with Mashable’s Lance Ulanoff.  

Wired reporter Katie Collins writes that MIT researchers have developed a phase-changing material that could allow robots to shift from solid to squishy. Transformable robots, “would allow surgeons to carry out operations less invasively,” Collins writes. 

Cate McQuaid of The Boston Globe writes about artist Sergei Tcherepnin’s multi-sensory installation at the MIT List Visual Arts Center. The exhibit features copper sculptures that emit sound and can be interacted with.

Boston Globe reporter Michael Farrell writes about Smart Scheduling Inc., an MIT startup formed during a health care hackathon at MIT in 2012. The company aims to use data science to predict which patients are the most and least likely to show up for an appointment. 

Kate Tuttle of The Boston Globe reviews “Enchanted Objects: Design, Human Desire, and the Internet of Things,” by David Rose of the MIT Media Lab. The book focuses on how we will interact with technology in the future. “As inventors we should take a lesson from the magicians of the world,” says Rose.

Ben Coxworth of Gizmag writes about the new system developed by MIT researchers that allows photographers to achieve rim lighting during photo shoots. “Their system not only does away with light stands, but the light-equipped aircraft automatically moves to compensate for movements of the model or photographer,” writes Coxworth.

In a piece for National Geographic, Ed Yong writes about how a team of scientists from MIT has found a corresponding rhythm of behavior amongst marine bacteria. “The study reveals the power of sophisticated sampling devices for studying ocean features that were heretofore inaccessible,” says MIT Prof. Penny Chisholm. 

Andrea Shea reports for NPR on the MIT Media Lab’s Camera Culture group and its collaboration to restore damaged paintings by the postwar abstract artist Mark Rothko. The project for the Harvard Art Museum is intended to repair five works damaged by sunlight, as well as food and drink.

Neel V. Patel interviews Professor Srini Devadas for Popular Science about the future of computer chip design. Devadas contends that there is still room for innovation of chips using existing materials.

Ashley Esqueda and Tom Merritt discuss the FingerReader audio reading device developed by researchers at the MIT Media Lab on the CNET show “Tomorrow Daily”. The device could be used by people who are visually impaired or for translating foreign languages. 

Guardian reporter Oliver Wainwright reports on the new remote-controlled contraceptive chip developed by MIT researchers. “Someone across the room cannot reprogramme your implant,” says Dr. Robert Farra. “Communication with the implant has to occur at skin contact-level distance. Then we have secure encryption. That prevents someone from trying to interpret or intervene between the communications.”

In a piece for Fortune, Benjamin Snyder writes about how MIT researchers have developed a new system to help achieve the perfect lighting for photo shoots. Flying robots are programmed to produce rim lighting, which illuminates the edge of the subject in a photograph.