MIT researchers have engineered viruses that take advantage of quantum physics, mimicking the process of photosynthesis, to enhance energy transfer, reports Alexandra Ossola for Popular Science. The work could result in “solar panels that transmit energy with unprecedented efficiency,” writes Ossola.
MIT researchers have developed a new material that mimics the cuttlefish’s ability to change texture, reports Gian Volpicelli for Wired. "We used ordinary plastic," explains graduate student Mark Guttag. "The important thing was figuring out the right difference in stiffness between the matrix and particles."
Prof. Kripa Varanasi was named to the Boston Business Journal’s “40 under 40” list, which honors “business and civic leaders who are making a major impact in the community while also improving the civic health of the Boston area through volunteer work and other forms of philanthropy.”
Prof. John Lienhard and Dr. Kenneth Strzepek write for The New York Times about the need for Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan to successfully share water from the Nile. “The world needs to get good at sharing water, and right away,” they write. “The alternative is frequent regional conflicts of unknowable proportions.”
In this video, Ben Gruber reports for Reuters on an MIT robot that is controlled by an operator wearing an exoskeleton. Prof. Sangbae Kim explains that his motivation was to develop “the best robot for disasters where we can actually use robots instead of risking human life.”
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.
Dominic Basulto writes for The Washington Post about the implications of a new method for 3-D printing glass created by MIT’s Mediated Matter Group. Basulto writes that the technology could eventually give us “the ability to create objects and applications that do not exist today.”
Researchers at MIT and Harvard have developed a new device that can quickly detect Ebola, reports Robert Preidt for U.S. News & World Report. “The new paper-based test takes minutes and the device does not require electricity,” writes Preidt. “The test works in a similar manner to over-the-counter pregnancy tests.”
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.