The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has elected 67 new members and 12 foreign members. Computing Community Consortium (CCC) council member Daniela Rus is one of the newly elected members. Daniela is a Professor of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS) and Director of the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Hari Balakrishnan, the Fujitsu Chair Professor in the EECS Department at MIT was also elected. From the NAE press release: Election to the National Academy of Engineering is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to “engineering research, practice, or education, including, where […]

Inspired by the traditional Japanese art form of origami, researchers from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have figured out how to take flat sheets of specialized paper and plastic and make it self-fold into a complex machine that can “get-up and go”. The robot starts as a flat sheet with embedded electronics, which can then transform autonomously into a functional machine. This is done using shape-memory composites that fold themselves along embedded hinges to recreate fundamental folded patterns. The origami-inspired robot can fold itself in 4 minutes and walk away without human intervention. This demonstrates the potential for both complex self-folding machines and autonomous, self-controlled assembly. “This is a new […]