Study: As a population gets older, automation accelerates
Economists find companies’ adoption of robots is partly due to shortages in middle-aged labor.
Making machines that make robots, and robots that make themselves
PhD student Martin Nisser wants to democratize hardware by making it easier to build and customize.
Inflatable robotic hand gives amputees real-time tactile control
Prosthetic enables a wide range of daily activities, such as zipping a suitcase, shaking hands, and petting a cat.
System trains drones to fly around obstacles at high speeds
New algorithm could enable fast, nimble drones for time-critical operations such as search and rescue.
Reimagining an iconic design class
Faculty and staff of 2.007 reworked the mechanical engineering class and its famous final robot competition so students could participate remotely.
Contact-aware robot design
A novel method to represent robotic manipulators helps optimize complex and organic shapes for future machines.
Getting dressed with help from robots
A human-aware motion planning algorithm addresses the safety gap in collaboration between robots and humans.
Designing exploratory robots that collect data for marine scientists
“This is a really exciting time to be a roboticist who also cares about the environment,” says PhD student Victoria Preston.
The new wave of robotic automation
Peter Howard SM ’84 is the CEO of Realtime Robotics, a startup transforming autonomous robot motion planning to enable seamless, affordable human-robot collaboration.
Tiny particles power chemical reactions
A new material made from carbon nanotubes can generate electricity by scavenging energy from its environment.
Slender robotic finger senses buried items
The technology uses tactile sensing to identify objects underground, and might one day help disarm land mines or inspect cables.
Helping robots collaborate to get the job done
Algorithm enables robot teams to complete missions, such as mapping or search-and-rescue, with minimal wasted effort.
A robot that can help you untangle your hair
Robotic arm equipped with a hairbrush helps with brushing tasks and could be an asset in assistive-care settings.
A robot that senses hidden objects
System uses penetrative radio frequency to pinpoint items, even when they’re hidden from view.
Tactile textiles sense movement via touch
By measuring a person’s movements and poses, smart clothes developed at MIT CSAIL could be used for athletic training, rehabilitation, or health-monitoring for elder-care facilities.