In an article for The Conversation, Prof. Steven Barrett details how he was inspired by science fiction movies to create an airplane that makes no noise, has no moving parts and does not require fossil fuels to operate. Barrett explains that he hopes the new technology “could be used in larger aircraft to reduce noise and even allow an aircraft’s exterior skin to help produce thrust.”
Inspired by “Star Trek,” Prof. Steven Barrett has developed a new silent airplane that does not require fossil fuels to operate and is powered by ionic wind thrusters, reports Malcom Ritter for the AP. Ritter explains that the technology that powers the plane could eventually be used “in airplane-like drones that perform tasks like environmental monitoring and surveillance.”
Writing for Popular Science, Rob Verger highlights how MIT researchers have built and flown “a radically different type of plane that is thrust through the air using just electricity and the movement of ions, a type of silent drive without moving parts out of science fiction.”
Scientific American reporter Angus Chen writes about how Prof. Steven Barrett has created the first-ever airplane that is powered by ionic wind thrusters and has no moving parts. “[Barrett] has demonstrated something truly unique,” says Prof. Mitchell Walker of the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Boston Herald reporter Jordan Graham writes that MIT researchers have developed an autonomous system that allows fleets of drones to navigate without GPS and could be used to help find missing hikers. “What we’re trying to do is automate the search part of the search-and-rescue problem with a fleet of drones,” explains graduate student Yulun Tian.
Smithsonian reporter Emily Matchar highlights how MIT researchers have developed a new system that enables data sharing between underwater and airborne devices. Prof. Fadel Adib explains that the technology could be used to “study marine life and have access to a whole new world that is still pretty much out of our reach today.”
MIT startup Skydio has launched a platform that allows users to create custom software that can be applied to the company’s autonomous drone, reports Nick Statt for The Verge. The platform will let “app makers and drone enthusiasts develop custom software that takes advantage of the device’s bevy of cameras and sensors, as well as its sophisticated computer vision software and machine learning algorithms.”
Prof. Fadel Abid speaks with IEEE Spectrum reporter Michael Koziol about a new system his research group developed to enable communication between underwater sources and the air. “We’re very interested in how deep and how high you can go,” says Adib. “Even from a theoretical perspective, we don’t even know what the limits are.”
FOX News reporter Jamie Rogers writes that MIT researchers have developed a new system that “helps solve a longstanding problem in wireless communication – how to send data directly from a submarine to a plane or drone.”
MIT researchers have developed a new system that allows data to be transmitted between underwater and airborne devices, according to the BBC News. The system could enable submarines to communicate with planes, and in the future the device could “help planes or drones detect the location of a submerged ‘black box’ flight recorder.”
Popular Mechanics reporter Avery Thompson describes a new method developed by MIT researchers to send signals between the water and the air by using sound waves to create detectable vibrations at the water’s surface. Thompson explains that the new technology could eventually make “exploring and living under the waves much easier.”
Engadget reporter Jon Fingas writes that MIT researchers have developed a new wireless device that allows data to be transmitted from an underwater source to the air. Fingas explains that the system could allow submarines to “send their findings directly to aircraft (including drones) circling above while remaining safely underwater, and without using boats as intermediaries.”
Engadget reporter Jon Fingas writes that MIT researchers have developed a tiny computer chip small enough to fit on a honeybee-sized drone that can help the drone navigate. The technology could eventually be applied to, “smart pills that navigate to where they're needed, or virtually any vehicle that may need to last for a very long time on one battery charge.”
Gabriel Bousquet ’17 speaks to BBC Click’s Gareth Mitchell about the robot he designed for his graduate thesis that was modeled after an albatross. Bosquet envisions using the robot to better understand “the exchanges between the atmosphere and ocean and carbon dioxide,” in the Antarctic Ocean, in an effort to learn more about climate change.
MIT researchers have developed a virtual reality environment in order to train drones, writes Logan Booker of Gizmodo. “It's a neat use of an emerging technology, one that makes a lot of sense when you think about it,” Booker concludes.