CSAIL
How Well Do Explanation Methods For Machine-Learning Models Work?
Imagine a team of physicians using a neural network to detect cancer in mammogram images. Even if this machine-learning model seems to be performing well, it might be focusing on image features that are accidentally correlated with tumors, like a watermark or timestamp, rather than actual signs of tumors. To test these models, researchers use “feature-attribution …
A Tensor Language To The Rescue
High-performance computing is needed for an ever-growing number of tasks—such as image processing or various deep learning applications on neural nets—where one must plow through immense piles of data, and do so reasonably quickly, or else it could take ridiculous amounts of time. It’s widely believed that, in carrying out operations of this sort, there …
Theoretical Breakthrough Could Boost Data Storage
A trio of researchers that includes William Kuszmaul — a computer science PhD student at MIT — has made a discovery that could lead to more efficient data storage and retrieval in computers. The team’s findings relate to so-called “linear-probing hash tables,” which were introduced in 1954 and are among the oldest, simplest, and fastest …
Artificial Intelligence That Understands Object Relationships
When humans look at a scene, they see objects and the relationships between them. On top of your desk, there might be a laptop that is sitting to the left of a phone, which is in front of a computer monitor. Many deep learning models struggle to see the world this way because they …
Giving Robots Social Skills
Robots can deliver food on a college campus and hit a hole-in-one on the golf course, but even the most sophisticated robot can’t perform basic social interactions that are critical to everyday human life. MIT researchers have now incorporated certain social interactions into a framework for robotics, enabling machines to understand what it means to …
Dexterous Robotic Hands Manipulate Thousands Of Objects With Ease
At just one year old, a baby is more dexterous than a robot. Sure, machines can do more than just pick up and put down objects, but we’re not quite there as far as replicating a natural pull towards exploratory or sophisticated dexterous manipulation goes. OpenAI gave it a try with “Dactyl” (meaning “finger” from …
One Autonomous Taxi, Please
If you don’t get seasick, an autonomous boat might be the right mode of transportation for you. Scientists from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and the Senseable City Laboratory, together with Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Metropolitan Solutions (AMS Institute) in the Netherlands, have now created the final project in their self-navigating trilogy: …
One Giant Leap For The Mini Cheetah
A loping cheetah dashes across a rolling field, bounding over sudden gaps in the rugged terrain. The movement may look effortless, but getting a robot to move this way is an altogether different prospect. In recent years, four-legged robots inspired by the movement of cheetahs and other animals have made great leaps forward, yet …
Accelerating The Discovery Of New Materials For 3D Printing
The growing popularity of 3D printing for manufacturing all sorts of items, from customized medical devices to affordable homes, has created more demand for new 3D printing materials designed for very specific uses. To cut down on the time it takes to discover these new materials, researchers at MIT have developed a data-driven process that …
New Fibers Can Make Breath-Regulating Garments
A new kind of fiber developed by researchers at MIT and in Sweden can be made into clothing that senses how much it is being stretched or compressed, and then provides immediate tactile feedback in the form of pressure, lateral stretch, or vibration. Such fabrics, the team suggests, could be used in garments that help …