Research Stories

	Bringing precision to musculoskeletal health	Figur8, founded by MIT alumna Nan-Wei Gong SM ’09, PhD ’13, offers a wearable sensor system to improve the diagnosis and treatment of muscle injuries.
	Researchers find a new way to control magnets	Reversible system can flip the magnetic orientation of particles with a small voltage; could lead to faster data storage and smaller sensors.
	Making self-driving cars safer through keener robot perception	PhD student Heng Yang is developing algorithms to help driverless vehicles quickly and accurately assess their surroundings.
	Engineers create 3D-printed objects that sense how a user is interacting with them	Advance incorporates sensing directly into an object’s material, with applications for assistive technology and “intelligent” furniture.
	Researchers design sensors to rapidly detect plant hormones	SMART nanosensors are safer and less tedious than existing techniques for testing plants’ response to compounds such as herbicides.
	Q&A: Dina Katabi on a “smart” home with actual intelligence	MIT professor is designing the next generation of smart wireless devices that will sit in the background, gathering and interpreting data, rather than being worn on the body.
	360-degree transparency for construction sites made simple	Jeevan Kalanithi SM ’07 is CEO of OpenSpace, a company founded by three Media Lab graduates using computer vision to benefit the construction industry.
	Smart laser cutter system detects different materials	“SensiCut,” a smart material-sensing platform for laser cutters, can differentiate between 30 materials commonly found in makerspaces and workshops.
	Magnets could offer better control of prosthetic limbs	System uses tiny magnetic beads to rapidly measure the position of muscles and relay that information to a bionic prosthesis.
	Inflatable robotic hand gives amputees real-time tactile control	Prosthetic enables a wide range of daily activities, such as zipping a suitcase, shaking hands, and petting a cat.