CSAIL researchers have developed a mapping system for autonomous drones, writes Andrew Tarantola of Endgadet. Using depth-sensing technology to measure their immediate surroundings, the drone can “understand generally where it is in relation to obstacles and anticipate how it will need to change course to avoid them,” Tarantola explains.
New research shows that using volcanic ash in cement mixtures could enable “stronger and more environmentally friendly” construction in future cities, reports Sydney Periera for Newsweek. “There may be a tremendous implication of energy savings at the city scale,” Prof. Oral Büyükoztürk tells Periera.
Steve Lohr writes for the New York Times about graduate student Joy Buolamwini’s findings on the biases of artificial intelligence in facial recognition. “You can’t have ethical A.I. that’s not inclusive,” Buolamwini said. “And whoever is creating the technology is setting the standards.”
International Business Times reporter Himanshu Goenka writes about MIT’s recent research that examines how volcanic ash could serve as a concrete additive and reduce manufacturing energy usage by 16%. “Volcanic ash forms under high heat and high pressure, and nature kind of does all those chemical reactions for us,” said study coauthor Stephanie Chin, a senior in CEE.
NBC Mach’s Denise Chow writes about MIT research being done to develop color-changing, 3D printed clothing using UV light. “We wanted to know, how can we update the color of an object at any time?” said Prof. Stephanie Mueller.
Profs. James DiCarlo and Daniela Rus talk to the BBC’s Click about MIT Intelligence Quest. As they explain, the program aims to encourage discoveries in the areas of natural and artificial intelligence.
Los Angeles Times writer Amina Khan examines the planets that surround dwarf star TRAPPIST-1 – highlighting that most planets near earth’s size are likely to be rocky. “It will be really fascinating when we get to dive into the atmosphere of each of these planets and see how different or similar they are," said postdoc Julien de Wit.
Paul Solman of PBS Newshour speaks to Prof. Andrew Lo about getting investors to finance research into treatments for cancer and genetic diseases. “We now have the opportunity to treat disease in many, many different ways. We just don’t have enough money to explore all of the different pathways,” explains Prof. Lo.
Brian Heater writes for TechCrunch about the new Institute-wide initiative, MIT Intelligence Quest. “Many of the products are moonshoots. They involve teams of scientists and engineers working together. It’s essentially a new model and we need folks and resources behind that,” said Prof. James DiCarlo.
“Intriguing is that [MIT IQ] brings together researchers who study both human intelligence and artificial intelligence. The hope is that better understanding both of them will help develop new algorithms and techniques that can be used broadly,” writes Sean Captain for Fast Company.
In an article for Salon, Prof. Thomas Kochan writes about what employees would prioritize if they were given the opportunity to participate in discussions about workplace issues. “We found that there are large voice gaps across a range of worker concerns and that they are largest on basic economic issues of compensation and benefits, promotions and job security.”
MIT is launching a new initiative known as MIT Intelligence Quest, “in an effort to combine multiple disciplines to reverse engineer human intelligence, create new algorithms for machine learning and artificial intelligence and foster collaboration,” writes Larry Dignan for ZDNet.
MIT scientists have found that Legos can be used to create a portable, complex microfluidics lab, reports John Biggs of TechCrunch. While the Legos did have to be modified to run fine channels, the precision of the bricks and panels mean “you don’t need much more than a drill and some tubing to prototype a working microfluidics lab,” explains Biggs.
MIT Intelligence Quest, a new Institute-wide initiative that will advance human and machine intelligence research, “will help connect researchers across disciplines and support projects in which they work together, as well as seek collaborations with industry,” writes Andy Rosen for The Boston Globe.
Prof. Josh Tenenbaum spoke with Bob Oakes on WBUR’s Morning Edition about MIT Intelligence Quest. “This is fundamentally about coupling the basic science of how intelligence works in the human mind and brain, with the quest to engineer new more powerful, more humanlike machines. And to do all of this in service of our mission to make a better world, with a longer-term vision that really only a university like MIT can have,” said Tenenbaum.