Merrit Kennedy reports for NPR that MIT researchers have developed robotic artificial muscles that can lift 1,000 times their own weight. Prof. Daniela Rus explains that the technology could eventually be used to bring "soft strong mobility to people who are otherwise unable to move."
Writing for Fortune, Jamie Ducharme details how researchers from MIT and Harvard are one step closer to creating robots with superpowers, thanks to a new robotic artificial muscle they have developed. The new technology could be used, “in arenas ranging from medicine to architecture to space exploration,” Ducharme explains.
CBC News’ Anna Maria Tremonti explores a new study by MIT researchers that examines how children interact with AI toys. The study shows, “how children can develop emotional ties with the robots, which was cause for concern for the MIT researcher,” Tremonti explains.
HuffPost reporter Thomas Tamblyn writes that MIT and Harvard researchers have created a range of origami-inspired robotic muscles. “These ultra-flexible materials could be applied to everything from deep-sea robotics to creating tiny yet incredibly strong tools for performing surgery,” Tamblyn explains.
Researchers from MIT and Harvard have developed a new origami-inspired artificial muscle that can lift up to a thousand times its own weight, reports Amina Khan for The Los Angeles Times. Khan explains that the robotic muscles, “offer a new way to give soft robots super-strength, which could be used everywhere from inside our bodies to outer space.”
Rebecca Flint Marx of Wired writes about the ways automated technology is being used in the food industry. Highlighting Spyce Kitchen, which was developed by MIT students, Flint Marx writes, “at Spyce Kitchen, the robot chef needs less than five minutes to cook meals such as jambalaya or chickpea coconut curry.”
Researchers at MIT will begin studying how Boston-area drivers interact with driver assistance systems, reports Aarian Marshall for Wired. Research Engineer Bryan Reimer explains that he and his colleagues hope to gain a better understanding for how, “driving is beginning to transform from one where the human has primary oversight responsibility to one where the human is actively engaged in a robotic interaction with the vehicle.”
According to Prof. Robert Merton, wealth advisors are unlikely to be replaced by robots, writes Stacey Yuen for CNBC. Merton explains that the problem with replacing wealth managers with robo-advisors is a lack of trust. “What you need to make technology work is to create trust. Technology doesn't create trust on its own,” he notes.
In an article published by The Wall Street Journal about the future of programmable materials, Kelly and Zach Weinersmith highlight Prof. Daniela Rus’ work developing “origami bots that can shape themselves into tools to perform medical procedures or deliver drugs inside the body.”
WGBH’s Craig LeMoult reports on the future of work conference held at MIT this week, which examined how automation may impact the labor market. Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson explained that, “we're using technologies to augment not just our muscles but our brains, allowing us to control the world and make them figure things out more effectively.”
As part of HUBweek, more than two dozen robots were publicly displayed at City Hall Plaza reports Kim Tunnicliffe for CBS Boston. The “robot block party” featured an autonomous vehicle petting zoo, which included “self-driving vehicles created by nuTonomy, Optimus Ride, Delphi and a collaboration between Toyota and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”
Prof. Daniela Rus talks to Gareth Mitchell of BBC’s Click about how she and her colleagues have developed shape-shifting robots that can change their exoskeletons to perform different tasks. “These types of robots could become superheroes for the robot kingdom,” explains Rus. “A robot could amplify all of its capabilities by taking on these different types of clothes.”
CSAIL researchers have developed a virtual reality system that allows operators to control robots remotely, reports Anthony Cuthbertson for Newsweek. The system, “uses off-the-shelf gaming and VR technology to place users in a virtual cockpit, making it more flexible and user-friendly compared to previous systems.”
CSAIL researchers have developed a new shape-shifting robot that can change outfits in order to perform different tasks, reports Timothy Revell for New Scientist. “In the future, we imagine robots like this could become mini surgeons, squished into a pill that you swallow,” explains Prof. Daniela Rus.
In an article for The Los Angeles Times, Prof. Thomas Kochan examines how new technologies can be developed to complement human workers, rather than replace them. “Companies that engage their workforce when they design and implement new technologies will be best-positioned to manage the coming AI revolution,” concludes Kochan.