MIT researchers have now designed a sharp-tipped robot finger equipped with tactile sensing to meet the challenge of identifying buried objects. In experiments, the aptly named Digger Finger was able to dig through granular media such as sand and rice, and it correctly sensed the shapes of submerged items it encountered.

A team from MIT has been working on a self-driving system that uses machine learning so that custom hand-tuning isn’t needed. Their new end-to-end framework can navigate autonomously using only raw 3D point cloud data and low-resolution GPS maps, similar to those available on smartphones today.

CSAIL research on “Translating lost languages using machine learning” has been announced as one of the 2021 Netexplo Award Winners in partnership with UNESCO. 

Robotic arm equipped with a hairbrush helps with brushing tasks and could be an asset in assistive-care settings. 

CSAIL joined the launch of a new research initiative aiming to apply advanced machine learning and robotics to listen to and translate the communication of sperm whales. 

Professor Daniel Wolpert of Columbia University discusses the connection between motor memory and embodied intelligence. If motor learning is controlled by contextual inference, he posits and confirms experimentally, then contextual inference may be the key principle underlying how a diverse set of experiences is reflected in motor behavior.