The MIT Media Lab is a research laboratory at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
, growing out of MIT's Architecture Machine Group in the
School of Architecture. Its research does not restrict to fixed academic disciplines, but draws from
technology
Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...
,
media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
,
science
Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe.
Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
,
art
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
, and
design
A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...
. , Media Lab's research groups include
neurobiology
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...
,
biologically inspired fabrication,
socially engaging robots,
emotive computing,
bionics, and
hyperinstruments.
The Media Lab was founded in 1985 by
Nicholas Negroponte
Nicholas Negroponte (born December 1, 1943) is a Greek American architect. He is the founder and chairman Emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, and also founded the One Laptop per Child Association (OLPC). Negroponte ...
and former MIT President
Jerome Wiesner
Jerome Bert Wiesner (May 30, 1915 – October 21, 1994) was a professor of electrical engineering, chosen by President John F. Kennedy as chairman of his Science Advisory Committee (PSAC). Educated at the University of Michigan, Wiesner was asso ...
, and is housed in the
Wiesner Building (designed by
I. M. Pei
Ieoh Ming Pei
– website of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners ( ; ; April 26, 1917 – May 16, 2019) was ...
), also known as Building E15. The Lab has been written about in the popular press since 1988, when
Stewart Brand published ''The Media Lab: Inventing the Future at M.I.T.'', and its work was a regular feature of technology journals in the 1990s. In 2009, it expanded into a second building.
The Media Lab came under scrutiny in 2019 due to its acceptance of donations from convicted child sex offender
Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American sex offender and financier. Epstein, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, began his professional life by teaching at the Dalton School in Manhattan, des ...
. This led to the resignation of its director,
Joi Ito
is a Japanese entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is a former director of the MIT Media Lab, former professor of the practice of media arts and sciences at MIT, and a former visiting professor of practice at the Harvard Law School. Ito has ...
,
and the launch of an "immediate, thorough and independent" investigation into the "extremely serious" and "deeply disturbing allegations about the engagement between individuals at the Media Lab and
Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American sex offender and financier. Epstein, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, began his professional life by teaching at the Dalton School in Manhattan, des ...
" by President of MIT.
In December 2020,
Dava Newman
Dava J. Newman (born 1964) is the director of the MIT Media Lab and a former deputy administrator of NASA. Newman earned her PhD in aerospace biomedical engineering, and Master of Science degrees in aerospace engineering and technology and polic ...
, professor of aeronautics and astronautics and former deputy administrator of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
under
Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Obama was the first Af ...
, was named the new director of the MIT Media Lab.
Administration
The founding director of the lab was
Nicholas Negroponte
Nicholas Negroponte (born December 1, 1943) is a Greek American architect. He is the founder and chairman Emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, and also founded the One Laptop per Child Association (OLPC). Negroponte ...
, who directed it until 2000. Later directors were
Walter Bender
Walter Bender is a technologist and researcher who works in the field of electronic publishing, media and technology for learning. From the MIT Media Lab's founding 1985 through 2006, Bender directed the lab's Electronic Publishing Group. Previou ...
(2000–2006),
Frank Moss (2006–2011),
and
Joi Ito
is a Japanese entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is a former director of the MIT Media Lab, former professor of the practice of media arts and sciences at MIT, and a former visiting professor of practice at the Harvard Law School. Ito has ...
(2011-2019) who resigned in connection with the
Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American sex offender and financier. Epstein, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, began his professional life by teaching at the Dalton School in Manhattan, des ...
scandal.
Dava Newman
Dava J. Newman (born 1964) is the director of the MIT Media Lab and a former deputy administrator of NASA. Newman earned her PhD in aerospace biomedical engineering, and Master of Science degrees in aerospace engineering and technology and polic ...
took the position in July, 2021, the first woman to do so.
, the Media Lab had roughly 70 administrative and support staff members. Associate Directors of the Lab were
Hiroshi Ishii and
Andrew Lippman
Andrew Benjamin Lippman is a senior research scientist at the MIT Media Lab as well as a Co-Director of various chairs at the institute. He has a more than thirty-year history at MIT. His work at the Media Lab has ranged from wearable computers ...
.
Pattie Maes
Pattie Maes (born 1961) is a professor in MIT's program in Media Arts and Sciences. She founded and directed the MIT Media Lab's Fluid Interfaces Group. Previously, she founded and ran the Software Agents group. She served for several years as ...
and
Mitchel Resnick
Mitchel Resnick (born June 12, 1956) is Lego Papert Professor of Learning Research, Director of the Okawa Center, and Director of the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab. , Resnick serves as h ...
were co-heads of the Program in Media Arts and Sciences, and the Lab's Chief Knowledge Officer was Henry Holtzman.
The Media Lab has at times had regional branches in other parts of the world, such as Media Lab Europe and Media Lab Asia, each with their own staff and governing bodies.
Funding model
The Lab's primary funding comes from
corporate sponsorship
Sponsoring something (or someone) is the act of supporting an event, activity, person, or organization financially or through the provision of products or services. The individual or group that provides the support, similar to a benefactor, is k ...
. Rather than accepting funding on a per-project or per-group basis, the Lab asks sponsors to fund general themes; sponsors can then connect with Media Lab research. Specific projects and researchers are also funded more traditionally through government institutions including the
NIH
The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...
,
NSF, and
DARPA
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is a research and development agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
Originally known as the Ad ...
. Also, consortia with other schools or other departments at MIT are often able to have money that does not enter into the common pool.
MIT Media Lab has an approximately $75 million annual operating budget.
Intellectual property
Companies sponsoring the Lab can share in the Lab's intellectual property without paying license fees or royalties. Non-sponsors cannot make use of Media Lab developments for two years after technical disclosure is made to MIT and Media Lab sponsors. The Media Lab generates approximately 20 new patents every year.
Research at the Lab
Some recurring themes of work at the Media Lab include human adaptability,
human computer interaction
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture, ...
, education and communication, artistic creation and visualization, and designing technology for the developing world. Other research focus includes machines with common sense, sociable robots, prosthetics, sensor networks, musical devices, city design, and public health. Research programs all include iterative development of prototypes which are tested and displayed for visitors.
Each of these areas of research may incorporate others. Interaction design research includes designing intelligent objects and environments. Educational research has also included integrating more computation into learning activities - including software for learning, programmable toys, and artistic or musical instruments. Examples include
Lego Mindstorms
Lego Mindstorms is a hardware and software structure which develops programmable robots based on Lego building blocks. Each version includes computer Lego bricks, a set of modular sensors and motors, and Lego parts from the Technic line to ...
, the
PicoCricket, and
One Laptop per Child.
Research groups
, the MIT Media Lab has the following research groups:
* Affective Computing: "advancing wellbeing by using new ways to communicate, understand, and respond to emotion"
* Biomechatronics: "enhancing human physical capability."
* Camera Culture: "making the invisible visible – inside our bodies, around us, and beyond – for health, work, and connection"
* City Science: "looking beyond smart cities"
* Conformable Decoders: "converting the patterns of nature and the human body into beneficial signals and energy"
* Fluid Interfaces: "designing wearable systems for cognitive enhancement"
* Future Sketches: "exploring the essence of code as a creative medium"
* Human Dynamics: "exploring how social networks can influence our lives in business, health, governance, and technology adoption and diffusions"
* Lifelong Kindergarten: "engaging people in creative learning experiences"
* Mediated Matter: "designing for, with, and by nature"
* Molecular Machines: "engineering at the limits of complexity with molecular-scale parts"
* Nano-Cybernetic Biotrek: "inventing disruptive technologies for nanoelectronic computation and creating new paradigms for life-machine symbiosis"
* Opera of the Future: "extending expression, learning, and health through innovations in musical composition, performance, and participation"
* Personal Robots: "building socially engaging robots and interactive technologies to help people live healthier lives, connect with others, and learn better"
* Poetic Justice: "exploring new forms of social justice through art"
* Responsive Environments: "augmenting and mediating human experience, interaction, and perception with sensor networks"
* Sculpting Evolution: "exploring evolutionary and ecological engineering"
* Signal Kinetics: "extending human and computer abilities in sensing, communication, and actuation through signals and networks"
* Social Machines: "promoting deeper learning and understanding in human networks"
* Space Enabled: "advancing justice in Earth's complex systems using designs enabled by space"
* Tangible Media: "seamlessly coupling the worlds of bits and atoms by giving dynamic physical form to digital information and computation"
* Viral Communications: "creating scalable technologies that evolve with user inventiveness"
Academic program
The Media Arts and Sciences program is a part of MIT's School of Architecture and Planning, and includes three levels of study: a doctoral program, a master's of science program, and a program that offers an alternative to the standard MIT freshman year as well as a set of undergraduate subjects that may form the basis for a future joint major. All graduate students are fully supported (tuition plus a stipend) from the outset, normally by appointments as research assistants at the Media Laboratory, where they work on research programs and faculty projects, including assisting with courses. These research activities typically take up about half of a student's time in the degree program.
The Media Arts and Sciences academic program have a close relationship with the Media Lab. Most Media Lab faculty are professors of Media Arts and Sciences. Students who earn a degree in Media Arts and Sciences have been predominantly in residence at the Media Lab, taking classes and doing research. Some students from other programs at MIT, such as Mechanical Engineering, or Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, do their research at the Media Lab, working with a Media Lab/Media Arts and Sciences faculty advisor, but earn their degrees (such as MEng or an MS in EECS) from other departments. There are over 1000 students apply to the MAS program and the admission is less than 5% per year.
Buildings
![MIT Media Lab (E14)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/MIT_Media_Lab_%28E14%29.jpg)
In addition to the Media Lab, the combined original Wiesner building (E15) and new (E14) buildings also host the
List Visual Arts Center
Established in 1950, the List Visual Arts Center (LVAC) is the contemporary art museum of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is known for temporary exhibitions in its galleries located in the MIT Media Lab building, as well as its admini ...
, the
School of Architecture and Planning's Program in Art, Culture and Technology (ACT), and MIT's Program in Comparative Media Studies.
In 2009, the Media Lab expanded into a new building designed by
Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect
Fumihiko Maki
is a Japanese architect who teaches at Keio University SFC. In 1993, he received the Pritzker Prize for his work, which often explores pioneering uses of new materials and fuses the cultures of east and west.
Early life
Maki was born in Tokyo. ...
. The local architect of record was Leers Weinzapfel Associates, of Boston. The Maki building has predominantly glass walls, with long lines of sight through the building, making ongoing research visible and encouraging connections and collaboration.
Faculty and academic research staff
Media Arts and Sciences faculty and academic research staff are principal investigators/heads of the Media Lab's various research groups. They also advise Media Arts and Sciences graduate students and mentor MIT undergraduates. "Most departments accept grad students based on their prospects for academic success; the Media Lab attempts to select ones that will best be able to help with some of the ongoing projects."
, there are more than 25 faculty and academic research staff members, including a dozen named professorships. A full list of Media Lab faculty and academic research staff, with bios and other information, is available via the Media Lab Website.
,
Alex Pentland
Alex Paul "Sandy" Pentland (born 1951) is an American computer scientist, the Toshiba Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, and serial entrepreneur.
Education
Pentland received his bachelor's degree from the University of M ...
is Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Toshiba Professor and Media Lab Entrepreneurship Program Director.
Connections to Jeffrey Epstein
In August 2019, director
Joi Ito
is a Japanese entrepreneur and venture capitalist. He is a former director of the MIT Media Lab, former professor of the practice of media arts and sciences at MIT, and a former visiting professor of practice at the Harvard Law School. Ito has ...
said that the organization had received funding from multimillionaire convicted child sex offender
Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American sex offender and financier. Epstein, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, began his professional life by teaching at the Dalton School in Manhattan, des ...
through foundations Epstein controlled; that Ito had visited several of Epstein's residences; and that Epstein had invested "in several of my funds which invest in tech startup companies outside of MIT". Ito later admitted to taking $525,000 in funding from Epstein for the Lab. In 2019, Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte expressed support for Ito's decision to accept the funding from Epstein. Also in 2019, a federal court deposition was unsealed in which
Virginia Giuffre
Virginia Louise Giuffre (''née'' Roberts; born August 9, 1983) is an American-Australian campaigner who offers support to victims of sex trafficking. She is an alleged victim of the sex trafficking ring of Jeffrey Epstein. Giuffre created Vict ...
stated that Epstein's associate directed her to have sex with former Media Lab professor
Marvin Minsky
Marvin Lee Minsky (August 9, 1927 – January 24, 2016) was an American cognitive and computer scientist concerned largely with research of artificial intelligence (AI), co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory, ...
.
In September 2019, it was revealed by emails leaked to
Ronan Farrow
Satchel Ronan O'Sullivan Farrow (born December 19, 1987) is an American journalist. The son of actress Mia Farrow and filmmaker Woody Allen, he is best known for his investigative reporting of allegations of sexual abuse against film producer H ...
of ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...
'' that Ito and Peter Cohen, the M.I.T. Media Lab's Director of Development and Strategy at the time, have worked for years to solicit anonymous donations from Epstein despite Epstein being marked as Disqualified by the university as a donor. Ito has referred to Epstein as "fascinating".
Ito resigned due to the scandal shortly after the New Yorker article
and the President of M.I.T. announced an "immediate, thorough and independent" investigation to be led by an outside law firm into the "extremely serious" allegations.
On January 10, 2020, the executive committee of the MIT Corporation, the institute's governing board, released the results of
Goodwin Procter
Goodwin Procter LLP is a global law firm. It is one of the largest law firms in the world as measured by revenue and consists of more than 1,800 lawyers across offices in Boston, Cambridge, Frankfurt, Munich, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Luxemb ...
’s fact-finding regarding interactions between Jeffrey Epstein and the Institute.
The report revealed that Epstein made 10 donations through various entities to MIT totaling $850,000, including nine donations, totaling $750,000, made after his 2008 conviction. In 2002, four years before Epstein’s first arrest for a sex offense, Epstein made a $100,000 donation to MIT through a charitable foundation to support the research of Professor
Marvin Minsky
Marvin Lee Minsky (August 9, 1927 – January 24, 2016) was an American cognitive and computer scientist concerned largely with research of artificial intelligence (AI), co-founder of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's AI laboratory, ...
(former Toshiba Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Media Lab). Epstein’s $100,000 donation in May 2013 was intended to be used at Joi Ito’s discretion. His donations in November 2013 and in July and September 2014, totaling $300,000, were made to support research by
Joscha Bach
Joscha Bach (born 1973 in Weimar, Germany) is a German artificial intelligence researcher and cognitive scientist focusing on cognitive architectures, mental representation, emotion, social modeling, and multi-agent systems.
Early life and educ ...
, a Media Lab research fellow from Germany whom Epstein introduced to Ito in 2013.
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
declined to be interviewed for Goodwin Procter’s fact-finding. Epstein’s other donations to the Media Lab between 2015 and 2017, totaling $350,000, were made to support Professor
Seth Lloyd
Seth Lloyd (born August 2, 1960) is a professor of mechanical engineering and physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
His research area is the interplay of information with complex systems, especially quantum systems. He has perform ...
(Professor of Mechanical Engineering, $225,000), and Professor
Neri Oxman
Neri Oxman ( he, נרי אוקסמן; born February 6, 1976) is an American–Israeli designer and professor at the MIT Media Lab, where she led the Mediated Matter research group. She is known for art and architecture that combine design, b ...
(Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, $125,000).
Shortly after signing a petition in support of Ito, attorney and political activist
Lawrence Lessig
Lester Lawrence Lessig III (born June 3, 1961) is an American academic, attorney, and political activist. He is the Roy L. Furman Professor of Law at Harvard Law School and the former director of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard ...
argued that the undesirable nature of donations to academic institutions from criminals like Epstein, whose fortune does not derive from their crimes, is partially mitigated if the donations are anonymous. He argues that it was “a mistake to take this money, even if anonymous,” but that “if you take them, at least don’t give the criminal a chance to publicly launder his reputation”. “Everyone seems to treat it as if the anonymity and secrecy around Epstein’s gift are a measure of some kind of moral failing," Lessig wrote. "I see it as exactly the opposite."
''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' reported it had seen emails indicating
Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
had donated $2.2 million to the Media Lab through Epstein.
Other funding controversies
On March 24, 2018, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited MIT and prompted protests. Salman's non-profit foundation MiSK was a member company of the Lab until 2018. According to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'', a sizable part of the annual budget of the Lab comes from corporate patrons, who pay at least $250,000 each year. Prince Mohammed's personal foundation was among the roughly 90 members at their time of membership.
Selected publications
Books
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Outputs and spin-offs
Some Media Lab-developed technologies made it into products or public software packages, such as the , the
Benton hologram used in most credit cards, the Fisher-Price's Symphony Painter, the Nortel Wireless Mesh Network, the NTT Comware Sensetable, the Taito's Karaoke-on-Demand Machine. A 1994 device called the Sensor Chair used to control a musical orchestra was adapted by several car manufacturers into capacitive sensors to prevent dangerous
airbag deployments.
The MPEG-4 SA project developed at the Media Lab made
structured audio a practical reality and the
Aspen Movie Map
The Aspen Movie Map was a revolutionary hypermedia system developed at MIT by a team working with Andrew Lippman in 1978 with funding from ARPA.
Features
The Aspen Movie Map enabled the user to take a virtual tour through the city of Aspen, Co ...
was the precursor to the ideas in
Google Street View
Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world. It was launched in 2007 in several cities in the United States, and has since expan ...
.
In 2001, two research centers were spun off:
Media Lab Asia and
Media Lab Europe
Media Lab Europe (MLE) was a research institute in Dublin, Ireland, based on the MIT Media Lab concept. Created in 2000, it went into voluntary liquidation early in 2005. MLE was one of two such projects, the other of which, Media Lab Asia, s ...
. Media Lab Asia, based in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, was a result of cooperation with the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
but eventually broke off in 2003 after a disagreement. Media Lab Europe, based in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, was founded with a similar concept in association with
Irish universities and
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...
, and closed in January 2005.
Created collaboratively by the Computer Museum and the Media Lab, the Computer Clubhouse, a worldwide network of after-school learning centers, focuses on youth from underserved communities who would not otherwise have access to technological tools and activities.
Launched in 2003,
Scratch is a block-based programming language and community developed for children 8–16, and used by people of all ages to learn programming. Millions of people have created Scratch projects in a wide variety of settings, including homes, schools, museums, libraries, and community centers.
In January 2005, the Lab's chairman emeritus
Nicholas Negroponte
Nicholas Negroponte (born December 1, 1943) is a Greek American architect. He is the founder and chairman Emeritus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Media Lab, and also founded the One Laptop per Child Association (OLPC). Negroponte ...
announced at the
World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation based in Cologny, canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German engineer and economist Klaus Schwab. The foundation, ...
a new research initiative to develop a
$100 laptop
The OLPC XO (formerly known as $100 Laptop, Children's Machine, 2B1) is a low cost laptop computer intended to be distributed to children in developing countries around the world, to provide them with access to knowledge, and opportunities to " ...
computer. A non-profit organization,
One Laptop per Child, was created to oversee the actual deployment, MIT did not manufacture or distribute the device.
The Synthetic Neurobiology group created reagents and devices for the analysis of brain circuits are in use by hundreds of biology labs around the world.
In 2011,
Ramesh Raskar
Ramesh Raskar is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology Associate Professor and head of the MIT Media Lab's Camera Culture research group. Previously he worked as a Senior Research Scientist at Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL) ...
's group published their
femto-photography technique, that is able to image the movement of individual light pulses.
In 2013, the Media Lab launched E14 Fund as a program to support and invest in MIT Media Lab startups. In 2017, E14 Fund launched its first seed stage venture fund to invest in the MIT Media Lab startup community. It invested in companies like
Formlabs
Formlabs is a 3D printing technology developer and manufacturer. The Somerville, Massachusetts-based company was founded in September 2011 by three MIT Media Lab students. The company develops and manufactures 3D printers and related software and ...
,
Affectiva
Affectiva is a software company that builds artificial intelligence. The company claims its AI understands human emotions, cognitive states, activities and the objects people use, by analyzing facial and vocal expressions. An offshoot of MIT Media ...
, Tulip, Wise Systems, Figur8 and more.
Spin-offs
Media Lab industry spin-offs include:
*
Affectiva
Affectiva is a software company that builds artificial intelligence. The company claims its AI understands human emotions, cognitive states, activities and the objects people use, by analyzing facial and vocal expressions. An offshoot of MIT Media ...
, commercializing software that detects emotions in pictures of faces
*
Ambient Devices, which produces
glanceable information displays
*
Dimagi
Dimagi, Inc. is a for-profit social enterprise based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, that delivers open-source software technology suitable for low-resource settings and underserved communities. The company designs clinical interfaces, health i ...
, a company that develops software for healthcare in the developing world.
*
E Ink
E Ink (electronic ink) is a brand of electronic paper (e-paper) display technology commercialized by the E Ink Corporation, which was co-founded in 1997 by MIT undergraduates JD Albert and Barrett Comiskey, MIT Media Lab professor Joseph Jacobson ...
, which makes electronic paper displays that power the
Amazon Kindle and
Barnes & Noble Nook
The Barnes & Noble Nook (styled nook or NOOK) is a brand of e-readers developed by American book retailer Barnes & Noble, based on the Android platform. The original device was announced in the U.S. in October 2009, and was released the next m ...
.
*
Elance
Upwork Global Inc., formerly Elance-oDesk, is an American freelancing platform headquartered in Santa Clara and San Francisco, California. The company was formed in 2013 as Elance-oDesk, after the merger of Elance Inc. and oDesk Corp. The merg ...
* EyeNetra, which makes eye tests as $2 clip-ons for mobile phones, including potential use to correct vision for virtual reality displays.
*
Formlabs
Formlabs is a 3D printing technology developer and manufacturer. The Somerville, Massachusetts-based company was founded in September 2011 by three MIT Media Lab students. The company develops and manufactures 3D printers and related software and ...
makes high-resolution, desktop 3D printers (spin out from Center for Bits and Atoms)
*
Groundhog Technologies
Groundhog Technologies is a privately held company founded in 2001 and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. As a spin-off of MIT Media Lab, it was a semi-finalist in MIT's $50,000 Entrepreneurship Competition in 2000 and was incorp ...
, global leader in mobility intelligence and its applications on geo-analytics, geo-marketing, and network optimization.
*
Harmonix
Harmonix Music Systems, Inc., doing business as Harmonix, is an American video game developer company based in Boston, Massachusetts. The company was established in May 1995 by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy. Harmonix is perhaps best known as bei ...
, game company creator of
Rock Band and
Guitar Hero
''Guitar Hero'' is a series of music rhythm game video games first released in November 2005, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing primarily lead, bass guitar, and rhythm guitar across numerous songs ...
.
* Holosonics selling "audio spotlight" speakers using
sound from ultrasound
Sound from ultrasound is the name given here to the generation of audible sound from modulated ultrasound without using an active receiver. This happens when the modulated ultrasound passes through a nonlinear medium which acts, intentionally or u ...
technology
* Oblong Industries, creators of the digital screen used by
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (born July 3, 1962), known professionally as Tom Cruise, is an American actor and producer. One of the world's highest-paid actors, he has received various accolades, including an Honorary Palme d'Or and three Go ...
in
Minority Report
*
One Laptop per Child's
XO laptop
The OLPC XO (formerly known as $100 Laptop, Children's Machine, 2B1) is a low cost laptop computer intended to be distributed to children in developing countries around the world, to provide them with access to knowledge, and opportunities to ...
*
Potion Design, an interactive design firm
* RadioSherpa, an online guide for HD Radio stations. acquired by Tune-in.
*
reQall
reQall debuted in 2007 as an app that intelligently organized your spoken voice notes winning a DEMOgod award. Their first app was a voice-enabled personal productivity software program that integrates phone, email, text messaging and IM into a mo ...
, a memory aid company.
* Salient Stills, a video resolution enhancement and video forensics company founded in 1996, acquired by DAC in 2013. The combined entity has been rebranded Salient Sciences.
*
Sifteo, a company that has developed a tabletop gaming platform that grew out of
Siftables.
*
Squid Labs, engineering consulting company
*
The Echo Nest
The Echo Nest is a music intelligence and data platform for developers and media companies. Owned by Spotify since 2014, the company is based in Somerville, MA. The Echo Nest began as a research spin-off from the MIT Media Lab to understand t ...
, a music intelligence platform
*
Zebra Imaging
Zebra Imaging was a company that developed digital holography, 3D digital holographic images, hologram imagers and interactive 3D displays for government and commercial uses. The company offers digital holograms that are autostereoscopic (no glass ...
, a digital holographic display company
* First Mile Solutions, bringing communications infrastructure to rural communities
* Nanda, a company that markets the
Clocky alarm clock
* Physiio International, merged with
Empatica; manufacturer of wearable medical sensors
* Supermechanical, manufacturer of
Twine
Twine is a strong thread, light string or cord composed of two or more thinner strands twisted, and then twisted together ( plied). The strands are plied in the opposite direction to that of their twist, which adds torsional strength to the co ...
, a wifi interface for various environmental sensors; and Range, a smartphone-connected thermometer
* Wireless 5th Dimensional Networking, Inc. (acquired in 2006),
which developed the first hybrid search engine
See also
*
Bates's chip
*
Living lab Living labs are open innovation ecosystems in real-life environments using iterative feedback processes throughout a lifecycle approach of an innovation to create sustainable impact. They focus on co-creation, rapid prototyping & testing and scaling ...
*
Object-Based Media Group
*
SixthSense (device)
*
Wiesner building
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mit Media Lab
1985 establishments in Massachusetts
Academic scandals
Fumihiko Maki buildings
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Modernist architecture in Massachusetts