Brooks Hays of UPI writes that Prof. Brian Williams has developed a new system that allows autonomous underwater vehicles to operate independently. Robots using the new system “are able to navigate underwater expanses and execute research tasks on their own. Researchers simply dictate high-level goals, and the submersible calculates the most efficient path forward."
MIT researchers have developed a new system that gives underwater robots more decision-making capabilities, reports Kelsey Atherton for Popular Science. Atherton explains that developing machines that can operate without human control could “usher in a whole new age of discovery.”
Chuck Bednar writes for redOrbit that a team of MIT researchers has developed a method for defending against cyberattacks in the cloud and implemented their new technique in computer chips. “By adapting the technology to chips used in home systems, they are looking to key prying eyes from stealing your computer’s data,” Bednar reports.
Natasha Singer writes for The New York Times about Professor Natasha Dow Schüll’s research examining how people have begun to use technology to alter their behavior. “It is not really about self-knowledge anymore,” says Schüll. “It’s the nurselike application of technology.”
Lauren Beavin of Boston Magazine speaks with A.M. Turing Award recipient Michael Stonebraker about why Boston is such a great place for computer scientists. The Boston tech scene "is way above critical mass, and the quality of life here is very, very high,” Stonebraker explains.
The Economist highlights “Strategy Rules,” a new book co-authored by Prof. Michael Cusumano that draws lessons from the careers of three tech executives. “The book provides plenty of insight to help navigate a world that is ever more driven by IT.”
In an article for The Huffington Post about teaching kids computer programming, Joni Blecher highlights the robotic garden developed by researchers from the Department of Mechanical Engineering and CSAIL. The garden has “over 100 flowers that can be controlled via a Bluetooth-enabled device.”
The ACM has awarded the A.M. Turing Award, widely regarded as the “Nobel Prize in Computing,” to CSAIL researcher and adjunct professor Michael Stonebraker, reports Barb Darrow for Fortune. Stonebraker is “famous for arguing that database is not a one-size-fits-all category."
Michael Stonebraker, a principal investigator at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab and an adjunct professor at MIT, has won the A.M. Turning Award for his work with database management systems, reports Nidhi Subbaraman for BetaBoston. “This is every computer scientist’s lifetime dream, and it came true for me,” said Stonebraker.
Nidhi Subbaraman writes for BetaBoston about MIT’s new cybersecurity initiatives designed to “tackle tech security problems both big and small.” The new efforts are aimed at addressing cybersecurity’s technical, policy and business challenges.
BBC News reports on the “FingerSynth,” a glove created by graduate student Gershon Dublon “that allows you to hear the sounds of objects through touch.” The device allows the wearer to explore the resonance of different physical objects.
In a TED talk, Prof. Kevin Slavin speaks about the potential dangers surrounding the growing influence of computer algorithms in finance, and the physical environment. “We’ve lost the sense of what’s actually happening in this world that we’ve made,” says Slavin.
GIFGIF, a project by graduate students Kevin Hu and Travis Rich, maps human emotions by asking people to select which GIFS best represent a specific feeling, reports Jon Christian for Wired. Hu and Rich hope that all of the data collected through GIFGIF “will make it easier to write programs that deal with emotional content.”
Spencer Kelly of BBC News visits the MIT Distributed Robotics Lab to see how researchers have developed software that allows robots to build Ikea furniture. Kelly explains that the goal of the research is to “work towards robots that can work together collaboratively to build complex structures.”
Peter Shadbolt of CNN reports that MIT researchers have incorporated social networking into clothing, creating a T-shirt that displays the wearer's interests and associations. "We wanted to examine more tangible ways of representing ourselves in social media," explains graduate student Viirj Kan.