Happy Independence Day!

LIDS researchers are helping to make features used in machine-learning models more understandable for end users. “Out in the real world,” Alexandra Zytek says, “there is still a lot of confusion stemming from the features, not from the model itself.”

A new robotic system uses radio frequency signals, computer vision, and complex reasoning to efficiently find items hidden under a pile. Its algorithms locate more hidden items than other sophisticated robotic systems, and in half the time.

Tapping into the million-year energy source below our feet, MIT spinout Quaise Energy is working to create geothermal wells made from the deepest holes in the world.

After two years of online reunion celebrations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, MIT welcomed back almost 10,000 alumni and guests to celebrate the anniversary of their graduation from the Institute.

The human liver has amazing regenerative capabilities: Even if 70 percent of it is removed, the remaining tissue can regrow a new liver within months. By tracing liver regrowth, engineers hope to harness these abilities to help treat chronic disease.

Chelsi Cocking combines her love of computer science and design in her research and outreach at the Media Lab. She hopes that eventually through her work, “people will see coding as a tool for creation and expression without feeling intimidated.”