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Washington Post reporter Brian Fung writes that MIT researchers have developed an algorithm to create images of black holes by compiling data from radio telescopes around the world. Fung writes that the algorithm “could give us the first true images of a celestial phenomenon that, for decades, we've left to artists to imagine and describe with pictures.”
An algorithm developed by MIT researchers could help produce the first image of a black hole, reports Ryan Mandelbaum for Popular Science. Mandelbaum explains that the algorithm gathers data from radio telescopes around the globe and then uses “other images from space as references to craft a sort of mosaic that best matches the data from the telescopes.”
Boston Globe reporters J.D. Capelouto and Olivia Arnold write that MIT researchers have developed an algorithm aimed at producing images of black holes. MIT graduate student Katie Bouman notes that while there are predictions of what a black hole might look like, “it’s great to actually be able to probe it and…construct those images.”
Prof. Daniela Rus speaks with The Boston Globe’s Kevin Hartnett about her goal to create customizable, printable robots. “The idea is anyone could walk into a 24-hour robot manufacturing store with some idea of what they want,” Rus says. “Maybe a robot to entertain the cat while you’re at work or play chess with you or fold your laundry.”
Boston.com reporter Sanjay Salomon writes about how “Duckietown,” a model city developed by MIT researchers, could help make self-driving cars a reality. “We realized if you scale down autonomous driving to something very small there’s lots of research to do on a smaller scale with none of the logistical challenges of real autonomous vehicle research,” explains postdoc Liam Paull.
A new analysis by MIT researchers verifies the difficulty of the popular video game “Super Mario Brothers.” MIT researchers found that the game’s challenges belong to the “PSPACE” category of equations, “requiring exponential time to both solve, and to prove algorithmically,” G. Clay Whittaker of Popular Science explains.
The Economist reports that Prof. Daniela Rus and Dr. Shuhei Miyashita have developed a tiny origami robot that can be swallowed and used to collect dangerous items that have been accidentally ingested. “The device is based on foldable robot technology that their team of researchers have been working on for years.”
Prof. Daniela Rus speaks on Marketplace Tech about the origami robot that her group developed to serve as a microsurgeon. “This robot is ingestible in the form of a capsule,” explains Rus. “Once the robot reaches the stomach, the robot unfolds and can do interesting tasks.”
In an article for USA Today, Mary Bowerman writes that MIT researchers have “developed a tiny robot that can unfold itself from a biodegradable capsule once ingested, and then crawl across the stomach to remove swallowed items like button batteries.”
Popular Science reporter Christine Jun writes that the MIT team has unveiled the pod they developed to compete in the SpaceX Hyperloop competition. Jun explains that the MIT team’s pod is “8 feet long, weighs 500 pounds, and is expected to reach speeds up to 230 miles per hour with an acceleration of 2.4 Gs.”
Writing for Scientific American, Larry Greenemeier explores the pod the MIT Hyperloop team developed to compete in the upcoming SpaceX Hyperloop competition. “One of the most interesting parts of the Hyperloop is the attempt to go significantly faster than any other type of land travel,” says MIT team member and graduate student Greg Monahan.
In this video, Dave Lee reports for the BBC News from the MIT Hyperloop team’s unveiling event, during which the team revealed the prototype pod they designed for the SpaceX Hyperloop competition. Lee explains that the MIT team developed a “droplet-shaped pod [that] uses magnets to lift itself off the aluminum track, reducing friction.”
K.G. Orphanides writes for Wired about an ingestible origami robot developed by MIT researchers to patch wounds in the stomach and remove foreign objects. “The robot is swallowed in a capsule and unfolds once in the stomach as its container dissolves,” Orphanides explains.
A pill-sized origami robot developed by MIT researchers could be used to help retrieve swallowed items, such as button batteries, reports Kate Baggaley for Popular Science. “The origami robots could help to move the battery through the digestive system faster, before it has time to break down and start leaking,” Baggaley explains.
Huffington Post reporter Thomas Tamblyn writes that MIT researchers have developed a tiny, origami robot that can be ingested liked a normal pill to retrieve swallowed items from the stomach and to patch small wounds. Tamblyn writes that once the robot “reaches the stomach the acids break away the outer shell allowing the robot to expand.”