In an article for Wired, Liz Stinson writes about how the new technique MIT researchers developed for 3-D printing glass could be used in building design. Stinson writes that Prof. Neri Oxman believes, “3-D printed glass eventually will make building facades far more dynamic.”
In an effort to spur breakthroughs in autonomous driving technology, Toyota is funding new research centers at MIT and Stanford, the Associated Press reports. Prof. Daniela Rus explains that MIT researchers will be working on developing technology that would make it possible to build a car, “that is never responsible for a collision.”
Toyota has announced that it is funding new research centers at MIT and at Stanford dedicated to developing “intelligent” cars, reports John Markoff for The New York Times. “We see this as basic computer science, A.I. and robotics that will make a difference in transportation,” explains Prof. Daniela Rus.
Forbes contributor TJ McCue writes about how MIT researchers have developed a 3-D printer that can manufacture glass. McCue explains that the printer uses, “many of the same controllers and parts that existing Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) printers use.”
A new center at MIT, a collaborative effort with Toyota, will be focused on broadening artificial intelligence technologies for cars, writes Eric Adams for Popular Science. Prof. Daniela Rus explains that the MIT center will dedicated to “helping reduce traffic casualties, and potentially even helping us develop a vehicle incapable of getting into a collision.”
Toyota is partnering with MIT and Stanford to research autonomous-vehicle technology, reports Marco della Cava for USA Today. “Toyota will use its MIT and Stanford investment dollars to develop on-board systems that will improve an automobile's ability to make smart driving decisions in split seconds when the driver is either unaware or too slow.”
MIT researchers have developed a robot called Hermes that is controlled by the motions of an exoskeleton-wearing human, reports Nidhi Subbaraman for BetaBoston. “What’s unique about Hermes is that Ramos is able to sense the robot’s balance through the harness,” writes Subbaraman.
Nidhi Subbaraman of BetaBoston reports on how MIT researchers have developed a fleet of self-driving golf carts. “The group road-tested a fleet of self-driving golf carts at a park in Singapore over six days,” writes Subbaraman.
“A team of researchers from MIT has created sensitive metallic polymers that change color in response to chemical or physical variations in their surroundings,” writes Alexandra Ossola for Popular Science. “The gel could be used as a litmus test to detect if particular pollutants are present in an environment.”
Graduate student Sydney Do speaks with Huffington Post Live about the technological shortfalls that currently make the Mars One plan for colonizing the Red Planet unrealistic. “Our finding is the Mars One plan is inherently unsustainable and is hence infeasible,” explains Do. “The technology that’s required is just not there yet.”
Don Willmott writes for The Huffington Post about a theoretical design for a compact fusion reactor created by MIT researchers. “The MIT reactor should ultimately be able to produce five to six times the energy it consumes, MIT's scientists say, about 190 megawatts,” explains Willmott.
New research by Prof. Andrew Lo shows that the criteria currently used to evaluate whether drugs are safe and effective is too strict, reports Carolyn Johnson for The Washington Post. The study suggests that, “for many devastating diseases, the current standards are too risk-averse, erring on the side of keeping drugs off the market.”
Kelsey Atherton reports for Popular Science that MIT researcher have developed and tested a self-driving golf cart in a public garden in Singapore. Atherton writes that one potential use for the self-driving golf carts is a shared vehicle system where the carts would “drive people to their destination, and then either return or seek new riders.”
According to a new study co-authored by Prof. Kerry Emanual, “cities such as Tampa and Dubai will become increasingly vulnerable to rare, global-warming-fueled superstorms in the future,” writes Doyle Rice for USA Today. The study found that warmer seawaters will increase the probability of major storms.
A new study by Prof. Kerry Emanuel found an increased probability of major storms over the coming century, writes Andrea Thompson for Scientific American. “The increase in odds of extreme storms found in the study stems both from a shift toward more intense hurricanes as well as an overall increase in hurricane frequency,” Thompson explains.