Autonomous vehicles

As part of a $35 million materials science discovery program, The Toyota Research Institute will support three MIT-affiliated projects directed at advancing technologies that underpin the future of mobility and autonomous systems and energy storage, such as rechargeable batteries used in hybrid and electric cars.

Multi-university effort will advance materials, define the future of mobility

With support from the Toyota Research Institute, MIT faculty will focus on next-generation energy storage.

April 3, 2017

Professor Moshe Ben-Akiva presented his research on smart mobility at the Infrastructure, Smart Cities and Transportation Workshop. The event was part of a collaboration between MIT and Parsons Corporation.

At the intersection of industry and academia

Infrastructure, Smart Cities and Transportation Workshop sheds light on collaboration opportunities between MIT and Parsons Corporation.

March 22, 2017

Researchers including MIT professor Daniela Rus (left) and research scientist Stephanie Gil (right) have developed a technique for preventing malicious hackers from commandeering robot teams’ communication networks. To verify the theoretical predictions, the researchers implemented their system using a battery of distributed Wi-Fi transmitters and an autonomous helicopter.

Security for multirobot systems

New technique could protect robot teams’ communication networks from malicious hackers.

March 16, 2017

Professor Daniela Rus stands with autonomous SMART vehicles on the MIT campus.

SMART automation

MIT Professor Daniela Rus combines automation and mobility to create a smarter world.

January 19, 2017

The Ethics and Governance of Artificial Intelligence Fund will support work around the world that advances the development of artificial intelligence in the public interest.

MIT Media Lab to participate in $27 million initiative on AI ethics and governance

Fund establishes a global initiative to advance artificial intelligence research for the public good.

January 10, 2017

A new MIT system first creates a graph of vehicles (circles) and ride requests (stars) in a city, and then uses a method called “integer linear programming” to compute the best assignment of vehicles to trips.

How ride-sharing can improve traffic, save money, and help the environment

Study shows carpooling apps could reduce congestion by a factor of three while still serving the same number of people.

January 4, 2017

MIT engineers have studied a simple vehicle-platooning scenario and determined the best ways to deploy vehicles in order to save fuel and minimize delays.

Driverless platoons

Analysis finds autonomous trucks that drive in packs could save time and fuel.

December 20, 2016

A four-rotor "bunnycopter" developed at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory features propellers at different heights.

Design your own custom drone

CSAIL system lets users design and fabricate drones with a wide range of shapes and structures.

December 5, 2016

A light-trapping diamond waveguide developed at MIT Lincoln Laboratory is one of the technologies honored with a 2016 R&D 100 Award. The waveguide is capable of efficiently guiding a green excitation laser beam along a meter-long optical path in a millimeter-scale diamond.

MIT Lincoln Laboratory garners six 2016 R&D 100 Awards

Innovations in air traffic safety, biomedical devices, and magnetic field detection earn accolades.

November 21, 2016

Research from Senseable City Lab’s HubCab project on the potential for taxi sharing shows how more than 150 million taxi trips connect the city of New York in a given year. Yellow represents taxi pickups, while blue indicates drop-offs.

A future of shared mobility

MIT and Uber team up to study the potential for shared rides and vehicles to reshape urban mobility.

November 8, 2016

An autonomous mobility scooter and related software were designed by researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), the National University of Singapore, and the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART).

Driverless-vehicle options now include scooters

Self-driving scooter demonstrated at MIT complements autonomous golf carts and city cars.

November 7, 2016

In experiments, the researchers fired a laser beam through a “mask” — a thick sheet of plastic with slits cut through it in a certain configuration, such as the letter A — and then through a 1.5-centimeter “tissue phantom,” a slab of material designed to mimic the optical properties of human tissue for purposes of calibrating imaging systems. Light scattered by the tissue phantom was ...

Toward visible-light-based imaging for medical devices, autonomous vehicles

System accounts for the deflection of light particles passing through animal tissue or fog.

September 29, 2016

ROBOAT, a new collaboration between researchers from MIT and partner institutions in the Netherlands, seeks to design and deploy a fleet of autonomous boats on the canals of Amsterdam.

An autonomous fleet for Amsterdam

MIT, AMS Institute will collaborate to solve complex urban problems for Amsterdam with the development of autonomous "roboats."

September 19, 2016

A localizing ground-penetrating radar system from the MIT Lincoln Laboratory complements existing technology, with the goal of achieving safe autonomous vehicles.

Pinpointing vehicles with high precision under adverse weather conditions

MIT Lincoln Laboratory radar system achieves centimeter-level localization; could help driverless cars stay in lane when road markings are obscured.

June 23, 2016

“Most people want to live in in a world where cars will minimize casualties,” says Iyad Rahwan, an associate professor in the MIT Media Lab and co-author of a new paper outlining the study. “But everybody wants their own car to protect them at all costs.”

Driverless cars: Who gets protected?

Study shows inconsistent public opinion on safety of driverless cars.