Brook Hays of UPI writes that researchers from MIT have developed a new program that allows teams of robots to work together to pour and deliver drinks. Hays explains that the robots are “programmed to anticipate what drinks are needed where, taking orders and delivering drinks with the greatest possible level of efficiency.”
Lindsay Kalter writes for The Boston Herald about a new robot developed by MIT researchers called HERMES, which is controlled by a human operator wearing an exoskeleton. “The idea here is you have a humanoid robot that you can send into a disaster situation, with someone operating it remotely,” explains graduate student Albert Wang.
Nitya Rajan writes for The Huffington Post that MIT researchers have developed a new human-robot interface that allows robots to mimic human actions. Rajan explains that the system allows the robot’s movements to be controlled by a human operator.
Wired reporter Katie Collins writes that MIT researchers have developed a robot with a unique balance-feedback interface that allows a human operator to control the balance and movements of the robot. Collins explains that the reason the robot’s “reflexes are so ‘human’ is because he is, in fact, mimicking precisely the actions of that person.”
MIT researchers have developed a new human-robot interface that could prove useful in disaster response, reports Keith Wagstaff for NBC News. Wagstaff explains that if the robot’s “human operator grabs a power tool, it will do the same -- an ability that could prove useful in the aftermath of an earthquake or nuclear meltdown.”
A team led by Prof. Michael Cima is developing an implantable sensor that can monitor a tumor’s response to cancer drugs, writes Eric Levenson for Boston.com. “The sensor would function like a long-term medical biopsy, giving doctors a continuous look at how a tumor is developing,” Levenson explains.
Andrew Revkin writes for The New York Times about a compact design for a fusion reactor that could make fusion power a possibility within a decade. Revkin highlights how the research originated from an MIT course, writing, “it’s exciting to see academia integrating directly with innovation on this scale.”
Jamie Ducharme writes for Boston Magazine that MIT researchers are developing a biochemical sensor that could provide updates on cancerous tumors. The sensor “could be implanted in cancerous tissue during a patient’s first biopsy. After that, it would stay in the tissue and transmit data about the state of the tumor to an external device.”
Boston Globe reporter Kevin Hartnett writes that MIT researchers have shown it is impossible to create a faster version of the “edit distance” algorithm, which is used to compare the genomes of different species. Hartnett writes that the finding “has been greeted with something like relief among computer scientists.”
Kelsey Atherton of Popular Science reports on a system created by MIT researchers that allows robots to work in tandem to serve drinks. “This has uses beyond bartending,” writes Atherton. “MIT sees it as a potential system for hospitals or rescue work.”
MIT researchers have developed a new algorithm that allows robots to work together to efficiently serve drinks, Nidhi Subbaraman writes for BetaBoston. Subbaraman explains that the technique provides a “smarter approach to collaboration, preparing for possible missteps like dropping a bottle, or picking up the wrong one.”
In a Boston Globe article about the high level of patent activity in Massachusetts, Emeralde Jensen-Roberts highlights MIT postdoctoral fellow Keith Hearon’s work developing a new type of biodegradable styrofoam, which he is patenting. “Now in the development phase, Hearon believes the citrus plastic with styrofoam has vast potential for larger-scale applications, thanks to its strength.”
“Google And Massachusetts Institute of Technology have figured out a way to remove those annoying reflections and other image obstructions, including fences and rain drops, from photos,” writes Nitya Rajan for The Huffington Post. The algorithm uses a short video to separate the foreground and background of an image.
Kelsey Atherton writes for Popular Science about HERMES, a humanoid robot created by MIT researchers that is controlled by a human pilot strapped into a remote exoskeleton. PhD candidate Joao Ramos describes it as “trying to put the human’s brain inside the robot.”
LJ Rich reports for The BBC on an algorithm created by MIT and Google researchers that can remove reflections and obstructions from images. “The technique separates the foreground from the background using frames from a short video,” explains Rich.