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To get more light in a tight spot, solar panels should be three dimensional, according to a study detailed today.

Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published a paper in the journal Energy and Environmental Science this week which found that building a solar array with panels at different angles can significantly improve performance. The best improvements were in cloudy conditions, in winter months, and in locations far from the equator.

Using simulations and small test structures, the group found power increased between two to 20 times compared to a set of flat panels. In initial tests, though, it … Read more

If you had to track down fugitives hidden in five cities around the world, would one day and a $5,000 reward be enough to succeed? And if so, how?

That's what the people behind the TAG Challenge want to know--and what the whole world will soon find out.

On March 31, mug shots of five "suspects" will be published, and it'll be game on in a global hunt for "jewel thieves" in Bratislava, Slovakia; Stockholm; London; Washington, D.C.; and New York City, each of whom will spend 12 hours that day in … Read more

Researchers at MIT like what they see so far from a camera that can perform a nifty trick: peer around a corner.

And it captures a 3D image to boot.

The innovative process is called femtophotography, after the incredibly quick laser pulses involved; they're measured in quadrillionths of a second. Those bursts of light bounce around off ordinary doors or walls or floors -- mirrors need not apply -- and make their way back to a picosecond-accurate detector at the camera (picoseconds = trillionths of a second) that records the elapsed time and then does the math on how the light bursts traveled.

The system runs through the drill multiple times in that blink of an eye, with the light bursts traveling several different routes to provide a more complete 3D image.

Or to put it in a more mind-blowing perspective, the camera captures all that target object illumination at the equivalent of roughly 1 trillion frames per second. Much more detail is available at this FAQ on the Camera Culture site.… Read more

MIT researchers are trying to get computers to correctly interpret hand signals used by crews aboard aircraft carriers so that robot planes can follow them.

As Northrop Grumman continues to develop its X-47B robot stealth plane, which is aimed at carrier use, Yale Song and colleagues at MIT are working on a machine learning system that could allow autonomous planes to understand crew directions.

In its research presented in the journal ACM Transactions on Interactive Intelligent Systems, the team used a database of abstract representations of 24 gestures often employed by carrier personnel. They trained an algorithm to classify gestures, including posture and hand position, based on what it knew from the database. … Read more

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--In its typically geeky fashion, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology celebrated the birth of one of the first video games by challenging students to re-create it on a computer the size of a business card.

MIT engineering students and faculty this week showed off a simulation of Spacewar on campus and at the MIT Museum to mark the 50th anniversary of the video game's release. Written by four students in their spare time, the video game influenced how many later games were designed and was part of a broader shift in how people viewed computers.

Spacewar, created … Read more

In a mashup of biology and electronics, researchers said they've made progress in making low-cost solar cell from plants.

A paper published in Scientific Reports today describes an improved method for making electricity-producing "biophotovoltaics" without the sophisticated laboratory equipment previously needed. Researchers said custom-designed chemicals could be mixed with green plants, even grass clippings, to create a photovoltaic material by harnessing photosynthesis.

"Take that bag (of chemicals), mix it with anything green and paint it on the roof," said MIT researcher Andreas Mershin, who is one of the paper's co-authors, in a statement. He … Read more

A group of 1,000 young people consider the world's greatest innovator to be Thomas Edison, whose crowning left the late Steve Jobs in second place.

Edison, the creator of the light bulb and phonograph, among many other inventions, earned the top title among 52 percent of those polled by Lemelson-MIT, a program that tries to honor inventors who have improved our lives and gauge peoples' perceptions about innovation.

Often lauded for his spirit of creativity, especially following his death, Jobs took second place with 24 percent citing him as the greatest innovator of all time.

The results surprised … Read more

Compact cars take on a new meaning when they can literally fold themselves.

Spain will begin producing an electric car next year that's about the same size as a Smart, but can collapse itself into an even smaller footprint when parked. The Hiriko, which means "urban car" in Basque, is the brainchild of researchers at the MIT Media Lab, and is designed to meet the needs of increasingly congested and parking challenged urban centers.

Seven Basque design firms worked with MIT to bring the prototype to production and turn it into a 100-inch EV that seats two. … Read more

We know Superman's weakness is kryptonite, but what about the rest of us mortals? What can bring us to our knees and turn us into a pile of goo? Cuteness, that's what.

Meet Boxie, the cutest cardboard robot to ever roam Earth. Boxie is the creation of a team researchers at MIT's Media Lab, who set out on a project to gather stories from people with only the help of machines. Of course, part of the challenge there is to get humans to open up to a robot, but the solution turned out to be pretty simple: make the robot adorable.

Led by researcher Alexander Reben, the group from MIT designed Boxie out of cardboard and equipped it with a microprocessor, a board that generates audio, and some sensors, among other things.

Reben said they originally made Boxie out of white plastic but the end result was rather scary looking, so they made the switch to cardboard. Not only more friendly looking, cardboard also kept the cost, complexity, and weight down, allowing the team to create more Boxies. … Read more