MIT teaches the Cheetah robot to jump. Humanity one step closer to extinction
Technology, news Jason England Technology, news Jason England

MIT teaches the Cheetah robot to jump. Humanity one step closer to extinction

Remember MIT's Cheetah robot? The one that can outrun Usain Bolt. Turns out the researchers at the university's Biometrics Robotics Lab have now upgraded the robot with new algorithms that give it the ability to detect and jump over obstacles up to 40 centimetres tall. This makes the Cheetah robot the first to jump hurdles autonomously, and the next step towards the beginning of Skynet.

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MIT Invents Shapeshifting Display. Reach Through And Touch Someone
Technology, news Jason England Technology, news Jason England

MIT Invents Shapeshifting Display. Reach Through And Touch Someone

MIT has invented and shown off a "Dynamic Shape Display," which looks prime to be the next step of a touch interface by allowing you to reach out and touch someone (or something). Called inFORM, this display can physically change shape to render 3D content, such as someone reaching through a screen, through the use of a large surface that sits on a series of pins, actuators and linkages.

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'Obake' Elastic Touchscreen Prototype Allows Literal Pinch To Zoom

 

We've seen touchscreen technology evolve over the years; but it has never really developed further than pressing against a flat display.  However, a new prototype called 'Obake,' designed by Dhairya Dand and Rob Hemsley of MIT's Media Lab, hopes to change this with an elastic screen - bringing a literal meaning to gestures such as pinch-to-zoom.

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Science, news, tech Jason England Science, news, tech Jason England

MIT Invents Shape-Shifting Robots. Small Step Towards Real-Life Transformers

This device, known as a milli-motein, doesn’t look like much more than something you'd find in a home-workshop drawer.  But this millimeter-sized set of motorized components inspired by proteins may be a harbinger of real-life Transformers, with the ability to naturally fold themselves into incredibly complex shapes.

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Wearable Sensor System Creates Digital Maps In Real-Time

Building on previous research lending robots the ability to map their environments simply by manoeuvring itself around a building autonomously, MIT researchers have now built a portable, wearable sensor system that automatically creates a digital map in real-time using data collected from the wearer’s every move.

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Scientists Develop Glucose Fuel Cell Which Could Power Medical Implants

Scientists from MIT have developed a fuel cell capable of running on the same sugar that powers the human bodies’ own cells. So far, the fuel cell is capable of generating hundreds of megawatts in power and has the capacity to be able to power highly-efficient medical implants which could be used to allow paralysed patients to move their arms and legs again.

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MaKey MaKey Lets You Turn Everyday Objects Into Touchpads

Have you ever played Super Mario Bros. with nothing more than Pay-Doh, played piano simply by walking up the stairs, or danced to Dance Dance Revolution by putting your feet into buckets of water? Led by the belief that 'everyone is an inventor', two graduate students from MIT's Media Lab have created a printed board that lets you turn everyday objects into touchpads. From bananas doubling up as keyboard keys, to pencilling in your very own joystick.

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Tangible's 'Spatially Aware Display' Is A Window Into The World Of Minority Report

It seems however financially or culturally successful Steven Spielberg’s 2002 neo-noir science-fiction film Minority Report proved to be, the concept designers and artists behind it will feel no greater reward in that their own vision of the future is ever so slightly influencing our own path in technology. From insect robots capable of recon missions, to facial recognition advertising billboards and, yes, crime prediction software

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