mit - SlashGear

Watch new MIT Mini Cheetah robots flip for your amusement

Chris Burns | Nov 8, 2019

The latest from MIT's Biomimetic Robotics Lab is a demonstration of the advancements made in the Mini Cheetah. This is not to be mistaken for the non-mini Cheetah as developed by Boston Dynamics. While the Boston Dynamics Cheetah is a relatively large and exceedingly FAST robot, the MIT Mini Cheetah is best known for its backflip! And other super-impressive feats of far more affordable four-legged robot action than what B.D. is doing at the moment.

MIT researchers invent double-sided surgical tape inspired by spiders

Shane McGlaun | Nov 4, 2019

Scientists at MIT have devised a new type of surgical tape that is inspired by a sticky substance that spiders use to catch their prey. The tape that the engineers have developed is double-sided and is designed to seal tissues together rapidly. The tape has been tested in rat and pig tissue, and the researchers have shown that their new tape can tightly bind tissues such as lung and the intestines in only five seconds.

M-Blocks 2.0 revealed: Now these cube robots can collaborate

Chris Burns | Oct 30, 2019

Almost exactly six years ago, we reported on the first iteration of the self-assembling cube robots called M-Blocks. Since then, they've become exponentially more radical. Here in October of 2019, the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) revealed their newest edition of the robotic cubes they call M-Blocks 2.0. The newest edition has many upgrades, the most amazing of which is a communication system with which the blocks can communicate, and thereby collaborate.

MIT CO2 removal device works at any concentration

Shane McGlaun | Oct 28, 2019

Carbon dioxide, or CO2, is a greenhouse gas that causes pollution all around the world. Removing pollution from the air is a key area of research around the world. Engineers from MIT have announced that they have developed a new way of removing carbon dioxide from a stream of air that could be a new way to fight pollution of this sort.

New MIT algorithm helps robots rapidly pick up and sort items

Brittany A. Roston | Oct 17, 2019

Though we're not yet at the point where robots can take fully take over warehouse jobs, technology is rapidly developing toward that end goal. One big issue surrounding robots in these jobs is their ability to sort items. Unlike boxes, which are neatly stacked and easy to grasp, small unpackaged items introduce randomness into the mix, requiring a robot to do a bunch of thinking about how it will grasp the items. This takes a fair bit of time...or at least it used to.

MIT microfluidics device helps diagnose sepsis faster

Shane McGlaun | Jul 24, 2019

A new sensor designed by MIT is meant to help doctors and caregivers in hospitals to more quickly diagnose a condition that kills 250,000 people annually. The condition is sepsis, and the quicker treatment can start, the more likely those affected by sepsis can begin to get better. Sepsis is when the immune response to infection triggers an inflammation chain throughout the body leading to high heart rate, high fever, shortness of breath, and other issues.

Autonomous Roboats can latch onto each other and clean garbage

Shane McGlaun | Jun 6, 2019

Amsterdam is a city that is crisscrossed with canals and garbage in those waterways is a big problem. The canals are also underutilized for relieving congestion from nearby roadways. To combat the issue, Amsterdam has a vision of a fleet of autonomous boats that can cruise its canals to not only pick up trash but to transport goods and people. MIT researchers are working to make Amsterdam's vision come true.

MIT robot helps you lift by watching your arm muscles

Shane McGlaun | May 23, 2019

People instinctively know how to work together when it comes time to lift something that takes two people. People coordinate their motions and work to be sure that each side of whatever is being carried is at the same height. While tasks like that are natural for a human, for robots, it's not natural at all.

MIT deep learning model aims to predict future cancer risk

Shane McGlaun | May 8, 2019

MIT has teamed up with Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) to create a new deep learning model that can predict from a patients mammogram if they are likely to develop breast cancer in the future. The model was trained using mammograms with known outcomes from over 60,000 patients that were treated at MGH. Using that dataset, the model learned subtle patterns in breast tissue that are precursors to malignancy.

MIT Mini Cheetah robot shows off with backflips, ‘pronking,’ and more

Brittany A. Roston | Mar 1, 2019

MIT's Biomimetic Robotics Laboratory has published a new video showing off its Mini Cheetah robot and a trick has learned: backflips. The robot features a four-legged design and weighs just under 20lbs; despite its mechanical nature, it is able to perform a backflip without any outside assistance. The robot is also shown on video running, rotating, and more.

Implosion Fabrication: MIT can now shrink structures to nanoscale

Chris Burns | Dec 14, 2018

It's called Implosion Fabrication. They can't quite shrink humans yet, but they can print a very tiny version of most any shape you choose. The MIT responsible for this project invented a way to capture the shape of an object and replicate it, further shrinking it down to nanoscale upon drying. It's sort of like Ant Man and the Wasp (2018), but just a little bit different.

MIT engineers create 3D transistors half the width of the smallest transistors available today

Shane McGlaun | Dec 10, 2018

MIT has announced an engineering breakthrough that has resulted in the smallest 3D transistors ever created. These new MIT transistors are half the width of the slimmest commercial models available today. MIT worked with the University of Colorado on this new transistor.