Researchers at MIT are developing a new way to use electric thrusters, reports Freethink. “Electric propulsion actually has the benefit of maximizing the amount of room that you have on a spacecraft so you can use it for this useful payload as opposed to just propellant,” says Prof. Paulo Lozano.
MIT researchers have developed SoftZoo, “an open framework platform that simulated a variety of 3D model animals performing specific tasks in multiple environmental settings,” reports Andrew Paul for Popular Science. “This computational approach to co-designing the soft robot bodies and their brains (that is, their controllers) opens the door to rapidly creating customized machines that are designed for a specific task,” says CSAIL director, Prof. Daniela Rus.
Researchers at MIT have developed “SoftZoo,” a platform designed to “study the physics, look and locomotion and other aspects of different soft robot models,” reports Brian Heater for TechCrunch. “Dragonflies can perform very agile maneuvers that other flying creatures cannot complete because they have special structures on their wings that change their center of mass when they fly,” says graduate student Tsun-Hsuan Wang. “Our platform optimizes locomotion the same way a dragonfly is naturally more adept at working through its surroundings.”
Prof. Marzyeh Ghassemi speaks with NPR host Emily Kwong and correspondent Geoff Brumfiel about how artificial intelligence could impact medicine. “When you take state-of-the-art machine-learning methods and systems and then evaluate them on different patient groups, they do not perform equally,” says Ghassemi.
Prof. Simon Johnson and Prof. Yossi Sheffi speak with Boston 25 about the potential impact of AI on the labor market. “We need people to have what’s called soft skills,” says Sheffi. “They need to be able to convince people, manage people, work with people, partner with people.” Johnson notes while there are still fields that are safe bets, but notes that the speed with which [AI] is moving and currently the acceleration is really dramatic.”
Research from MIT and elsewhere have developed a mobile app that uses computer-vision techniques and AI to detect post-surgery signs of infection as part of an effort to help community workers in Kirehe, a district in Rwanda’s Eastern province, reports Shefali Malhotra for Science. “The researchers are now improving the app so it can be used across more diverse populations such as in Ghana and parts of South America,” writes Malhotra.
Prof. Yossi Sheffi joins Bloomberg Business Hour to discuss the impact of artificial intelligence on businesses, supply chain management, and risk management. “In general, over the last 50 years, supply chain has changed dramatically, infusing more and more technology into the operation,” says Sheffi.
Ginkgo Bioworks, a biotech company founded by Jason Kelly BS ’03, PhD ’08, Reshma Shetty PhD ‘08, Barry Canton PhD ’08, Austin Che PhD ’08 and Professor Tom Knight, is working to develop synthetic fragrances, reports Scott Kirsner for The Boston Globe.
TechCrunch reporter Brian Heater spotlights how MIT researchers have developed a new approach to robotic gripping that incorporates reflexes to help grasp and sort objects. “The new system is built around an arm with two multi-joint fingers,” writes Heater. “There’s a camera on the base and sensors on the tips that record feedback. The system uses that data to adjust accordingly.”
Researchers at MIT have developed a new nanoparticle sensor that can detect cancerous proteins through a simple urine test. “The researchers designed the tests to be done on a strip of paper, similar to the at-home COVID tests everyone became familiar with during the pandemic,” writes Lambert. “They hope to make it as affordable and accessible to as many patients as possible.”
Professor Yet-Ming Chiang of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (DMSE) talks to NOVA’s Miles O’Brien about his research aimed at closing gaps in renewable energy availability when there’s no sun or wind. Through their company, Form Energy, Chiang and William Woodford PhD ’13 have developed iron-air batteries that can store electricity for up to 100 hours. “This is something that just a few years ago was considered impossible,” Chiang explains.
New Scientist reporter Grace Wade writes that MIT researchers have developed a non-invasive capsule the size of a raisin that electrically stimulates stomach cells, and could one day be used to “treat nausea, vomiting and lack of appetite in people with eating disorders, or those receiving treatments for cancer.”
Prof. Yossi Sheffi speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter Paul Page about how supply chains are being adapted for changing market pressures. Companies “learned a lot of things that they didn’t think were possible. This means companies can do more than they thought was possible,” he said. “They have learned how to be nimble, and that may be the most important lesson.”
Boston.com reporter Ross Cristantiello spotlights a new study by MIT researchers that examines the financial impact of rising sea levels on the MBTA. The researchers noted that their results suggest that “absent adaptation schemes, particularly at tunnel ingress locations, coastal flood risk will continue to accelerate, potentially resulting in permanent inundation of underground and low-lying sections of the transit system.”
Researchers from the Future of Data Initiative at MIT have published a white paper examining “how to design more accountable and traceable financial data systems,” reports Ben Schreckinger for Politico. Senior research scientist Daniel Weitzner says information accountability “means that uses of personal data should be visible to data subjects. And that the companies or government who use personal data should be accountable for misuse.”