MIT researchers have developed a system that allows people to use a combination of brain waves and muscle signals to stop and redirect a robot, writes John Biggs for TechCrunch. “The machine adapts to you, and not the other way around,” explains graduate student Joseph DelPreto.
MIT researchers have developed a system that “lets a person control a robotic arm with brainwaves and subtle hand gestures,” reports Jesus Diaz for Co.Design. According to Prof. Daniela Rus, the goal is “to develop robotic systems that are a more natural and intuitive extension of us.”
Empatica, a startup co-founded by Prof. Rosalind Picard, is hoping to use the same data gathered by its wearable device Embrace, which “analyzes physiological signals to detect seizures,” to help people manage stress, reports Rina Raphael of Fast Company. “We’re developing the applications that can help people understand stress,” says Picard, “the technology is there.”
NECN’s Brian Shactman interviews MIT alumnus Sam Shames for this “Tech Check” segment about the Embr Wave, a wristband developed by Shames and others to help the wearer feel cooler or warmer. “There’s actually a piece of technology to make it easier for all of us to get along when it comes to temperature,” declares Schactman.
In this video, Mashable spotlights AlterEgo, a wearable device that allows for silent communication between human and machine. The video notes that graduate student Arnav Kapur’s goal in developing the device was to, “create something to let people communicate silently and without being obtrusive to each other.”
Writing in The Boston Globe, technology reporter Hiawatha Bray examines a bracelet designed by three MIT alumni that “functions like a personal thermostat, cooling you off when you’re hot or warming you up when it’s chilly.” Called Embr Wave, it offers a “sudden surge of heat or cold that makes us feel better, even though our core temperature has hardly changed,” Bray explains.
Empatica, a startup founded by Prof. Rosalind Picard, makes a wearable sensor that detects a person’s seizures, as well as certain physiological factors. Picard discussed the potential benefits of her work with Co.Design’s Katherine Schwab: “[W]hen you get personalized, long-term data from a watch or a phone, we can start to help an individual learn [their] patterns, not on average for some group you may be an outlier in.”
WCVB reporter Mike Wankum visits Embr Labs, an MIT spinoff that has developed a wristband that can make wearers feel warmer or colder. Wankum explains that after a few minutes of wearing the wristband, “you feel more comfortable. Much like holding a warm cup of coffee to take the chill off a winter morning.”
This CNN video highlights tattoo ink developed by Media Lab researchers that changes colors when it detects changes in biochemistry. The researchers hope the technology could eventually be used to, “help people better monitor their health.”
WGBH’s Adam Reilly visits MIT spinout Embr Labs, where researchers have developed a wristband that helps the wearer feel warmer or cooler, and could also help reduce energy consumption. "Even if we could help people use their AC unit and their heating just a fraction of a degree less, the benefits for the world could be tremendous,” explains co-founder and MIT graduate David Cohen-Tanugi.
USA Today reporter Sydney C. Greene highlights a new piece of wearable technology developed by MIT researchers that was designed to help prevent sexual assault. Greene explains that the researchers developed a “sticker that integrates with clothing to respond to signs of assault such as forced disrobing.”
CSAIL researchers Tuka Al-Hanai and Mohammad Ghassemi speak to the BBC’s Gareth Mitchell about their system that can detect the tone of a conversation. Ghassemi explains that this research will provide “the first steps toward feedback,” for people who struggle to read social cues.
CSAIL researchers have developed a wearable AI system that allows users to detect the tone of a conversation in real-time, reports Janet Burns for Forbes. Using two algorithms to analyze data, the researchers were able to “classify each five-second chunk of conversation as positive, neutral, or negative,” explains Burns.
Prof. Tauhid Zaman writes for The Wall Street Journal about his research examining how biometric data could be used to help determine how people will perform under stress. Zaman and his colleagues found that “people who sweated when the stakes were low did the best when stakes were high.”
Jordan Graham of the Boston Herald writes that researchers from MIT and Microsoft have created temporary, gold leaf tattoos that can control electronic devices. “That means a shiny trackpad on your arm will be able to control a phone or soaring shiny butterflies will be able to play, pause or go to the next song,” explains Graham.