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Shwetak Patel, a doctoral candidate in the School of Interactive Computing, has developed a device that can turn a home's ventilation system into a surveillance system by measuring minute changes in air pressure in the rooms. Patel says his approach is much cheaper than motion sensors, because it simply modifies existing systems. Source: New Scientist

Robots will play greater roles in the lives of average people as scientists learn to instill robots with more intelligence. "The personal robot market is already growing 400% per year," says Henrik Christensen, director of Robotics and Intelligent Machines Center. Nexi--MIT Media Lab's new humanoid robot that can see, hear, and smile--is symbolic of the widespread research interest in future applications for personal robots. Source: Industry Week

Frank Dellaert, associate professor at the School of Interactive Computing, Ph.D. student Grant Schindler and scientists at Microsoft Research are at work on “4D Cities,” a project to create an image database using decades' worth of photos to show a city's evolution as a kind of virtual time-lapse film. Source: Architect Magazine