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MISSION:
Focussing on how bits meet atoms: how electronic information overlaps
with the everyday physical world. The Laboratory has been a pioneer
in the collaboration between academia and industry, and provides a unique
environment to explore basic research and applications, without regard
to traditional divisions among disciplines. Experimenting on new ways
of joining the physical environment and cyberspace by making "tangible
bits" accessible through everyday physical surfaces like walls or desktops,
(and eventually through household surfaces like refrigerator doors)
RESEARCH:
Much of the Laboratory's work today is organized into three main consortia,
which are funded by corporate sponsors.
DIGITAL LIFE (DL) addresses the interconnection between bits, people,
and things in an online world. Research focuses on four areas: Media/Performance
defines structured representations of sound and pictures, merging networks
with entertainment. Actions/Interfaces explores speech, gestures, and
motions, as well as immersive communications environments. Kids/Culture
includes learning, construction, design, and cooperation by kids and
adults of all ages and for all reasons. Connections/ Community builds
environments for collaboration; discovery; design; and casual, global
interactions.
The NEWS IN THE FUTURE (NIF) research consortium provides a forum for
the MIT Media Laboratory and member companies to explore and exploit
technologies that will improve the collection and dissemination of news.
NIF focuses on four areas: description of news by and for computers;
observation and modeling of consumer behavior; presentation and interface
design; and application. The consortium develops technologies for managing
data, building linkages between news providers and consumers, and enabling
new approaches to the look and feel of news content.
THINGS THAT THINK
(TTT) explores ways of moving computation beyond conventional sites,
such as PCs or laptops, and adding intelligence to objects that are
first and foremost something else. By sensing the movements or feelings
of their owners-or by learning their owners' habits-common devices such
as toasters, doorknobs, or shoes will be able, in their own right and
through communication with one another, to solve meaningful problems.
By becoming truly responsive and unobtrusive, the information technology
in the inanimate things around us will enhance the quality of daily
living.
FACILITIES: The
Media Laboratory is one of the few places in the world where computers
outnumber people by a significant margin. An experimental, gigabit fiber-optic
plant connects a heterogeneous network of computers, ranging from fine-grained,
embedded processors to supercomputers, and includes products developed
by most major manufacturers. The rapid prototyping resources include
3-D printing, injection molding, and PC board fabrication. There are
studios for audio and video, and laboratories for DNA labeling, new
sensors, micro-encapsulation and perceptual studies.
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