Prof. Emilio Frazzoli speaks with Nicole Dungca of The Boston Globe about his new startup nuTonomy, which is developing a fleet of driverless taxis for Singapore. Frazzoli explains that he feels the biggest impact of autonomous vehicles is in “really changing the way we think of personal mobility, or mobility, in general.”
Washington Post reporter Matt McFarland writes that MIT researchers have developed a technique for printing solid and liquid materials at the same time, a development that could make producing robots faster and easier. Prof. Daniela Rus explains that the new process could make “a big difference in what kind of machines you can make.”
Popular Science reporter Kelsey Atherton writes that a new 3-D printing process developed by MIT researchers incorporates both solid and liquid materials at the same time. Atherton explains that the prototype robot developed using the process walks “with hydraulic bellows, fluid pumping in and out to turn a crankshaft that moves the legs back and forth.”
Researchers from MIT CSAIL have developed a new 3-D printing process that produces robots with no assembly required, reports Brian Mastroianni for CBS News. “MIT's new process is significant in that the production period is streamlined, with the robot's solid and liquid hydraulic parts being created in one step,” Mastroianni explains.
Boston Magazine reporter Jamie Ducharme writes that MIT researchers have developed a way to simultaneously 3-D print liquid and solid materials, “allowing them to create functional, nearly assembly-free robots.”
MIT startup nuTonomy is developing driverless taxis to serve as a form of public transit in Singapore, reports Nyshka Chandran for CNBC. “The driverless taxis will follow optimal paths for picking up and dropping off passengers to reduce traffic congestion,” Chandran explains.
Fortune reporter Robert Hackett writes that MIT spinoff nuTonomy is developing a fleet of driverless taxis for Singapore. Hackett writes that the company “could become the first to operate fully self-driving cars, known as ‘level four,’ in a city commercially.”
MIT researchers have developed a technique to help predict the thickness of a round shell, reports Alexandra Ossola for Popular Science. The findings “could help researchers create shells with a predictable thickness and a uniform consistency at an industrial scale. That’s useful for a range of products, including pills and aerodynamic vehicles.”
MIT researchers have developed a programming language that allows users to design DNA circuits for living cells, writes Andy Coghlan for New Scientist. “We take the same approach as for designing an electronic chip,” says Prof. Christopher Voigt. “Every step in the process is the same – it’s just that instead of mapping the circuit to silicon, it’s mapped to DNA.”
Prof. Yoel Fink speaks with Radio Boston’s Meghna Chakrabarti about the new textiles manufacturing institute, which will be led by MIT. Fink explains textiles could be developed to do everything from storing energy to gathering “clinically meaningful information…and you can then infer not only where you are today, but where your body is heading and where your health is heading.”
Christopher Intagliata reports for Scientific American about the programming language Prof. Christopher Voigt’s team developed for living cells. Intagliata explains that, “the researchers used the platform to design 60 genetic circuits, which they then ran inside E. coli bacteria. Many of these DNA-based circuits allow bacteria to sense environmental data…and respond in various ways.”
Defense Secretary Ash Carter has announced that the nation’s first textile manufacturing institute will be based out of MIT, according to the AP. "Fibers and fabrics are among the earliest forms of human expression, yet have changed very little over the course of history," explains Prof. Yoel Fink. "All this is about to change."
WBUR reporter Zeninjor Enwemeka reports on the new textiles manufacturing institute, to be led by MIT, which was announced by White House and state officials last week. “We’re expecting to see the rebirth of fabrics and really a new industry come up around this area, and Massachusetts is very well position to do it,” says Prof. Yoel Fink.
In a roundup of top science images of the week, Popular Science reporter Claire Maldarelli highlights a new machine developed by MIT researchers “that can synthesize multiple kinds of drugs, including antidepressants, antihistamines, and a local anesthetic.”
Scientific American reporter Bob Roehr writes that MIT researchers have developed a manufacturing system that can produce a variety of drugs. The researchers created a “drug-producing process that is not only faster but also more precise, more efficient and cheaper than production methods now in use," explains Roher.