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How Talking To Your Computer Can Improve Your Social Skills
People with a fear of social situations are often labelled as loners, but social phobias are actually very common. For example, how many of us get anxious about speaking in front of a large crowd? To help people over come these fears, researchers at MIT have developed an interactive program that coaches people through social interactions, which boosts their confidence.
Drinks-On With The World’s Biggest, Baddest Bartending Robot
At the Google I/O after party the other night, there was one bartender in particular that stood out. It wasn’t the drink he made, or the friendly chatter. It was more than he weighed several tons and could break you with the flick of the wrist. Meet the Makr Shakr.
Printable Self-Assembling Bots Will One Day Be Our Affordable Minions
There seem to be two major camps when it comes to robotic research these days: those working to create the most capable and human-like robots with no concern over cost, and those looking to build useful robots but on the cheap. And the researchers at Harvard and MIT behind this printable inchworm, obviously fall into that latter category.
Microscopic Straws Suck Liquid Without Any Power
Researchers at MIT have discovered that when nanowires just billionths of a metre thick are inserted into liquids, they passively draw it upwards along its length without any outside power or suction. It’s like the world’s tiniest Dyson that you never have to plug in.
Monster Machines: NASA’s Laser Satellite Could Deliver Fibre Optic Speeds From Lunar Orbit
For all of their advanced technologies, modern satellites still rely on low-bandwidth radio transmitters to communicate with ground control. But they could soon be upgraded to beyond broadband speeds once NASA’s new laser-based communication system prototype gets off the ground.
Hackers Deface MIT Website In Aaron Swartz Suicide Revenge Attack
Last time Anonymous plunged into MIT’s servers, it was to set up a small memorial for Aaron Swartz. Today the whole homepage is defaced, and it’s really just incoherent. UPDATE: Hackers speak.
Anonymous Hacks MIT In Aaron Swartz’s Name
The Internet is dealing with the suicide of gifted programmer and activist Aaron Swartz in a variety of ways — but Anonymous is responding with what it does best. Two of MIT’s sites have been hacked into memorials.
MIT Launching Internal Investigation To Determine Possible Role In Aaron Swartz Suicide
It’s no secret that a factor in Aaron Swartz’s recent suicide was likely the charges being pressed against him by in part by MIT over the whole JSTOR incident. While JSTOR backed off, MIT tacitly backed the U.S. attorneys who continued to push, hard. Now, after being criticized in a statement by Swartz’s friends and family, MIT has announced its intention to go back and investigate the legal action internally.
This Polymer Film Flexes Like An Artificial Muscle
This polymer film is expanding and contracting like a muscle, and it looks pretty alive doing it. But the energy is coming from water vapour, not black magic. Go figure.
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