In an update to a five-year project from CSAIL and the Senseable City Lab, researchers have been developing the world's first fleet of autonomous boats for the City of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and have recently added a new, larger vessel to the group: “Roboat II.”

John Leonard's research addresses navigation and mapping for autonomous mobile robots operating in challenging environments. 

In the era of social distancing, the rapid shift to virtual communication may be leaving some gaps in our connections to each other, especially when we are so used to meeting regularly face-to-face. Isolation, though necessary right now, can take a toll on our mental health.

In our current and evolving circumstances surrounding the novel coronavirus outbreak, we are advised to avoid sharing rides with other passengers as part of the effort to slow the spread of the disease. As in other markets, these necessary practices are impacting the shared transportation industry. But some businesses are rising to the challenge and rethinking how they use their existing ride-sharing technology to help during the crisis.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS) announced that MIT professors Ronitt Rubinfeld and Joshua Tenenbaum were among their new 2020 members. The new class of more than 250 members recognizes the outstanding achievements of individuals in academia, the arts, business, government, and public affairs.

A simulation system invented at MIT to train driverless cars creates a photorealistic world with infinite steering possibilities, helping the cars learn to navigate a host of worse-case scenarios before cruising down real streets.  

As more Covid-19 cases appear in the United States and around the world, the need for fast, easy-to-use diagnostic tests is becoming ever more pressing. A startup company spun out from MIT is now working on a paper-based test that can deliver results in under half an hour, based on technology developed at MIT’s Institute for Medical Engineering and Science (IMES).

View the annual list from MIT Technology Review that includes technologies that "will make a real difference in solving important problems."