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Richard Waters of The Financial Times reports that Toyota is funding new research centers at MIT and Stanford to research technologies that could enable computer-assisted driving. Waters explains that the goal behind the new centers is to give “drivers the choice one day of handing over full control to the AI ‘brains’ in their vehicles.”
In an effort to spur breakthroughs in autonomous driving technology, Toyota is funding new research centers at MIT and Stanford, the Associated Press reports. Prof. Daniela Rus explains that MIT researchers will be working on developing technology that would make it possible to build a car, “that is never responsible for a collision.”
Toyota has announced that it is funding new research centers at MIT and at Stanford dedicated to developing “intelligent” cars, reports John Markoff for The New York Times. “We see this as basic computer science, A.I. and robotics that will make a difference in transportation,” explains Prof. Daniela Rus.
A new center at MIT, a collaborative effort with Toyota, will be focused on broadening artificial intelligence technologies for cars, writes Eric Adams for Popular Science. Prof. Daniela Rus explains that the MIT center will dedicated to “helping reduce traffic casualties, and potentially even helping us develop a vehicle incapable of getting into a collision.”
Toyota is partnering with MIT and Stanford to research autonomous-vehicle technology, reports Marco della Cava for USA Today. “Toyota will use its MIT and Stanford investment dollars to develop on-board systems that will improve an automobile's ability to make smart driving decisions in split seconds when the driver is either unaware or too slow.”
MIT researchers have developed a robot called Hermes that is controlled by the motions of an exoskeleton-wearing human, reports Nidhi Subbaraman for BetaBoston. “What’s unique about Hermes is that Ramos is able to sense the robot’s balance through the harness,” writes Subbaraman.
Lindsay Kalter writes for The Boston Herald about a new robot developed by MIT researchers called HERMES, which is controlled by a human operator wearing an exoskeleton. “The idea here is you have a humanoid robot that you can send into a disaster situation, with someone operating it remotely,” explains graduate student Albert Wang.
Nitya Rajan writes for The Huffington Post that MIT researchers have developed a new human-robot interface that allows robots to mimic human actions. Rajan explains that the system allows the robot’s movements to be controlled by a human operator.
Wired reporter Katie Collins writes that MIT researchers have developed a robot with a unique balance-feedback interface that allows a human operator to control the balance and movements of the robot. Collins explains that the reason the robot’s “reflexes are so ‘human’ is because he is, in fact, mimicking precisely the actions of that person.”
MIT researchers have developed a new human-robot interface that could prove useful in disaster response, reports Keith Wagstaff for NBC News. Wagstaff explains that if the robot’s “human operator grabs a power tool, it will do the same -- an ability that could prove useful in the aftermath of an earthquake or nuclear meltdown.”
New York Times reporter John Markoff writes about Alias, a new system aimed at augmenting human pilots on flights. The system is being developed by Auroa Flight Sciences, which grew out of an MIT project, and with the assistance of researchers from MIT and Duke University.
An MIT team competing in the DARPA Robotics Challenge finished in sixth place during the final competition of the challenge, reports Hiawatha Bray for BetaBoston. “I thought it was amazing and inspiring, and it really gave the public a good picture of what the state of the art in robotics is,” says MIT postdoc Scott Kuindersma.
In this video, Monika Auger of The Wall Street Journal describes how MIT engineers have developed a robotic cheetah that can jump over obstacles autonomously. Auger explains that the robot’s vision and path planning systems give it "complete autonomous control over its movements.”
Neel Patel writes for Wired about how MIT researchers have trained their robotic cheetah to detect and leap over obstacles. The robot “estimates the height, size, and distance of objects in its path, and adjusts its approach to prepare a jump and safe landing—all without slowing down.”
Writing for The Washington Post, Rachel Feltman describes how the MIT robotic cheetah can jump over obstacles up to 18 inches tall. “The robot uses an algorithm to gauge the height and distance of upcoming obstacles, so it can clear them without breaking its (record-breaking) stride,” Feltman explains.