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In this watercolor scene a cartoon robot sees a smiling face in the moon, while a dog looks on.

AI pareidolia: Can machines spot faces in inanimate objects?

New dataset of “illusory” faces reveals differences between human and algorithmic face detection, links to animal face recognition, and a formula predicting where people most often perceive faces.

September 30, 2024

Five guys are in the office around their quadruped robot Spot.

Helping robots zero in on the objects that matter

A new method called Clio enables robots to quickly map a scene and identify the items they need to complete a given set of tasks.

September 30, 2024

3 students gather around an orange motorcycle with a partially exposed design, showcasing intricate mechanical components

MIT students combat climate anxiety through extracurricular teams

The MIT Electric Vehicle Team, Sustainable Engine Team, Solar Electric Vehicle Team, Motorsports Team, First Nations Launch Team, and Arcturus are each doing their part to improve the health of our planet.

September 9, 2024

More than a dozen people sit around shared tables with laptops running App Inventor

First AI + Education Summit is an international push for “AI fluency”

The three-day, hands-on conference hosted by the MIT RAISE Initiative welcomed youths and adults from nearly 30 countries.

August 27, 2024

Ellen Roche holds a heart model in her lab filled with equipment.

Engineering and matters of the heart

Professor Ellen Roche is creating the next generation of medical devices to help repair hearts, lungs, and other tissues.

August 21, 2024

Illustration of a woman with a coffee pot approaching a man with a drinking glass. Both have thought bubbles regarding their intention to fill the glass with coffee. In the background, a robot has a speech bubble with the “no” symbol.

AI assistant monitors teamwork to promote effective collaboration

An AI team coordinator aligns agents’ beliefs about how to achieve a task, intervening when necessary to potentially help with tasks in search and rescue, hospitals, and video games.

August 19, 2024

Rendering of four square batteries in fluid

MIT engineers design tiny batteries for powering cell-sized robots

These zinc-air batteries, smaller than a grain of sand, could help miniscule robots sense and respond to their environment.

August 15, 2024

A cartoon robot inspects a pile of wingdings with a magnifying glass, helping it think about how to piece together a jigsaw puzzle of a robot moving to different locations.

LLMs develop their own understanding of reality as their language abilities improve

In controlled experiments, MIT CSAIL researchers discover simulations of reality developing deep within LLMs, indicating an understanding of language beyond simple mimicry.

August 14, 2024

A diagram of the implantable device that releases naloxone

An implantable sensor could reverse opioid overdoses

The new device, which can be implanted under the skin, rapidly releases naloxone when an overdose is detected.

August 14, 2024

A dual-arm robot manipulates objects on a table in front of it

A new model offers robots precise pick-and-place solutions

SimPLE learns to pick, regrasp, and place objects using the objects’ computer-aided design model.

August 9, 2024

Four panels illustrate a quadrupedal robot sweeping with a broom and moving some torus-shaped objects

Helping robots practice skills independently to adapt to unfamiliar environments

A new algorithm helps robots practice skills like sweeping and placing objects, potentially helping them improve at important tasks in houses, hospitals, and factories.

August 8, 2024

Flexible electronics with the recyclable icon

New substrate material for flexible electronics could help combat e-waste

Electronic waste is a rapidly growing problem, but this degradable material could allow the recycling of parts from many single-use and wearable devices.

August 6, 2024

At left, Cynthia Breazeal and two mentees converse in a lab. At right, Ming Guo sits and is surrounded by graduate students

From large labs to small teams, mentorship thrives

Professors Cynthia Breazeal and Ming Guo are honored as “Committed to Caring.”

August 1, 2024

Marcel Torne Villasevil and Pulkit Agrawal stand in front of a robotic arm, which is picking up a cup

Precision home robots learn with real-to-sim-to-real

CSAIL researchers introduce a novel approach allowing robots to be trained in simulations of scanned home environments, paving the way for customized household automation accessible to anyone.

July 31, 2024

Seven people pose poolside. The four in front hold remotely operated underwater vehicles that they built.

Edgerton Center hosts workshop for Deaf high school students in STEM

When instructor Amanda Gruhl Mayer ’99, PhD ’08 discovered that deaf students have limited access to STEM, she dedicated the next four years of her career to addressing this issue.

July 26, 2024

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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