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While city drivers may see parallel parking as just another urban sport, for many people it's a "highly avoided and stress-inducing" situation that raises the heart rate.

That's according to a nine-month study of driver habits recently completed by Ford Motor, the New England University Transportation Center (NEUTC), and the Center for Transportation and Logistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Not surprisingly, results released Thursday found that parallel parking while using a park-assist system (instead of having to guess your bumper distance based on your limited view) greatly reduces the stress of parallel parking in … Read more

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Rather than close the blinds on a sunny day, perhaps you'll pull down the solar panel.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology here today presented early results of research projects funded by Italian oil company Eni, including paper-thin solar cells, which could be used as window covers, and a paper-based material to collect oil spilled in water.

MIT showed prototypes of paper solar cells able to generate enough current to light a small LED display. A commercial solar paper device could be available in five years, said chemical engineering professor Karen Gleason, whose lab is doing the work. … Read more

Google CEO Eric Schmidt says great things follow from big numbers.

Fresh after reporting strong third-quarter earnings yesterday, Schmidt was interviewed on stage at the 25th anniversary celebration of the MIT Media Lab today, where he offered some insight into how he views the future of Google and the Internet.

When asked about the implications of Google earning a billion dollars from mobile-ad revenue, Schmidt said "anything that is a billion dollars is good, and if it's growing, it's better."

Another large figure Schmidt and his fellow Google employees are eyeing: the billions of people around … Read more

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--Computing is increasingly embedded everywhere, yet the interfaces people use are still largely tied to the original personal computer graphical user interface.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology held an open house to celebrate its 25th anniversary here today, where researchers in the Fluid Interfaces group showed some clues on how people will interact with computers in the not-to-so distant future.

The MIT Media Lab has yielded several computing-related technologies now in daily use by millions of people, including the e-ink interface used on e-books such as the Amazon Kindle, the Guitar Hero video game, and Lego Mindstorms programmable … Read more

While NASA prepares its next Martian rover to launch in 2011, other minds on Earth are developing an alternative means to explore the Red Planet. Instead of roving, why not hop around Mars and cover a lot more ground?

Draper Laboratory is developing a concept vehicle that would land on the Martian surface and then propulsively leap to interesting spots, traveling miles with each hop.

In a recent release, Draper says that two hopper vehicles could cover a total of 25 miles on Mars in only a few hours or days. As of September 8, NASA's Spirit and Opportunity … Read more

We've seen remote-operated submarine robots deployed to shut down the Deepwater Horizon wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill--with mixed results. Now researchers at MIT are proposing surface robots that autonomously collect and process oil. Could they help in the next oil disaster?

The prototype Seaswarm robots move on the water as a fleet. They have large conveyor belts covered with reusable nanowire mesh that absorbs oil. Designed to be 16 feet long by 7 feet wide, the robots are small enough to clean estuaries and shallow waters, but can also tackle large slicks.

As the belt rolls into the body of each robot, the mesh is heated, separating the oil, which is then burned off. As it rolls out of the head, the mesh is ready to absorb more oil. Powered by solar panels, the robots can run on only 100 watts, and could operate for weeks on the water without any need for maintenance.

The researchers, including MIT Senseable City Lab Director Carlo Ratti, estimate that a fleet of 5,000 Seaswarm robots working for one month can clean up surface oil the size of the Gulf spill.

At the heart of the prototype is a nanomaterial fabric developed by MIT's Francesco Stellacci and collaborators that can absorb up to 20 times its weight in oil. It looks and feels like paper, and acts like a paper towel.

Described in a 2008 Nature Nanotechnology report, the fabric consists of minute wires made of potassium manganese oxide. It only absorbs hydrophobic liquids like oil, and repels water. Apparently, it can be immersed in water for months and will be dry when removed. … Read more

Imagine simply shining a light on your skin to determine how much sugar is in your blood. Researchers at MIT are developing a glucose-monitoring device for diabetes patients that may help do away with finger pricks.

By scanning a user's arm or finger with near-infrared light, the device frees users from the necessity of drawing blood, a daily routine for most type 1 diabetes patients.

The laptop-size machine is the result of 15 years of research at the MIT Spectroscopy Lab. It employs Raman spectroscopy, which can determine chemical compounds based on their molecular vibration.

In a technique described … Read more

BRENTWOOD, N.H.--Road Trip 2010 has officially covered enough miles to make it from one coast of America to the other.

Of course, that's not what's really happened. Instead, I've driven 3,000 miles up and down--and up and down, and up and down, following a truly inefficient path--the East Coast in search of great destinations to report on.

And that's what has brought me here, to this town of population 4,200 in the southeastern corner of the Granite State--that quest for great things to write about. It's not that I had … Read more

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--If I learned one thing Thursday, it's that I want a folding car.

You might laugh at that notion, but I'm here to tell you it's not fantasy: the folding car is coming, and if it succeeds, it could change the way urban environments look forever.

That's my take after a visit to the MIT Media Lab here, the 25-year-old hotbed of research and innovation that has produced the underlying technology behind things like Guitar Hero, Lego Mindstorms, E Ink, One Laptop per Child, and much, much more.

Click here for a photo gallery on MIT Media Lab. … Read more