Electrical engineering and computer science (EECS)

In an article for The Boston Globe, Bryan Marquard writes about Prof. emeritus Marvin Minsky, co-founder of the former AI Lab (now CSAIL), a founding member of the Media Lab, and a pioneer in the field of AI, who passed away on Sunday.  

Prof. emeritus Marvin Minsky, one of the founders of the field of artificial intelligence, died Sunday at age 88, reports Glenn Rifkin for The New York Times. Rifkin writes that Minsky “combined a scientist’s thirst for knowledge with a philosopher’s quest for truth as a pioneering explorer of artificial intelligence.”

Boston Magazine reporter Kyle Clauss reports that researchers from MIT CSAIL have developed a drone that uses algorithms to detect obstacle-free regions in space.  “Using free-space segments is a more ‘glass-half-full’ approach that works far better for drones in small, cluttered spaces,” says MIT alumnus Benoit Landry.

Researchers from MIT CSAIL have developed an algorithm that allows drones to navigate obstacle courses, reports Kelsey Atherton for Popular Science. “As drones move away from simple remote-controlled toys and become more autonomous flying tools, programs like these will keep them flying safely through unfamiliar terrain,” explains Atherton. 

Cade Metz writes for Wired that MIT researchers have developed a system that allows robots to predict how objects will move. Postdoc Ilker Yildirim explains that in order for a robot to be able to assist with household tasks like washing the dishes, it must “deeply understand its physical environments.”

MIT computer scientists have developed a program that can predict how objects will move with the same accuracy as humans, reports Mary Beth Griggs for Popular Science. The researchers hope to eventually be able to program the system to “make predictions in the natural world even faster than we can.”

An AI system created by MIT researchers can predict how physical objects move through the world with human-like accuracy, reports Curt Woodward for BetaBoston. “Where humans learn to make such judgments intuitively, we essentially had to teach the system each of these properties,” explains postdoc Ilker Yildirim.

MIT researchers have created an algorithm that can identify what traits make an image memorable, reports Matt McFarland for The Washington Post. The algorithm could prove useful in developing educational tools as “textbooks and teaching aids could start to use visual aids that have been proven to stick in our heads,” McFarland explains.

MIT researchers have developed an algorithm that can predict the memorability of images with human-like accuracy, reports Adrienne Lafrance for The Atlantic. The researchers explained that their work demonstrates that “predicting human cognitive abilities is within reach for the field of computer vision.”

Scott Eisen of the Associated Press explores a new motion-tracking device developed by MIT researchers that can detect movement using wireless signals. "It's a sensor that can monitor people and allow you to control devices just by pointing at them," explains graduate student Fadel Adib. 

Boston.com reporter Megan McGinnes writes that MIT researchers are developing software that can predict how well people will remember certain images. Users of the new software “can feed images into the database, which are then overlaid with a heat map to show regions of the photo viewers are most likely to remember.”

CSAIL researchers have developed an algorithm that can predict the memorability of an image with near-human accuracy, reports Curt Woodward for BetaBoston. Woodward explains that “the technology could be used to make learning materials more memorable and advertising pitches more effective.”

A new learning program developed by researchers from MIT, NYU and the University of Toronto imitates the way humans learn, according to EFE. The researchers aim to “reduce the difference in learning capability between humans and machines.”

Researchers from MIT, NYU and the University of Toronto have created a learning program that can grasp new concepts just like humans do, reports Will Dunham for Reuters. “Judges found the work produced by the computers to be virtually indistinguishable from that of human subjects,” explains Dunham. 

A new advance in machine learning allows a computer program to recognize and draw handwritten characters based off a few examples, reports John Markoff for The New York Times.  Markoff explains that the “improvements are noteworthy because so-called machine-vision systems are becoming commonplace in many aspects of life.”