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computer science and artificial intelligence laboratory

Smile! We know how fast your heart is beating

Have you ever noticed your head rocking back and forth very slightly when you sit still? That's the effect of blood rushing up to feed your brain.

Now Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers can accurately measure that phenomenon on regular video and figure out how fast someone's heart is beating. They say it might help detect cardiac disease.

The scientists at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory believe the algorithm could be used for video monitoring of patients with sensitive skin, such as newborns or elderly people. … Read more

MIT MAV jockeys: We don't need no stinkin' GPS

Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) may be small, but they're costly, so researchers have devised ways for them to fly in GPS-denied urban and indoor environments where they could otherwise get lost or crash.

Existing highly-precise, non-GPS navigation units are too large, heavy, and expensive to install on an MAV. But the Robust Robotics Group at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory addressed this problem by developing algorithms that allow a miniature robo-quadrocopter to estimate their relative position, identify a clear path and then fly through dense air space.

"The size, weight, and budget limitations of … Read more