Nidhi Subbaraman writes for BetaBoston about WaitChatter, a new application developed by MIT students that could help teach users a foreign language while they chat online. “The application uses the brief window when the ellipses dominate the screen as an opportunity to spring a vocabulary quiz,” Subbaraman explains.
WBUR’s Zeninjor Enwemeka speaks with MIT junior David Sukhin about the Snow Day Calculator, a tool he created in middle school to predict school closures. Sukhin still updates the calculator, “adding new features that I think would be a cool thing to explore and a benefit to users.”
Klint Finley reports for Wired on Carduino, a device created by MIT graduate student Josh Siegel that allows users to customize their cars. “This tiny device plugs into an automobile diagnostics port, letting you equip your car with all sorts of tools you otherwise couldn’t,” Finley explains.
Rodrique Ngowi writes for the Associated Press about ScratchJr, an app co-developed by MIT researchers to help young children think creatively and develop skills in math and science. “Children as young as 5 can use the app to craft their own interactive stories and games,” writes Ngowi.
Henry Grabar of Salon writes about new research by Professor Carlo Ratti on the impacts of taxi sharing. If taxi sharing was implemented in New York City, “the total distance traveled by New York City cabs would fall by 40 percent, relieving traffic, reducing air pollution and speeding up travel for everyone else on the road,” Grabar writes.
Madhumita Venkataramanan of Wired writes that MIT researchers have found that Google Glass can be used to detect pulse and respiration rates in real time. "The data from Google Glass is so much richer than a dedicated heart-rate sensor, because people use it in their regular lives," says PhD student Javier Hernandez.
New Scientist reporter Hal Hodson writes about how MIT Media Lab researchers have programmed Google Glass to measure vital signs in an effort to give users a look at their emotional state. "It's always been a challenge to have a computer understand something about your stress but not make it worse in the moment," says Prof. Rosalind Picard.
MIT Professor Carlo Ratti and Cornell University Professor Steven Strogatz write for The Huffington Post about their research examining the benefits of taxi sharing. They write that their analysis shows by sharing taxis, “the total number of taxi trips in New York City could be reduced by 40 percent, fleet operation costs and pollution could be reduced by 30 percent.”
Arnie Cooper of Newsweek writes about the new MIT study that found taxi sharing could have significant impacts on New York City’s transportation system. Researchers in the MIT Senseable City Lab envision a future application that would facilitate ride sharing.
U.S. News & World Report’s Alan Neuhauser writes about the MIT taxi-sharing study. "This research shows what would happen if people have sharing as an option. And that choice is becoming increasingly popular, as the availability of real time information in our pockets allows us to make immediate, informed decisions based on our needs and resources," says Prof. Carlo Ratti.
Michael Casey of Fortune reports on the new MIT study that examines taxi sharing in New York City. The researchers found that more than 95 percent of taxi trips could be shared with only a minimal inconvenience to passengers.
BetaBoston reporter Nidhi Subbaraman examines new MIT research on the benefits of sharing a cab. The researchers found that implementing a taxi-sharing system “would translate to cuts in emissions and traffic congestion, as well as untold improvements to the sanity of commuters stuck in rush-hour traffic,” Subbaraman writes.
Kenneth Chang and Joshua Krisch report for The New York Times on the new MIT study showing that if New Yorkers shared taxis they could significantly reduce cumulative trip lengths, which would help alleviate traffic and air pollution in the city.
The Economist reports on how MIT researchers have developed an algorithm that predicts the perceived safety of different streets based off of visual cues. The researchers hope to use their research results to generate guidelines for how to make an urban area look safe and lively.
“The MIT Media Lab recently released ScratchJr, a free iPad app that helps children 5-8 learn how to code,” writes Jordan Shapiro for Forbes. The ScratchJr language is a redesign of the original Scratch programming to simplify it for use by younger children.