Given that our smartphones have largely become appendages over the last decade, it’s hard to imagine that ten years ago there was no Instagram, Uber, TikTok or Tinder. The ways we move, shop, eat and communicate continue to evolve thanks to the technologies we use. It can be easy to forget how quickly things have changed - so let’s turn back the clocks and reminisce about some of the computing breakthroughs that have transformed our lives in the ’10s.

Swarms of simple, interacting robots have the potential to unlock stealthy abilities for accomplishing complex tasks. Getting these robots to achieve a true-hive like mind of coordination, though, has still proved to be a hurdle.

A team from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) has brought us closer to this chameleon reality, by way of a new system that uses reprogrammable ink to let objects change colors when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) and visible light sources.

From 3-D printing to 3-D knitting, CSAIL researchers venture to streamline design technology through AI. The computer-aided design tool allows for customization of patterns based on user preferences with minimal programming knowledge needed.

Robots that have been programmed to see or feel can’t use these signals quite as interchangeably. To better bridge this sensory gap, researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have come up with a predictive artificial intelligence (AI) that can learn to see by touching, and learn to feel by seeing.

MIT startup Inkbit is overcoming traditional constraints to 3-D printing by giving its machines “eyes and brains.”

Wearing a sensor-packed glove while handling a variety of objects, MIT CSAIL researchers have compiled a massive dataset that enables an AI system to recognize objects through touch alone. The information could be leveraged to help robots identify and manipulate objects, and may aid in prosthetics design.