MIT Media Lab spin out Affectiva has launched AI software that tracks drivers' emotions, energy, and distraction levels, writes Sasha Lekach of Mashable. The system uses “face and head tracking with near-infrared and RGB cameras” to measure facial expressions and emotions and listen for sounds, explains Lekach.
Cogito, a Media Lab spinout, is used by MetLife to “detect signs of distress and other emotions in a customer’s voice,” writes Tom Simonite for Wired. The program helps customer service representatives more consistently use an appropriate tone when handling often sensitive customer calls.
Open Style Lab, which started as a project at MIT's Priscilla King Gray Public Service Center, designs tech-based clothes for people with disabilities. "Technology is a big part of the design process at Open Style," reports Magdalena Petrova for CNBC, and the lab looks to "expand its reach by partnering with tech companies and hospitals to bring its designs to life.”
The Economist highlights MIT spinout ClearMotion, which developed a suspension system that utilized bumpy roads to generate electricity. Later, the team realized that their system also created a smoother ride, when ran in reverse. “The effect is to level out a rough road by pushing the wheels down into dips and pulling them up over bumps.”
Pilot, a startup founded by MIT alumni, automates bookkeeping and can integrate data into existing expense tracking software. The service, which still uses humans to organize and structure the data, “has now raised $15 million” in financing, writes Matthew Lynley of TechCrunch.
Nellie Bowles of The New York Times writes about Dropbox CEO Drew Houston ’05, one of the few tech startup founders who stayed with their company from inception to its initial public offering. “Founders like him [typically] get pushed aside for someone with a finance or management background,” said Jeffrey Mann, a VP at research firm Gartner. “But he managed to stay there.”
Prof. Bill Aulet and Aman Advani ’13, CEO of Ministry of Supply, speak with Brian Burnell of NECN about The Martin Trust Center for MIT Entrepreneurship and why it’s a great resource for students. "We came in with enough humility to know that we didn’t know what was next,” said Advani, “and that’s where the Trust Center was such a helpful resource.”
MIT startup Ministry of Supply has developed a jacket that utilizes AI to keep its wearer warm. “The jacket…can also be voice-controlled through devices like the Amazon Echo or manually with an app,” writes Erin Black for CNBC.
This year, MIT’s Global Startup Workshop (GSW), a student-run “conference on innovation and technology,” will take place in Bangkok, writes Jon Russell of TechCrunch. “We’ve been focusing more on emerging markets because it’s such an exciting space to be in and it’s a space where GSW can have the most impact,” said graduate student and organizer Juan Ruiz Ruiz.
Alumnus Mark Ethier ’01 talks to NECN’s Brian Burnell about his startup, iZotope, that allows musicians of all levels to record professional grade audio. “I was a passionate musician, who wanted to make recordings, and I understood the technology, but the tools out there were really complicated,” Ethier said.
Astranis, a startup co-founded by alum Ryan McLinko, is building smaller and less expensive satellites for the purpose of providing internet access. “[T]he company just might be able to bring affordable high-speed internet to places where laying fiber isn't practical, such as the Pacific islands,” writes Klint Finley for Wired.
EasyEmail, a startup co-founded at MIT, offers an AI-driven “productivity tool” for quickly responding to email. “Going through MIT’s Sandbox Program, Fuse, and The Martin Trust Center’s NYC Summer Startup Studio helped the team rapidly iterate and develop their product,” writes Forbes contributor Frederick Daso, also a graduate student at MIT.
MIT spinout Myomo has developed a robotic brace to aid in the reduction of neurological-related limb paralysis. “With the robotic brace, patients use their own muscle signals to control movements of a paretic or injured arm,” writes Jennifer Kite-Powell for Forbes. “[T]he brace amplifies their weak muscle signal to help move the limb.”
Katie Rae, managing director of The Engine, has collaborated with other Boston-based female investors to create FemaleFounders.org. The group will hold “office hours” that will encourage “entrepreneurs to get to know women investors and build a community,” writes Ron Miller for TechCrunch.
Dropbox, which was co-founded by MIT alumnus Drew Houston ’05, has filed for “its long-awaited initial public offering, which is set to be one of the biggest tech debuts of the past few years,” writes Maureen Farrell and Jay Greene of The Wall Street Journal