Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL)

Andrew Lo joins CSAILEconomist hopes to merge the fields of computer science and artificial intelligence with research on financial markets and risk.

Increasing fuel efficiency with a smartphoneA network of dashboard-mounted phones can collect data on traffic lights and tell drivers how to avoid inefficient stopping and starting.

Portable, super-high-resolution 3-D imagingA simple new imaging system could help manufacturers inspect their products, forensics experts identify weapons and doctors identify cancers.

Defibrillator for stalled softwareA new tool interrupts the ‘infinite loops’ that cause computer hang-ups, letting users save data and finish tasks before restarting a stalled program.

Computer learns language by playing gamesBy basing its strategies on the text of a manual, a computer infers the meanings of words without human supervision.

The math of the Rubik’s cubeNew research establishes the relationship between the number of squares in a Rubik’s-cube-type puzzle and the maximum number of moves required to solve it.

Agarwal named CSAIL directorSucceeds Zue to lead the Institute’s largest interdisciplinary lab

You can take it with youA new system lets you transfer open applications between a computer and a cellphone simply by pointing the phone’s camera at the computer’s screen.

Faster computer graphicsDigitally mimicking the photographic blur caused by moving objects is surprisingly hard, but new research offers ways to make it easier.

Cookies, anyone?Graduate student Mario Bollini of Professor Daniela Rus' Distributed Robotics Lab is currently programming the PR2 robot to bake chocolate chip cookies.

Honing household helpersMIT computer scientists work toward improving robots’ ability to plan and perform complex actions, domestically and elsewhere.

Of minds and machinesFinal installment of MIT’s 150th anniversary symposia explores intelligence — both human and artificial.

Speeding swarms of sensor robotsA new algorithm ensures that robotic environmental sensors will be able to focus on areas of interest without giving other areas short shrift.

Demaine’s artwork selected for Smithsonian exhibitPart of the 40 Under 40: Craft Futures exhibition, which will run starting in 2012.

Information AgeAs part of MIT’s 150th-birthday celebration, computer science luminaries — many from MIT's faculty — gathered on campus for a two-day symposium.

Flying like the birdsMultidisciplinary university research initiative, led by a CSAIL researcher, is developing a bird-sized UAV.

Targeted resultsBy envisioning data as 'graphs,' MIT researchers show how to find local solutions to otherwise overwhelmingly complex problems.

Kaashoek wins ACM’s prize for young researchersThe professor of computer science, 45, is only the fourth recipient of the prize from the Association for Computing Machinery.

iRobot to the rescueCSAIL spinoff sends robotic aid to Japan

Dueling algorithmsIf software companies design their algorithms with the sole intention of outperforming each other, the customer can be the loser.

Rivest unlocks cryptography's past, looks toward futurePublic-key system has worked and made Internet commerce feasible, but new systems are ready in case flaws are found.

Data visualization tool developed at MIT gets Library of Congress supportMIT Libraries receives grant for work on 'Exhibit 3.0' software

Turning reviews into ratingsA new system automatically combs through online reviews to provide recommendations according to unusual criteria.

A clearer picture of visionNew mathematical model of information processing in the brain accurately predicts some of the peculiarities of human vision.

Breaking bottlenecksA new algorithm enables much faster dissemination of information through self-organizing networks with a few scattered choke points.

Harrell convenes thought-leaders to catalyze new research informed by science, humanities and arts disciplines

Faster websites, more reliable dataWeb servers that store data locally save time on database searches but sometimes serve up obsolete results. A new system solves that problem.

Why telecom regulation needs to changeResearch suggests that the approach that worked with a few large companies with aligned interests needs revisiting in the Internet age.

First improvement of fundamental algorithm in 10 yearsThe max-flow problem, which is ubiquitous in network analysis, scheduling, and logistics, can now be solved more efficiently than ever.