Robotics

Electric motors find new roles in robots, ships, cars, and microgrids

James Kirtley discusses the transition from gas to electric motors and the impact these motors have had on modern technologies.

October 24, 2016

“One thing you realize working in this lab is that we are really far away from the robot apocalypse,” says MIT senior Sarah Hensley, who is working with a team of researchers to prepare Valkyrie, a humanoid robot, for future space missions.

Prepping a robot for its journey to Mars

Senior Sarah Hensley aims to improve Earth's most advanced humanoid robot, in advance of its trip to the Red Planet.

October 18, 2016

MIT researchers outfitted their cube robot with shock-absorbing “skins” (left) that transfer less than half of the energy that would normally be transferred to the ground.

3-D-printed robots with shock-absorbing skins

By “programming” customized soft materials, CSAIL team can 3-D print safer, nimbler, more durable robots.

October 3, 2016

ROBOAT, a new collaboration between researchers from MIT and partner institutions in the Netherlands, seeks to design and deploy a fleet of autonomous boats on the canals of Amsterdam.

An autonomous fleet for Amsterdam

MIT, AMS Institute will collaborate to solve complex urban problems for Amsterdam with the development of autonomous "roboats."

September 19, 2016

A new system that can anticipate room assignments and suggest which nurses to assign to patients for C-sections and other procedures provided satisfactory recommendations to nurses 90 percent of the time.

Robot helps nurses schedule tasks on labor floor

System from Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab suggests where to move patients and who should do C-sections.

July 13, 2016

“It’s intuitive that if a bunch of people are randomly walking around an area, the number of times they bump into each other will be a surrogate of the population density,” says Cameron Musco, an MIT graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science. “What we’re doing is giving a rigorous analysis behind that intuition, and also saying that the estimate is a very good estim...

Exploring networks efficiently

Analysis of ant colony behavior could yield better algorithms for network communication.

July 13, 2016

“It’s okay if it breaks and blows up”

MIT’s thriving maker culture is on display in ABC network’s “BattleBots” competition.

June 30, 2016

Building better trust between humans and machines

MIT-SUTD researchers are creating improved interfaces to help machines and humans work together to complete tasks.

June 21, 2016

Lockheed Martin CTO Keoki Jackson '89, SM '92, ScD '97 (center, left) and MIT AeroAstro department head Jaime Peraire congratulate each other after signing a research collaboration agreement between the two organizations. Initial research will focus on robotics and autonomous systems.

MIT, Lockheed Martin launch long-term research collaboration

Initial focus will be on transformative technologies, autonomy, and robotics.

May 16, 2016

“It’s really exciting to see our small origami robots doing something with potential important applications to healthcare,” Daniela Rus says. Pictured, an example of a capsule and the unfolded origami device.

Ingestible origami robot

Robot unfolds from ingestible capsule, removes button battery stuck to wall of simulated stomach.

May 12, 2016

Instructors modeled the competition’s obstacle course after major landmarks from the American Revolution, including replicas of Boston’s North Church, Concord’s Old North Bridge, and the “H.M.S. Beaver.”

2.007 robots battle it out, revolutionary-style

Motors smoking, robot reenacted Paul Revere’s ride to win competition.

May 6, 2016

MIT researchers will present a new, decentralized planning algorithm for teams of robots that factors in not only stationary obstacles, but moving obstacles, as well. The algorithm still comes with strong mathematical guarantees that the robots will avoid collisions.

Robotic consensus

Control algorithm for teams of robots factors in moving obstacles.

April 21, 2016

The goal of MIT's "Duckiebot" class was to create a fleet of 50 self-driving taxis that can navigate the roads of a model city with just a single on-board camera and no pre-programmed maps.

Self-driving cars, meet rubber duckies

“Duckietown” class at Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab teaches autonomy, aims to become global research platform.

April 20, 2016

“Algorithms, Identity, and Society” was held before a capacity audience at MIT’s Bartos Theater, and sponsored by MIT’s noted program in Science, Technology, and Society.

Identity theft?

Automation helps us in many ways, but does it steal our sense of self?

April 8, 2016

This 3-D hexapod robot moves via a single motor, which spins a crankshaft that pumps fluid to the robot’s legs. Besides the motor and battery, every component is printed in a single step with no assembly required.

First-ever 3-D printed robots made of both solids and liquids

System from Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab 3-D prints hydraulically-powered robot bodies, with no assembly required.

April 6, 2016

MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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