CSAIL Spotlights
- Making computers explain themselves
November 15, 2016In recent years, the best-performing systems in artificial-intelligence research have come courtesy of neural networks, which look for patterns in training data that yield useful predictions or classifications. A neural net might, for instance, be trained to recognize certain objects in digital... - CSAIL founder Robert Fano honored at 11/4 memorial
November 01, 2016Robert “Bob” Fano, a professor emeritus in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) whose work helped usher in the personal computing age, died in Naples, Florida on July 13. He was 98.
His memorial took place Friday, November 4 in Kirsch Auditorium. A link to the... - Epoch Foundation celebrates nearly 20 years of collaboration with CSAIL
October 17, 2016In 1998 there were no iPhones, no touchscreens and no Facebook, but there was the beginning of an idea. That idea was for MIT’s best and brightest computer scientists to join forces with a group of forward-looking global businesses, with the goal of helping invent the future of computing.
... - CSAIL director Daniela Rus on robots, AI & how to get girls into coding
September 12, 2016CSAIL Director Daniela Rus sat down with Forbes Magazine to discuss robotics, artificial intelligence, and inspiring other women in the field of computer science.
“Our goal is to invent the future of computing. We want to use computer science to tackle major challenges in fields like... - Heads of NSA, FBI, Akamai to discuss cybersecurity at CSAIL summit w/CNBC & Aspen Institute
September 11, 2016The Aspen Institute, CNBC, and MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) are organizing the first-ever “Cambridge Cyber Summit” on October 5 at Kresge Auditorium on the MIT campus.
The one-day summit will bring together C-suite executives and business owners with public and... - Reach in and touch objects in videos with “Interactive Dynamic Video”
August 02, 2016We learn a lot about objects by manipulating them: poking, pushing, prodding, and then seeing how they react.
We obviously can’t do that with videos — just try touching that cat video on your phone and see what happens. But is it crazy to think that we could take that video and simulate how the cat... - Ingestible origami robot can patch wounds inside your stomach!
May 12, 2016In experiments involving a simulation of the human esophagus and stomach, researchers at CSAIL, the University of Sheffield, and the Tokyo Institute of Technology have demonstrated a tiny origami robot that can unfold itself from a swallowed capsule and, steered by external magnetic fields,... - First-ever 3-D printed robots made of both solids and liquids
April 18, 2016One reason we don’t yet have robot personal assistants buzzing around doing our chores is because making them is hard. Assembling robots by hand is time-consuming, while automation — robots building other robots — is not yet fine-tuned enough to make robots that can do complex tasks.
But if... - How this $10 laser could help self-driving cars
March 25, 2016The Microsoft Kinect was a boon to robotics researchers. The cheap, off-the-shelf depth sensor allowed them to quickly and cost-effectively prototype innovative systems that enable robots to map, interpret, and navigate their environments.
But sensors like the Kinect, which use infrared light to... - CSAIL PhD has made seven robots, and still finds time to meditate.
March 14, 2016For Julian Straub, one man’s trash truly became his treasure when a microcontroller sparked a keen interest in the field of robotics and artificial intelligence. The German native is a fourth-year EECS student studying how robots can better understand their surroundings. Straub studied electrical... - CSAIL, University of Cambridge team up for “Cambridge 2 Cambridge” cybersecurity hackathon
March 07, 2016With cyber-attacks and data privacy becoming increasingly important global concerns, many cybersecurity experts have called for more international collaboration in developing technologies to help us protect our data and systems.
To that end, this past weekend students from MIT’s Computer... - Marvin Minsky, founding father of AI (and CSAIL), dies at 88
January 25, 2016Marvin Minsky, a mathematician, computer scientist, and pioneer in the field of artificial intelligence, died at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital on Sunday, Jan. 24, of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 88.
Minsky, a professor emeritus at both CSAIL and the MIT Media Lab, was a pioneering... - PhD takes 1 million photos of Boston skyline over 5 years
January 19, 2016If a picture’s worth a thousand words, than Adrian Dalca is one seriously verbose researcher.
Over the last five years, the CSAIL PhD student has been snapping away at the Boston skyline from his MIT apartment, taking approximately one million shots with an assortment of GoPros, phone cameras and... - Could this app make you a better driver?
January 05, 2016Want to improve Boston’s recently-confirmed reputation for having the worst drivers in the country? Fortunately, now there’s an app for that.
Mobile-based telematics — apps and hardware that measure driving behaviors — may be the future of safer roads. Increasingly, people are using these... - Data, drones and 3D-printed hearts - the 7 coolest things that happened at CSAIL in 2015
December 08, 2015It’s been a busy year for MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL). Researchers won the Turing Award, created groundbreaking algorithms to fix code and detect disease, and developed exciting new robots and artificial-intelligence systems. As 2015 comes to a close,... - NASA gives CSAIL 6-ft-tall humanoid robot to develop software for future space missions
November 17, 2015This week NASA announced that MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) is one of just two institutions who will receive “R5,” a six-foot, 290-pound humanoid robot also known as “Valkyrie” that will serve on future space missions to Mars and beyond.
Full story here. - Self-flying drone dips, darts and dives through trees at 30 mph
November 02, 2015A researcher from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) has developed an obstacle-detection system that allows a drone to autonomously dip, dart and dive through a tree-filled field at upwards of 30 miles per hour. (Full story)
- “MultiFab” 3D-prints a record 10 materials at once, no assembly required
September 28, 20153D printing is great, assuming that all you need to do is print one material for one purpose, and that you’re okay with it taking a few tries. But the technology is still far behind where it could be in reliably... - CSAIL joins with Toyota on $25 million research center for autonomous cars
September 04, 2015The World Health Organization estimates that 3,400 people die each day from traffic-related accidents. Could autonomous cars be part of the solution?
Today CSAIL announced a new $25 million research center funded by Toyota to further the development of autonomous vehicle technologies, with... - CSAIL team shows President Obama their motion-tracking device at White House Demo Day
August 06, 2015It’s rare that anyone, including even an MIT computer scientist, is extended an invitation to the Oval Office. Even rarer, still: the opportunity to fall on your face in front of the “Leader of the Free World.”
To be clear, this particular fall in question was intentional. On Tuesday, researchers... - CSAIL report: giving government special access to data poses major security risks
July 07, 2015In recent months, government officials in the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries have made repeated calls for law-enforcement agencies to be able to access, upon due authorization, encrypted data to help them solve crimes.
Beyond the ethical and political implications of such an... - CSAIL team finishes inches away from winning $2 million DARPA Robotics Challenge (DRC)
June 05, 2015CSAIL finishes inches away from winning $2 million DARPA Robotics Challenge
Research team programs 6’2’’, 400-lb humanoid robot to lift beams, climb stairs & drive car
By Adam Conner-Simons, MIT CSAIL
Last week, after three years, two months and 650,000 lines of code, the CSAIL ... - Learn a language while you text
May 14, 2015The average person spends 10 to 15 minutes a day waiting for texts and instant-message (IM) replies, according to an analysis by Carrie Cai, a PhD student at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL).
What if you could be more productive during those idle moments? Cai is on... - Learn about Big Data online! Enroll now in CSAIL-taught course with MIT Professional Education
April 28, 2015Sign Up Now for Spring Session of "Tackling the Challenges of Big Data"
Starting May 5 MIT Professional Education will be offering a new installment of the online professional course, "Tackling the Challenges of Big Data".
Twelve faculty experts from CSAIL will lead the course with... - Michael Stonebraker wins $1m Turing Award
March 25, 2015Credit: Erica Ferrone Photography
Michael Stonebraker, a researcher at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) who has revolutionized the field of database management systems (DBMSs) and founded multiple successful database companies, has won the Association for... - MIT announces 3 new cybersecurity initiatives
March 02, 2015MIT Launches Three Institute-Wide Cybersecurity Efforts
New research programs to tackle technical, regulatory and business challenges.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – On Thursday, March 12, MIT launched three new research endeavors aimed at addressing the technical, regulatory and business... - How an LED-filled “robot garden” can make coding more accessible
February 26, 2015Here’s one way to get kids excited about programming: a "robot garden" with dozens of fast-changing LED lights and more than 100 origami robots that can crawl, swim, and blossom like flowers.
A team from CSAIL and the Department of Mechanical Engineering have developed a tablet-operated... - Obama, UK PM Cameron announce CSAIL cybersecurity competition
January 16, 2015As part of a series of cybersecurity initiatives made public today during British Prime Minister David Cameron’s visit with President Barack Obama, the two nations announced that MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) will face off against the University of Cambridge... - Learn about Big Data online! Enroll now in CSAIL-taught course with MIT Professional Education
January 13, 2015Sign Up Now for Spring Session of "Tackling the Challenges of Big Data"
Starting February 3 MIT Professional Education will be offering a new installment of the online professional course, "Tackling the Challenges of Big Data".
Twelve faculty experts from CSAIL will lead the course with... - CSAIL opens lab to 150 local students for "Hour of Code"
December 12, 2014Yesterday CSAIL hosted 150 local students for its first annual “Hour of Code” demo fair, tied to the international initiative aimed at getting young people excited about programming.
Researchers showed off their work to math and computer science students from schools throughout greater Boston,...
