Daniel Ackerman

latest from Daniel Ackerman

Courtesy: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Robotic finger uses tactile sensing to find buried items

Courtesy: Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT

Algorithm helps robots collaborate on difficult tasks

MIT researchers have developed a deep learning neural network to aid the design of soft-bodied robots, such as these iterations of a robotic elephant. Courtesy: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Researchers’ algorithm designs soft robots that sense

A simulated soft robot controlled to reach the same target (red dot) while acting either soft (left) or stiff (right). Courtesy: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Helping soft robots turn rigid on demand

Researchers have developed a data transfer system that pairs high-frequency silicon chips with a polymer cable as thin a strand of hair. Courtesy: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Info Management

Data transfer system connects silicon chips

Insects’ remarkable acrobatic traits help them navigate the aerial world, with all of its wind gusts, obstacles, and general uncertainty. Such traits are also hard to build into flying robots — but MIT Assistant Professor Kevin Yufeng Chen has built a system that approaches insects’ agility. Courtesy: Kevin Yufeng Chen, MIT

Tiny drones developed with an insect’s agility

Image courtesy: Brett Sayles

Industrial Networking

Researchers develop speedier network analysis for computer hardware

MIT researchers are developing a superconducting nanowire, which could enable more efficient superconducting electronics. Courtesy: Christine Daniloff, MIT

Nanowire could provide a stable superconducting transistor

MIT researchers have developed a neural “liquid” network that varies its equations’ parameters, enhancing its ability to analyze time series data. Courtesy: Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT

AI and Machine Learning

Machine-learning system adapts on the job

MIT researchers have developed an automated way to design customized hardware, or “brains,” that speeds up a robot’s operation. Courtesy: Jose-Luis Olivares, MIT

Designing customized robot brains for critical applications

Courtesy: MIT News

Process Instrumentation and Sensors

Method finds hidden warning signals in collected measurements

Courtesy: Masssachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

LED developed for direct integration into computer chips