Writing for Bloomberg, Prof. Carlo Ratti and Saskia Sassen of Columbia University explore how to help rebuild cities in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. “We have the duty to recapitalize our cities — not in financial terms, but in terms of their ‘living’ capital, shoring up their human reserves,” they write.
Wall Street Journal reporter Paul Berger highlights Superpedestrian, an MIT startup and electric scooter company that secured $60 million in funding. Berger notes that Superpedestrian “spent more than four years designing a vehicle intelligence system that can diagnose and maintain itself.”
MIT researchers have unveiled a new autonomous modular boat, called the Roboat II, which that uses lidar, GPS and other sensors to navigate its surroundings, reports Kyro Mitchell for Popular Mechanics. The Roboat II “can attach itself to other Roboat II’s to form one large vessel, which is then controlled by a main ‘leader’ boat.”
Guardian reporter Rhi Storer spotlights how researchers from the MIT Senseable City Lab developed a self-driving and navigating robot that could be used to help clean up oil spills. “This technology was conceived to be deployed anywhere it was needed – in oceans, rivers, or seas,” explains Prof. Carlo Ratti. “We all need to be accountable for the environment. Some accidents are still bound to occur, so we still need to develop mitigation or cleaning strategies.”
Writing for The Boston Globe, Prof. Carlo Ratti explores the importance of public spaces in bringing people together. “Public space is performing its primordial function: revealing fault lines in our society and helping to reconcile them,” writes Ratti. “This is a particularly important activity today, as the growth of digital communication is leading to increased polarization.”