Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I&E)

D-Lab Scale-Ups Fellow Chebet Lesan holds a bag of her company's innovative charcoal briquettes, which are made from recycled waste. Lesan is the founder and CEO of BrightGreen Renewable Energy, which provides affordable, clean, safe, and eco-friendly charcoal briquettes for low-income households in Kenya.

Bringing poverty-alleviating solutions to market in India, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda

2017 D-Lab Scale-Ups are tackling energy access, small farm irrigation, portable medical diagnostics, online education, and support for local artisans.

August 16, 2017

Krystyn Van Vliet named associate provost

Engineer brings active interest in innovation to new role.

August 16, 2017

MIT startup Podimetrics has developed a smart mat that can detect early warning signs before foot ulcers form, which may drastically reduce amputations and cut medical costs.

Smart mat detects early warning signs of foot ulcers

Conceived at an MIT hackathon, system could reduce amputations, cut medical costs for diabetics.

August 15, 2017

Left to right: Infinite Cooling researchers graduate student Karim Khalil, associate professor of mechanical engineering Kripa Varanasi, and graduate student Maher Damak.

Infinite Cooling wins Cleantech University Prize competition

Startup is meeting global environmental needs by changing the way power plants use water.

August 8, 2017

New hybrid gas-to-electric drones from MIT spinout Top Flight Technologies offer an order-of-magnitude increase in range, payload size, and power over battery-powered counterparts. The drones may pave the way for package delivery and human flight.

Hybrid drones carry heavier payloads for greater distances

Startup’s gas-electric engines may pave way for package delivery and human flight.

August 4, 2017

A Flybrix LEGO drone lifts off. Flybrix kits let consumers “tinker around with LEGOs, come up with a design you like, and see it fly,” says cofounder Amir Hirsch ’06, SM ’07.

Startup soars with LEGO drones

Co-founded by Amir Hirsch ’06, SM ’07, Flybrix drones offers people of all ages the ability to fly their ideas.

August 3, 2017

Senreve's signature handbags are sold online only, allowing the company to offer a wider array of colors than brick-and-mortar competitors.

How to court millennial shoppers? Lose the logo

Alumna Wendy Wen '09 co-founded an online handbag company to create a new generation of luxury for savvy younger shoppers.

August 1, 2017

A three-day hackathon on campus brought together students and researchers from MIT and around Boston who developed functional fabric concepts to solve major issues facing soldiers in combat or training, first responders, victims and workers in refugee camps, and many others.

Hacking functional fabrics to aid emergency response

MIT and other innovators design novel solutions for the battlefield, disaster sites, and other dangerous environments.

August 1, 2017

The COBRA sensor is more portable and cost-effective than existing indirect calorimetry sensors. It includes a chest harness and bite grip that enable hands-free use of the system during exercise and training.

Monitoring metabolic energy expenditure, health, and fitness with a breath analyzer

Simple-to-use, low-cost respiratory sensor enables measurement and tracking of personal metabolism.

July 27, 2017

After piloting its smart microgardening system in Boston homes and restaurants, and following a successful Kickstarter campaign last fall, SproutsIO is ramping up production and hitting the shelves in a few months.

SproutsIO aims to power a “Personal Produce” movement

Smart, soil-free microgarden lets users optimize growing conditions while cutting water and resource use.

July 26, 2017

Twine has developed a platform that lets users build customized disease-management and care plans on an app, which then sends alerts about when to take medications, tracks the patient’s various health goals, and offers key analytics, among other features.

Coaching platform improves health outcomes, lowers medical costs

New app lets patients work alone or with others to prevent, monitor, and reverse chronic disease.

July 21, 2017

Researchers have developed a fast, inexpensive robotic device that can find even tiny leaks in pipes with pinpoint precision, no matter what the pipes are made of.

Finding leaks while they’re easy to fix

Robot can inspect water or gas pipes from the inside to find leaks long before they become catastrophic.

July 17, 2017

A study of how MIT students used the cryptocurrency Bitcoin shows that delaying access for tech-savvy early adopters can stifle the spread of new products.

Bitcoin study: Period of exclusivity encourages early adopters

Delaying access for the tech-savvy can stifle spread of new products, experiment with MIT students shows.

July 13, 2017

New research suggests that achieving smoother surfaces on a solid electrolyte could eliminate or greatly reduce the problem of dendrite formation.

Study suggests route to improving rechargeable lithium batteries

Smooth surfaces may prevent harmful deposits from working their way into a solid electrolyte.

July 12, 2017

mPath's MOXO sensor is a wearable that resembles a bulky smartwatch. Placed on the wrist, it wirelessly measures changes in skin conductance (subtle electrical changes across the skin), which reflect sympathetic nervous system activity and physiological arousal. Spikes in conductance can signal stress and frustration, while dips may indicate disinterest or boredom.

Wearable device reveals consumer emotions

Startup’s stress sensor tracks users’ unconscious responses to products and experiences.