Prof. Carlo Ratti writes about the proliferation of startup hubs around the world in this piece for Project Syndicate. “Before long, the digital world and the physical world will be indistinguishable,” writes Ratti. “The era of ‘Silicon Everywhere’ is upon us – and it is taking shape in the world’s cities.”
Kelly Servick writes for Science about Prof. Rosalind Picard’s work developing wearable technology that monitors and manages a user’s stress levels. “It’s one thing to study all this,” says Picard. “It’s another to build it into a form that people can start changing their lives around.”
In this video, CBS Boston’s Bree Sison reports on MIT startup Affectiva, which is developing technology that can identify human emotions and could help with mental health. Rana el Kaliouby, Affectiva CSO and co-founder, explains that the technology could “tell you something is off, or flag it to a friend or doctor. Or maybe it could customize a digit experience to help you.”
In an article for Optics.org, Matthew Peach writes that MIT researchers have developed a technique that exploits the polarization of light to improve the quality of 3-D imaging. The technique “could lead to high-quality 3-D cameras integrated into cellphones, and perhaps to the ability to photograph an object and then use a 3-D printer to produce a replica.”
Chris Sweeney reports for Boston Magazine that Prof. Cynthia Breazeal’s lab is participating in a new National Institutes of Health program aimed at examining how social robots can improve health and wellness. “The NIH wants to see if Breazeal’s creations can help ‘inspire curiosity’ and teach ‘the importance of hard work and determination’ to school-aged children,” writes Sweeney.
In this AP TV video, Prof. Tod Machover discusses the development of his latest work, “Symphony in D,” a piece about the city of Detroit. “I really wanted it to be a portrait of the city so I invited everybody in the city, anybody who wanted to, to collaborate,” says Machover.
AP reporter Mike Householder writes about Prof. Tod Machover’s “Symphony in D,” which features the sounds of everyday Detroit. "It somehow sounds like something that could only have been done here. And that makes me really happy," says Machover.
Writing for Popular Science, Kelsey Atherton highlights how researchers from the MIT Tangible Media Group have developed a snake-like robot that can be used as a physical interface. Atherton explains that the robot can as serve as a “smart ruler, a physical extension of a digital model, a touch pad, and more.”
Ryan Duffy reports for The Huffington Post on research scientist Caleb Harper’s food computer, designed to improve food-production efficiency. "The math is simple and staggering: we need to produce at least 50 percent more food to feed nine billion people by 2050," explains Duffy.
Researchers from the MIT Media Lab have developed a new type of clothing that becomes more breathable as the wearer’s body heat increases, reports Liz Stinson for Wired. The clothing was developed as part of a project focused on examining how, “we can grow actuators that control the interfaces around us instead of manufacturing them in a factory.”
In honor of “Back to the Future II,” in which Marty McFly travels 30 years into the future, BBC reporter Jane O’Brien speaks with Media Lab Director Joi Ito about how technology might advance over the next 30 years. Ito says that his “dream invention is machine learning artificial intelligence that connects directly to my brain in some non-invasive way.”
MIT researchers are using Legos to map out how changes in bus-rapid transit systems could affect transportation in Boston, writes Nina Godlewski for Boston.com. “Our ultimate objective is this idea of co-creation...We would like that to happen in how we produce 21st century transit systems,” explains Prof. Chris Zegras.
Forbes reporter Jennifer Hicks writes about MIT spinoff EyeNetra, which is developing a self-diagnostic eye test could lead to customized, virtual-reality screens. “EyeNetra’s technology measures how a user’s optical refractive errors will affect how they see patterns on a digital display, just like a VR headset,” Hicks explains.
MIT researchers have been awarded a new NSF grant to develop robots that can serve as reading companions for children, reports Lindsey Kratochwill for Popular Science. The study, led by Prof.Cynthia Breazeal, aims to advance the fields of autonomous storytelling and human-robot interaction.
Researchers from MIT’s Camera Culture Group have devised a way for cameras to see through walls and bad weather, reports Vijee Venkatraman for BetaBoston. “It is not meant to be the next camera for consumers — the idea is to help with imaging in dangerous conditions, and to help with non-destructive testing,” writes Venkatraman.