To excel at engineering design, generative AI must learn to innovate, study finds
AI models that prioritize similarity falter when asked to design something completely new.
Department
Mechanical Engineering
Designing a revolution
An MIT professor and students collaborate with Chilean partners for an exhibition marking 50 years since the Allende presidency.
MIT design would harness 40 percent of the sun’s heat to produce clean hydrogen fuel
Conventional systems for producing hydrogen depend on fossil fuels, but the new system uses only solar energy.
Finger-shaped sensor enables more dexterous robots
MIT engineers develop a long, curved touch sensor that could enable a robot to grasp and manipulate objects in multiple ways.
A more effective experimental design for engineering a cell into a new state
By focusing on causal relationships in genome regulation, a new AI method could help scientists identify new immunotherapy techniques or regenerative therapies.
MIT announces 2023 Bose Grants for daring new research
Grants fund studies of honeybee tracking, glass building materials, and defining excellence in human movement.
Desalination system could produce freshwater that is cheaper than tap water
MIT engineers and collaborators developed a solar-powered device that avoids salt-clogging issues of other designs.
3 Questions: A new PhD program from the Center for Computational Science and Engineering
Co-directors Youssef Marzouk and Nicolas Hadjiconstantinou describe how the standalone degree aims to train students in cross-cutting aspects of computational science and engineering.
2023-2024 Accenture Fellows advance technology at the crossroads of business and society
The MIT and Accenture Convergence Initiative for Industry and Technology announces new graduate fellows.
Mechanical engineering with a twist: Pursuing a passion for robotics with customized major
Sharmi Shah ’23 pursued Course 2-A/6, a customizable degree path that combines mechanical engineering with computer science and electrical engineering.
AI-driven tool makes it easy to personalize 3D-printable models
With Style2Fab, makers can rapidly customize models of 3D-printable objects, such as assistive devices, without hampering their functionality.
A pose-mapping technique could remotely evaluate patients with cerebral palsy
The machine-learning method works on most mobile devices and could be expanded to assess other motor disorders outside of the doctor’s office.
A. Michael West: Advancing human-robot interactions in health care
When he isn’t investigating human motor control, the graduate student gives back by volunteering with programs that helped him grow as a researcher.
Making life friendlier with personal robots
Sharifa Alghowinem, a research scientist at the Media Lab, explores personal robot technology that explains emotions in English and Arabic.
Smart pill can track key biological markers in real-time
Coupling engineered bacteria with low-power electronics could be highly effective in diagnosis, treatment of bowel diseases.