These days, it's probably easier to identify what doesn't
fall within the realm of "information technology" than to describe
what does. Computers now affect practically everything, and their
domain continues to grow dramatically. But despite its ubiquity,
IT still offers unlimited potential. How can we exploit technology
to improve our productivity, our environment, our health and our
happiness? What inventions lie in the wings that will make us look
back on today as the Dark Ages? Some of the answers might be listed
below.
- (active) indicates project we are currently funding
- (complete) indicates project has completed funding
- (spin-out) indicates project has formed a company
Joel Dawson: A New Architecture for Highly Efficient, Broadband RF Transceivers
Very energy efficient, high data rate transmitters for broadband wireless communications, which will increase battery life in handsets and reduce heat generation in base stations. (active)
Srini Devadas: Authenticating and protecting digital information in portable devices
This approach would make devices like smart cards unclonable
and could have applications in digital rights management, particularly
in low-powered devices like cell phones and PDAs. (complete, spin-out)
Fredo
Durand: Tonal management for digital photography and video
A technique for digital photography that could compensate for
low light, capture the style of master photographers, and
improve the quality of medical imaging and video surveillance. (complete)
William Freeman: Image analysis
for digital cameras
This technology would enable cameras to recognize objects
making it easier to edit photographs and possibly enhance them automatically. (complete)
Dina Katabi : WikiDo: Large-Scale Automation of Computer Tasks
A software platform that will reduce the cost and time for computer support and maintenance by automatically capturing best ITpractices and solutions, generalizing these solutions to work for different machine configurations, and automatically implementing them on computers needing maintenance or support. (active)
Dina Katabi : High-Throughput Dense Wireless Networks
A new network design to create high- throughput for wireless networks to increase network availability in urban settings. (complete)
Tom Knight: A new approach for
speech recognition
A risky new processing approach could be the breakthrough necessary
to finally make speech recognition a reality. (complete)
Tomás Palacios: Gallium Nitride High Electron Mobility Transistors
A new approach to the fabrication technology of Gallium Nitride semiconductors to reduce the cost and improve the performance of electronic products. (active)
Anthony Patera: Real-time Component-based Simulations for Design
Current computer simulations used in engineering design are very complex to create and very time consuming to execute. The procedures developed in this project offer two key advantages: first, the ability to build --- once ---parametric computational components and to then re-use/assemble these components for the rapid and accurate analysis of a wide variety of systems; second, the ability to rigorously and rapidly certify the accuracy of these predictions relative to a detailed--physics high--resolution finite element truth. These techniques will allow engineers to perform very fast, reliable, low-cost simulations, and hence design and support better products. (Fall 2011. Info.)
Jovan Popovic: Easy computer
animation
This technology would make the once very time-consuming
work of animating characters much faster and easier. (complete)
Michael Stonebraker:
Integrating the Deep Web with the Shallow Web
This project will provide sophisticated search capability for the “deep web” of pages dynamically generated from data entered into forms. (active)
Michael Stonebraker : Next-generation data transformation tool
A next-generation data transformation tool to facilitate the extraction and transformation of data into one common format that could simplify this complex and expensive process. (complete)
Michael Stonebraker:
Hybrid DBMS optimized for read-intensive applications
Commercial database management systems are designed as "row" stores for update-intensive
applications, leaving an opportunity for a radical new hybrid approach that is
optimized for both reading and writing. (complete, spin-out)
Michael Ernst: Automatically Generating
System Specifications
Some systems are so complicated, it's difficult to identify their
problems, much less solve them. But this project is developing a
way to understand, test, and debug highly complex software systems. (complete)
Eric Feron: Slow down warning system for safe highways
On the highway, brake-light warnings are often "too
little, too late." This unique innovation would make the highways
safer for drivers, even if a small fraction of vehicles had them
installed. (complete, spin-out)
John Guttag: An accurate, inexpensive
cardiac screening system
A computerized cardiac screening system that is as non-invasive,
inexpensive, and fast as a stethoscope, but much more accurate,
and it could be a boon to cardiac diagnostics. (complete)
Doug Hart: High speed 3-D surface imaging
A novel 3D image-processing system could greatly enhance the medical
procedure of endoscopy and enable robotic-assisted, minimally invasive
surgery, in addition to a whole host of other applications. (complete)
Richard Lanza : Phase contrast X-ray imaging
A phase contrast approach to x-ray imaging that could impact a wide range of areas, from medical imaging to homeland security. (active)
Richard Lanza: Low-cost x-ray imaging
systems
An inexpensive x-ray imaging system using off-the-shelf scanners and personal
computers could be a boon to medicine in developing countries and could be used
for homeland security and inspection applications. (complete)
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