Collaborate Disseminate
Although wing-flapping micro-drones do already exist, the things tend to be quite fragile – and thus not ideally suited to real-world use. An experimental new one, however, utilizes a softer mechanism for greatly enhanced durability.Continue ReadingCat… Continue reading Tiny wing-flapping drone gets tougher by going softer
Elsewhere on the Internet last week, people were solving a mystery about a PDP-1 running a model train. People who know about such things acknowledge that the “Tech Model Railroad Club” (TMRC) at MIT used a PDP-1 to operate its layout for a few years. … Continue reading PDP 1s and Model Trains
Modern zoom lenses work wonderfully, but crack one open and you’ll be greeted by a truly terrifying degree of micro-mechanical complexity, with 20 or more polished glass elements set to move in different directions at varying rates when you work the zo… Continue reading MIT creates a camera lens that can change focus without moving parts
When you’re laser-cutting parts for a build project, you obviously want to be as efficient as possible. A new MIT-created program is designed to help, by optimizing the manner in which parts are cut from sheets of raw material.Continue ReadingCategory:… Continue reading MIT tech gets the most bang for the buck out of laser-cut materials
For some time now, we’ve been hearing about prosthetic limbs that are designed to work with amputees’ bodies. MIT researchers are taking a different approach, though, with a new type of amputation that facilitates the use of prostheses.Continue Reading… Continue reading New amputation technique may offer better control of prosthetic limbs
MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) wants to convert laser cutters into something more. By attaching a head to a commercial laser cutter and adding software, they combine the functions of a cutter, a conductive printer, and a …read more
Although many surgical procedures can now be performed laparoscopically (through a small incision in the skin), it’s still difficult to seal up internal injuries in this manner. MIT is developing a way of doing so, though, that’s inspired by origami.Co… Continue reading Origami-inspired surgical patches could be applied laparoscopically
As much as we love Star Trek, we have to admit there are some continuity problems. For example, in Spock’s Brain, the alien-of-the-week’s ion drive gave Scotty engineering envy. However, in The Menagerie, the computer identifies a Starfleet …read more
By taking some inspiration from nature and some from the way the synthetic fiber Kevlar is formed, scientists at MIT have developed self-assembling nanoribbons they say are stronger than steel. With their unique set of properties and means of fabricati… Continue reading Kevlar-inspired, self-forming nanoribbons are stronger than steel
While lab-grown meat shows promise for sparing animals from slaughter, wood still comes entirely from trees that are cut down. That may not always be the case, though, as scientists are now working on growing it in a lab, too.Continue ReadingCategory: … Continue reading Scientists take a step closer to growing wood in a lab