Computer science and technology

System loads Web pages 34 percent faster by fetching files more effectively

"Polaris" system from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab accelerates website load-time by decreasing network trips.

March 9, 2016

Students from MIT and Cambridge University completed various cybersecurity challenges as part of a 24-hour Cambridge 2 Cambridge hackathon.

MIT, Cambridge University team up for “Cambridge 2 Cambridge” hackathon

Hosted by the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, event featured mixed student teams tackling cybersecurity challenges.

March 7, 2016

“Data has traditionally been used by anyone from corporations to the government,” Mor Naaman says. “But the goal of this system is to make the data more useful for the individuals themselves, to give them more control, and to make it more useful to communities.”

Browsing in public

System lets Web users share aspects of their browsing history with friends, researchers.

March 7, 2016

Researchers have designed and built a quantum computer from five atoms in an ion trap. The computer uses laser pulses to carry out Shor’s algorithm on each atom, to correctly factor the number 15.

The beginning of the end for encryption schemes?

New quantum computer, based on five atoms, factors numbers in a scalable way.

March 3, 2016

Communication system could make it easier to design systems that enable humans and robots to work together in emergency-response teams.

Enabling human-robot rescue teams

System could help prevent robots from overwhelming human teammates with information.

February 17, 2016

“The problem with planning contingencies is that there are so many things that can go wrong, if you generated plans for all possible contingencies, you’d go nuts,” Brian Williams says.

Automatic contingency planning

Algorithm lets planning systems generate backup plans efficiently.

February 15, 2016

Much of Daskalakis’ work concentrates on the application of computer science techniques to game theory, a discipline that attempts to get a quantitative handle on human strategic reasoning.

Computer science meets economics

Constantinos Daskalakis adapts techniques from theoretical computer science to game theory.

February 4, 2016

A new chip could enable devices that help visually impaired users navigate their environments.

A virtual “guide dog” for navigation

Low-power chip processes 3-D camera data, could enable wearable device to guide the visually impaired.

February 2, 2016

“One of the most intriguing aspects of this research is that we’ve found that there are indeed universal properties of correct code that you can learn from one set of applications and apply to another set of applications,” Martin Rinard says.

Recognizing correct code

Automatic bug-repair system fixes 10 times as many errors as its predecessors.

January 29, 2016

“In research contexts, I’m driven mostly by the technical difficulty of the problem, and the opportunity to learn,” Sami Alsheikh explains.

Computer science and engineering major helps people while having fun

Senior Sami Alsheikh helps others, solves problems, and has fun doing both.

January 29, 2016

“Science is always subject to a set of assumptions,” David Gifford says. “What this whole study demonstrates, in my opinion, is that it’s important to think carefully about our assumptions.”

Mapping regulatory elements

Systematically searching DNA for regulatory elements indicates limits of previous thinking.

January 27, 2016

This diagram shows how an electrical voltage can be used to modify the oxygen concentration, and therefore the phase and structure, of strontium cobaltites. Pumping oxygen in and out transforms the material from the brownmillerite form (left) to the perovskite form (right).

Switchable material could enable new memory chips

Small voltage can flip thin film between two crystal states — one metallic, one semiconducting.

January 20, 2016

In a forest simulation, algorithms segment space into “obstacle-free regions” and then link them together to find a single collision-free route.

Drones dodge obstacles

Motion-planning algorithms allow drones to do donuts, figure-eights in object-filled environments.

January 19, 2016

Engineers at MIT have developed a queuing model that may help air traffic controllers direct departures more efficiently, minimizing runway congestion.

Cutting down runway queues

Model that predicts time from gate departure to takeoff could cut airport congestion, fuel waste.

January 14, 2016

The DriveWell app runs in the background of a smartphone, collecting data on driving behavior. Drivers receive a score on a scale from 1 to 100, a route map, and tips for improvement. Scores can also be used for insurance discounts, or to compete with friends and other drivers worldwide.

Smarter driving, using your phone

App that rates drivers’ behavior yields promising safety results on the road.

January 5, 2016

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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