A new robot developed by MIT researchers uses AI and sensors to play the game of Jenga, reports Rob Verger for Popular Science. “It decides on its own which block to push, [and] which blocks to probe; it decides on its own how to extract them; and it decides on its own when it’s a good idea to keep extracting them, or to move to another one,” says Prof. Alberto Rodriguez.
Wired reporter Matt Simon writes that MIT researchers have engineered a robot that can teach itself to play the game of Jenga. As Simon explains, the development is a “big step in the daunting quest to get robots to manipulate objects in the real world.”
In this video, NBC Mach highlights the robotic cheetah developed by MIT researchers that can navigate without cameras or sensors. While most robots require light to explore their surroundings, the “Cheetah 3 will be able to feel its way through light-less situations such as caves or mines.”
MIT researchers have updated their robotic cheetah to allow it to move without relying on external vision sensors, reports Lisa Spear for Newsweek. Spear explains that, “an algorithm helps the mechanical creature determine the best time to transition a leg between a swing and a step, by constantly calculating the probabilities of each legs' movement.”
Axios reporter Kaveh Waddell writes about the Cheetah 3 robot, which navigates its environment without cameras. Waddell explains that, “the researchers measure the force on each of the Cheetah's legs straight from the motors that control them, allowing it to move fast — at 3 meters per second, or 6.7 miles an hour — and jump up onto a table from a standstill.”
This CNN video profiles the new Cheetah 3 robot, which can avoid obstacles and climb stairs without using external visual sensors. CNN notes that the cheetah, “relies on ‘feel’ in place of cameras or sensors, using ‘blind locomotion.’”
ABC News reporter Bopha Phorn writes about the latest iteration of a robotic cheetah developed by MIT researchers. Phorn explains that the researchers hope the cheetah will eventually be able to, “help some work that’s impossible for humans to do,” like search and rescue operations.
In this video, Reuters reporter Roselle Chen spotlights the Cheetah 3 robot, which utilizes two algorithms to run across rough terrain and maintain its balance without using cameras or sensors. Chen explains that the robot being able to navigate without cameras or sensors is like a human being able to walk around while its pitch black out.
MIT researchers have unveiled the latest iteration of their robotic cheetah that can navigate without the use of cameras or sensors and could be used for disaster response, reports Jordan Graham for The Boston Herald. “We’re mostly thinking about sending robots instead of humans where potential hazards like toxicity or radiation or dangers can be,” explains Prof. Sangbae Kim.
Writing for Popular Mechanics, Eric Limer highlights how the updated Cheetah 3 robot can navigate by feeling its way around its environment and can leap up onto tables. Limer explains that the robotic cheetah is, “able to rear back on its hind legs, leap into the air, and make a solid landing on a platform much taller than it is.”
TechCrunch reporter Brian Heater writes that Prof. Sangbae Kim and his research group robotic cheetah can now run up the stairs and walk over debris without the use of cameras or sensors. Heater explains that the robot, “utilizes a pair of new algorithms — contact detection and model-predictive control — which help it recover its balance in the case of slippage.”
Verge reporter Rachel Becker writes that MIT researchers have developed a robotic cheetah that can run up the stairs and navigate without the use of cameras. Becker explains that the Cheetah 3 robot navigates its environment by touch, which could allow it to, “venture where humans can’t — like deep inside power plants for inspections.”
In an article for The Wall Street Journal, Christopher Matthews highlights a new study by Prof. Kerry Emanuel that shows Texas faces an increased risk of devastating rainfall due to climate change. The study demonstrated how greenhouse gas emissions, “help warm offshore waters—a phenomenon that can magnify the severity of storms and generate more rain, creating bigger floods.”
Prof. Kerry Emanuel released a new paper that analyzes the impact of Hurricane Harvey, writes Bloomberg’s Eric Roston. Emanuel found that “Harvey’s rainfall in Houston was ‘biblical’ in the sense that it likely occurred around once since the Old Testament was written.”
A recent study from Prof. Kerry Emanuel suggests that, due to climate change, “massive hurricanes like Harvey are expected to strike Houston and Texas with much greater frequency in the future than they do now,” writes Deborah Netburn for the Los Angeles Times.