Robotics

In this video, Mashable highlights how CSAIL researchers have developed a new system that can help lift heavy objects by mirroring human activity. The system uses sensors that monitor muscle activity and detect changes in the user’s arm.

Popular Science reporter Rob Verger writes that MIT researchers have developed a new mechanical system that can help humans lift heavy objects. “Overall the system aims to make it easier for people and robots to work together as a team on physical tasks,” explains graduate student Joseph DelPreto.

Bloomberg News reporter Carol Massar spotlights how MIT researchers have developed a robot that can identify and sort recyclables. “The system includes a soft Teflon hand that uses tactile sensors to detect the size of an object and the pressure needed to grasp it,” Massar reports. “From there it can determine if it’s made of metal, paper or plastic.”

Scientific American reporter Jeremy Hsu highlights how CSAIL researchers have developed a robot that can automatically sort recycling. The robot “uses soft Teflon ‘fingers,’ which have fingertip sensors to detect object size and stiffness,” Hsu explains.

In an article for Wired, K. Gretchen Greene, a research affiliate at the Media Lab, argues that the government’s proposed $2 trillion infrastructure plan should include robots. New technologies “offer the possibility of completing projects we otherwise couldn't afford, minimizing disruption, improving safety, and optimizing systems in ways humans working alone could not,” writes Greene.

Financial Times reporter Hugo Cox highlights how MIT researchers have developed robots that can be used to detect disease in specific regions by sampling sewage. “A local robot takes days to identify an outbreak of flu; the surge in attendance at local hospitals and surgeries typically takes weeks to register,” Cox explains. “And because the information is local, the response can be too.”

NESN Clubhouse visits the lab of Prof. Sangbae Kim to learn more about his work developing a robotic cheetah that can run at a speed of approximately 13 miles per hour, jump over obstacles, climb up stairs and execute tight turns. Kim explains that the cheetah could run from home plate to first base in about 15 seconds. 

Prof. Erik Brynjolfsson speaks with Wired reporter Matt Simon about the potential impact of technology and automation on everything from jobs and the labor market to climate change. “Technology is an incredibly powerful tool,” says Brynjolfsson, “and if we make the effort, we can use this tool to live lighter on the planet.”

In this video, Reuters explores how MIT researchers have developed a robot that can automatically sort recycling. The robot uses a pressure sensor to squeeze items to determine how they should be sorted.

BBC Click spotlights how CSAIL researchers have developed a robot that can automatically sort recycling. “Many paper and plastic cups look the same, but by introducing the ability to squeeze the object and to know whether it is flexible or not we are able to go one step beyond what today’s methods can do, explains Prof. Daniela Rus, director of CSAIL.

TechCrunch reporter Brian Heater writes that MIT researchers have developed a robot that can recycle materials using sensors that allow it to differentiate between objects. Heater explains that “the system utilizes a Teflon gripper with built in sensors that are capable of determining an object’s makeup based on size and stiffness.”

Wall Street Journal reporter Leigh Kamping-Carder highlights how MIT researchers are developing a number of new technologies aimed at easing the transition to space for future amateur astronauts. A robotic tail developed by Media Lab researchers could help space travelers “grab objects, anchor to surfaces and balance while floating in environments with reduced gravity.”

Boston Globe reporter Hiawatha Bray spotlights how MIT alumnus Josh Lessing has co-founded a company that is “developing technology to solve some of the most enduring challenges in agriculture — a sector that has long struggled with labor shortages, seasonal schedules, and compressed harvesting periods.”

In this video, Mashable spotlights how MIT researchers have developed an origami-inspired soft robotic gripper that can grasp a wide variety of objects. 

Fast Company reporter Mark Wilson writes that CSAIL researchers have developed a new soft robotic gripper that is modeled after a Venus flytrap. “Dubbed the Magic Ball, it’s a rubber and plastic structure that can contract around an object like an origami flower,” Wilson explains.