A faster, better way to train general-purpose robots
In the classic cartoon “The Jetsons,” Rosie the robotic maid seamlessly switches from vacuuming the house to cooking dinner to taking out the trash. But in real life, training a…
Can robots learn from machine dreams?
For roboticists, one challenge towers above all others: generalization — the ability to create machines that can adapt to any environment or condition. Since the 1970s, the field has evolved…
Helping robots grasp the unpredictable
When robots come across unfamiliar objects, they struggle to account for a simple truth: Appearances aren’t everything. They may attempt to grasp a block, only to find out it’s a literal…
Robotic palm mimics human touch
“I'll have you eating out of the palm of my hand” is an unlikely utterance you'll hear from a robot. Why? Most of them don't have palms. If you have…
MIT engineers design flexible “skeletons” for soft, muscle-powered robots
Our muscles are nature’s perfect actuators — devices that turn energy into motion. For their size, muscle fibers are more powerful and precise than most synthetic actuators. They can even…
Method rapidly verifies that a robot will avoid collisions
Before a robot can grab dishes off a shelf to set the table, it must ensure its gripper and arm won’t crash into anything and potentially shatter the fine china.…
2022-23 Takeda Fellows: Leveraging AI to positively impact human health
The MIT-Takeda Program, a collaboration between MIT’s School of Engineering and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company, fuels the development and application of artificial intelligence capabilities to benefit human health and drug development.…
Using robotics to supercharge health care
Since its founding in 1998, Vecna Technologies has developed a number of ways to help hospitals care for patients. The company has produced intake systems to respond to Covid-19 patient…
Resilient bug-sized robots keep flying even after wing damage
Bumblebees are clumsy fliers. It is estimated that a foraging bee bumps into a flower about once per second, which damages its wings over time. Yet despite having many tiny…
3 Questions: How automation and good jobs can co-exist
In 2018, MIT convened its Task Force on the Work of the Future, which concluded in a 2020 report that while new technologies were not necessarily going to massively wipe…
