Robotics

L4DC co-organizer Ali Jadbabaie speaks to a packed room about the future of dynamical and control systems.

IDSS hosts inaugural Learning for Dynamics and Control conference

L4DC explored an emerging scientific area at the intersection of real-time physical data, machine learning, control theory, and optimization.

July 10, 2019

MIT graduate student Will Langford developed a machine that's like a cross between a 3-D printer and the pick-and-place machines that manufacture electronic circuits, but that can produce complete robotic systems directly from digital designs. (Video in "Related" sidebar below shows the assembly of a machine from five standard parts.)

Tiny motor can “walk” to carry out tasks

Mobile motor could pave the way for robots to assemble complex structures — including other robots.

July 2, 2019

"We don't want to lock anybody out because they haven't had a chance to program before," says MIT Lincoln Laboratory staff member Andrew Fishberg, of the RACECAR program he developed and taught at the Roxbury Innovation Center in Boston.

Lincoln Laboratory staff use race cars as a vehicle to teach coding

Laboratory staff teamed up with the Timothy Smith Network to offer a four-week coding course for middle school students.

July 1, 2019

A new study by researchers from MIT, Boston Children’s Hospital, and elsewhere shows that a “social robot,” named Huggable (pictured), can be used in support sessions to boost positive emotions in hospitalized children.

Study: Social robots can benefit hospitalized children

Interacting with a robotic teddy bear invented at MIT boosted young patients’ positive emotions, engagement, and activity level.

June 26, 2019

Robots currently attempt to identify objects in a point cloud by comparing a template object — a 3-D dot representation of an object, such as a rabbit — with a point cloud representation of the real world that may contain that object.

Spotting objects amid clutter

New approach quickly finds hidden objects in dense point clouds, for use in driverless cars or work spaces with robotic assistants.

June 19, 2019

Yunzhu Li is a PhD student at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL).

Teaching artificial intelligence to connect senses like vision and touch

MIT CSAIL system can learn to see by touching and feel by seeing, suggesting future where robots can more easily grasp and recognize objects.

June 17, 2019

A new algorithm helps robots predict the paths people take in structured environments like the factory floor, which may further enable close collaboration between humans and machines.

Algorithm tells robots where nearby humans are headed

A new tool for predicting a person’s movement trajectory may help humans and robots work together in close proximity.

June 10, 2019

MIT researchers have given their fleet of autonomous “roboats” the ability to automatically target and clasp onto each other — and keep trying if they fail. The roboats are being designed to transport people, collect trash, and self-assemble into floating structures in the canals of Amsterdam.

Autonomous boats can target and latch onto each other

Fleet of “roboats” could collect garbage or self-assemble into floating structures in Amsterdam’s many canals.

June 5, 2019

MIT researchers have developed a low-cost, sensor-packed glove that captures pressure signals as humans interact with objects. The glove can be used to create high-resolution tactile datasets that robots can leverage to better identify, weigh, and manipulate objects.

Sensor-packed glove learns signatures of the human grasp

Signals help neural network identify objects by touch; system could aid robotics and prosthetics design.

May 29, 2019

To bring more human-like reasoning to autonomous vehicle navigation, MIT researchers have created a system that enables driverless cars to check a simple map and use visual data to follow routes in new, complex environments.

Bringing human-like reasoning to driverless car navigation

Autonomous control system “learns” to use simple maps and image data to navigate new, complex routes.

May 22, 2019

Lead author Joseph DelPreto demonstrates the system's ability to mirror his movements by monitoring muscle activity.

This robot helps you lift objects — by looking at your biceps

CSAIL system can mirror a user's motions and follow nonverbal commands by monitoring arm muscles.

May 22, 2019

Sophomore Lydia Light, left, prepares her robot for competition, with MechE Associate Professor Amos Winter, right.

Robots shoot for the moon in MIT’s annual 2.007 competition

Robotic sweepers, flappers, and telescoping arms face off for a shot at coveted engineering prize.

May 10, 2019

MIT engineers have designed a magnetic microrobot that can help push drug-delivery particles into tumor tissue (left). They also employed swarms of naturally magnetic bacteria to achieve the same effect (right).

Nanoparticles take a fantastic, magnetic voyage

Tiny robots powered by magnetic fields could help drug-delivery nanoparticles reach their targets.

April 26, 2019

A new “particle simulator” developed by MIT researchers improves robots’ abilities to mold materials into simulated target shapes and interact with solid objects and liquids. This could give robots a refined touch for industrial applications or for personal robotics— such as shaping clay or rolling sticky sushi rice.

Giving robots a better feel for object manipulation

Model improves a robot’s ability to mold materials into shapes and interact with liquids and solid objects.

April 16, 2019

RoCycle can detect if an object is paper, metal, or plastic. CSAIL researchers say that such a system could potentially help enable the convenience of single-stream recycling with lower contamination rates that confirm to China's new recycling standards.

Robots that can sort recycling

CSAIL’s "RoCycle" system uses in-hand sensors to detect if an object is paper, metal or plastic.