Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

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2018

Soft robotic fish swims alongside real ones

Even with many technological advances in recent years, it remains a challenging task to document marine life up close. But scientists believe they have a possible solution: using robots.

A new way to find better battery materials

A new approach to analyzing and designing new ion conductors — a key component of rechargeable batteries — could accelerate the development of high-energy lithium batteries, and possibly other energy storage and delivery devices such as fuel cells, researchers say.

Dissecting artificial intelligence to better understand human brain

In the natural world, intelligence takes many forms. It could be a bat using echolocation to expertly navigate in the dark, or an octopus quickly adapting its behavior to survive in the deep ocean. Likewise, in the computer science world, multiple forms of artificial intelligence are emerging - different networks each trained to excel in a different task.

Custom carpentry with help from robots

Every year thousands of carpenters injure their hands and fingers doing dangerous tasks such as sawing. In an effort to minimize injury and let carpenters focus on design and other bigger-picture tasks, a team has created AutoSaw, a system that lets nonexperts customize different items that can then be constructed with the help of robots.

TARA Biosystems

IDTechEx analyst Nadia Tsao interviewed TARA Biosystems CEO Dr Misti Ushio on August 7, 2017. TARA is developing cardiac models for pharmaceutical testing.

Microgrids but not as we know them

The "IDTechEx Show!" Berlin, April 11-12 will have 2500+ paying delegates, 220 exhibitors and nine parallel conferences but there is a difference this year.

Programming drones to fly in the face of uncertainty

Companies have big ideas for drones that can deliver packages right to your door. But even putting aside the policy issues, programming drones to fly through cluttered spaces like cities is difficult. Being able to avoid obstacles while traveling at high speeds is computationally complex, especially for small drones that are limited in how much they can carry onboard for real-time processing.

Getting to the heart of carbon nanotube clusters

Integrating nanoscale fibers such as carbon nanotubes into commercial applications, from coatings for aircraft wings to heat sinks for mobile computing, requires them to be produced in large scale and at low cost.

Robotic solution to water leaks

The robot is a soft body, tetherless robot for finding leaks early and accurately in municipal water distribution pipes.

New metal-mesh membrane could lead to inexpensive power storage

A type of battery first invented nearly five decades ago could catapult to the forefront of energy storage technologies, thanks to a new finding by researchers.

Sun Shines on CIGS Photovoltaics

Copper indium gallium diselenide CIGS photovoltaics has been around for a long time even in bendable form. It is intermediate in efficiency between organic photovoltaics - poor - and gallium arsenide PV - excellent. Both of those are available in more flexible forms. Dye Sensitised Solar Cells are nearer to CIGS in efficiency but their most promising form is perovskite.

Custom ink, ultraviolet light to repeatedly change an object's colour

3-D printing has come a long way since the first rapid prototyping patent was rejected in 1980. The technology has evolved from basic designs to a wide range of highly-customizable objects. Still, there's a big issue: Once objects are printed, they're final. If you need a change, you'll need a reprint.

Pathway opens to minimize waste in solar energy capture

Researchers have made an important discovery with significant implications for the future of solar cell material design.

Rotational 3D printing technique yields high-performance composites

Nature has produced exquisite composite materials—wood, bone, teeth, and shells, for example—that combine light weight and density with desirable mechanical properties such as stiffness, strength and damage tolerance.

Eliminating Batteries in Desalination Plants, Cellphones and IOT

IDTechEx Chairman, Dr Peter Harrop, explores the importance of eliminating batteries, with other energy harvesting techniques being increasingly more viable.

Paving the way for a non-electric battery to store solar energy

Materials chemists have been trying for years to make a new type of battery that can store solar or other light-sourced energy in chemical bonds rather than electrons, one that will release the energy on demand as heat instead of electricity - addressing the need for long-term, stable, efficient storage of solar power.

Auto-tuning data science: New research streamlines machine learning

A new automated machine-learning system performs as well or better than its human counterparts — and works 100 times faster.

2017

And the beat goes on

Engineering students and their professor have been working for several months to create an implantable device that would capture energy from the beating of a heart and turn it into electrical power to run a device such as a pacemaker.

Needle-free drug injector gets commercialization deal

MIT spinout Portal Instruments has now landed a commercialization deal for a smart, needle-free injection device that could reduce the pain and anxiety associated with needle injections, shorten administration time, and improve patient adherence.

llumination from nanobionic plants to replace some electric lighting

Imagine that instead of switching on a lamp when it gets dark, you could read by the light of a glowing plant on your desk.

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