1
Breaking max efficiency of solar cells by activating 2 electrons with 1 photon
Researchers at MIT and Princeton have found a way to increase the output of silicon solar cells by allowing a single photon to release two electrons in the silicon.
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2
MIT engineers fly first-ever plane with no moving parts (2018)
MIT engineers have flown the first silent, fuel-free “ion plane.” The light aircraft is the first plane to fly with no propellers, turbine blades, or other moving parts.
3
MIT researchers develop a paper thin loudspeaker
MIT researchers created an ultrathin loudspeaker that can turn any rigid surface into a high-quality, active audio source. The fabrication process can enable the thin-film devices to be produced at scale.
4
Self-healing material can build itself from carbon in the air
A new material developed at MIT can mimic plants by taking carbon dioxide from the air and turning it into a useful solid material, potentially helping in the battle against global climate change.
5
A manufacturing process that produces long strips of high-quality graphene
MIT engineers have developed a scalable manufacturing process that spools out strips of graphene for use in ultrathin membranes.
6
New laser ultrasound technique can remotely image the inside of a person
MIT researchers have produced the first “laser ultrasound” images in humans, using eye- and skin-safe lasers. The new technique enables noncontact ultrasound imaging, which may help clinicians to remotely assess patients, infants, and contact-sensitive subjects such as burn victims.
7
A step toward fully 3D-printed active electronics
Researchers produced 3D-printed, semiconductor-free logic gates, which perform computations in active electronic devices. As they don’t require semiconductor materials, they represent a step toward 3D printing an entire active electronic device.
8
Fast desktop-scale extrusion 3D printing
On-demand printing: A new MIT 3-D printer is 10 times faster than commercial counterparts.
9
New batteries could make phones, drones, and electric cars last twice as long
MIT spinout SolidEnergy Systems has developed an anode-free lithium metal battery with double the energy capacity of lithium ion batteries that power smartphones, electric cars, wearables, and drones. The device was created by Qichao Hu, former postdoc in the group of batteries expert Donald Sadoway.
10
Tiny, tamper-proof ID tag can authenticate almost anything
A cryptographic tag developed at MIT uses terahertz waves to authenticate items by recognizing the unique pattern of microscopic metal particles that are mixed into the glue that sticks the tag to the item’s surface.
11
Engineers produce a fisheye lens that’s completely flat
Engineers at MIT and UMass Lowell have designed a wide-angle lens that is completely flat. It is the first flat fisheye lens to produce crisp, 180-degree panoramic images.
12
Chip design drastically reduces energy needed to compute with light
MIT researchers have developed a “photonic” artificial intelligence (AI) accelerator that computes using light instead of electricity — and consumes relatively little power in the process — to run massive neural networks millions of times more efficiently than today’s classical computers.
13
More efficient memory-management could enable chips with thousands of cores
MIT researchers have developed the first fundamentally new approach to cache coherence in more than three decades. The more-efficient memory-management scheme — nicknamed Tardis for its time-saving properties — could help enable chips with thousands of cores.
14
Leveraging a 3D printer “defect” to create a new quasi-textile
MIT Media Lab graduate student Jack Forman developed DefeXtiles, a tulle-like textile made from polymer filament, by controlling a common 3D printing defect.
15
3D printing with cellulose
Researchers at MIT have invented a 3-D printing process for cellulose, the world’s most abundant polymer.
16
Wireless system can power devices inside the body
MIT researchers have developed a new way to power and communicate with devices implanted deep within the human body. Such devices could be used to deliver drugs, monitor conditions inside the body, or treat disease by stimulating the brain with electricity or light.
17
Newly observed optical state could enable quantum computing with photons
MIT and Harvard physicists have created a new form of light that could enable quantum computing with photons.
18
Artificial “muscles” achieve powerful pulling force
MIT researchers have created a fiber-based, lightweight, fast-acting artificial muscle that could be useful for robotics and for prosthetics.
19
MIT engineers design tiny batteries for powering cell-sized robots
A zinc-air microbattery designed by MIT engineers could enable the deployment of cell-sized, autonomous robots for drug delivery within in the human body, as well as other applications such as locating leaks in gas pipelines.
20
Robot Disinfects Greater Boston Food Bank
MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), in collaboration with Ava Robotics and the Greater Boston Food Bank, designed a robot that disinfects surfaces and neutralizes aerosolized coronavirus with UV-C light. The approach uses a custom UV-C light fixture designed at CSAIL that is…
21
Battery-free self-powered sensor harvests magnetic energy
MIT researchers designed a self-powering, battery-free, energy-harvesting sensor. Using the framework they developed, they produced a temperature sensor that can harvest and store the energy from the magnetic field that exists in the open air around a wire.