Aeronautical and astronautical engineering

Alexis Madrigal writes for The Atlantic about Professor Nicholas Roy’s work in leading the development of a delivery drone for Google. In mid-August, Roy and his colleagues conducted test flights of the drone in Australia. 

Charles Pulliam-Moore of the PBS NewsHour reports on new research from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab showing that humans are happier and more productive when robots are in control.  The research, “could lead to situations in which human employees could be empowered by machines, rather than replaced by them,” Pulliam-Moore writes. 

Katie Collins writes for Wired that MIT researchers have developed a new algorithm that will allow delivery drones to monitor their own health. “Drones will be able to keep an eye on their ability to do the job by predicting fuel levels and checking on the condition of propellers, cameras and other sensors,” writes Collins. 

Joao Medeiros writes about Professor Dava Newman’s work developing spacesuits that aid astronauts with exploration without encumbering movement. Newman’s BioSuit, “uses nickel titanium shape-memory alloys and applies the correct pressure to the human body (equivalent to 30 per cent of Earth's atmosphere) -- but it's flexible enough to put on and take off in minutes,” Medeiros reports.

CNBC reporter Paul Einstein writes about MIT spinoff Terrafugia, which is working on developing a flying car.  “The four-seater would be capable of vertical takeoffs and landings,” writes Epstein.