In their round up of the top science stories of 2016, Science News highlighted several MIT research breakthroughs. The top story of the year was the successful detection of gravitational waves by researchers from MIT, Caltech and the LIGO Scientific Collaboration. Another highlight was the discovery by Prof. Susan Solomon that the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is shrinking.
A new system developed by MIT researchers can predict how a scene will unfold, similar to how humans can visually imagine the future, reports Ed Gent for Scientific American. Graduate student Carl Vondrick explains that the system is “an encouraging development in suggesting that computer scientists can imbue machines with much more advanced situational understanding."
Steven Melendez of NBC News writes that a new system developed by CSAIL researchers can predict the future by examining a photograph. Grad student Carl Vondrick explains that the system’s ability to forecast normal behavior could allow it to be used for applications like self-driving cars.
New Scientist reporter Victoria Turk writes that MIT researchers have developed a system that can predict the future based off of a still image. Turk writes that the system could enable “an AI assistant to recognize when someone is about to fall, or help a self-driving car foresee an accident.”
In this WCVB segment, CSAIL postdocs Robert MacCurdy and Jeffrey Lipton explain their work developing a shock-absorbing material that could be used to help protect robots and smartphones, or in helmets. Liquid is used in the material to “absorb the energy and keep it inside,” Lipton explains.
Grace Williams reports for FOX News that CSAIL researchers are 3-D printing shock-absorbing skins to protect robots. “Dubbed the ‘programmable viscoelastic material’ (PVM) technique, MIT’s printing method gives objects the precise stiffness or elasticity they require,” writes Williams.
To develop safer, more durable robots, CSAIL researchers have developed a technique to 3-D print robots with shock-absorbing skins, reports Matt McFarland for CNN. McFarland explains that as the “‘bumpers’ aren't rigid, it's less dangerous for a robot to crash into something.”
Popular Science reporter Mary Beth Griggs writes that researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab have developed a method to 3-D print robots with customized shock absorbers. The researchers hope that the “shock absorbing material could be used to create better shock absorbers for delivery drones, shock-resistant shoe soles, and even helmets.”
Prof. Rainer Weiss speaks with Marco Werman of PRI about his childhood, what inspired his interest in science, and black holes. "One of the dreams I would have, had Einstein been still alive, is to tell him about this,” said Weiss, of the successful detection of gravitational waves. “I would have loved to have seen what he would have thought.”
Dr. Mallika Marshall reports for CBS Boston that MIT researchers have created a robot that helps maternity nurses make scheduling and placement decisions. “What we found was that the suggestions of the robot were accepted 90 percent of the time, which was very exciting for us,” explains Prof. Julie Shah.
A study co-authored by Prof. Susan Silbey found that many women leave engineering because of sexism at school and in the workplace, writes Valentina Zarya for Fortune. The researchers found that “female engineers’ first substantive experiences with sexism occurred in school, with many women describing being treated differently by professors and classmates.”
A new WiFi system developed by CSAIL researchers is three times faster than a normal wireless network, writes Thomas Tamblyn for The Huffington Post. The new system allows transmitters “to work together and make sure that they’re sending information that isn’t clashing to each device,” explains Tamblyn.
In an article for Forbes, Kevin Murnane writes that a new system developed by MIT researchers significantly improves WiFi performance. Murnane writes that the system “could be used at locations like concert halls and sports stadiums to eliminate the poor WiFi performance people often experience in these venues.”
Matt McFarland writes for CNN that CSAIL researchers have created a new system that can transfer wireless data 3.3 times faster than usual. McFarland explains that to increase the speed of data transfer, researchers “developed algorithms that process a router's signal so that multiple routers can send information on the same wireless spectrum without causing interference.”
MIT researchers have developed a database of annotated English words written by non-native English speakers, reports Kevin Hartnett for The Boston Globe. The database will provide “a platform for the study of learner English and also make it easier to develop technology like better search engines that supports non-native speakers.”