Location

MIT Media Lab, E14 Lobby

Description

From lightweight, shared, electric vehicles that fold, to artificial limbs that not only emulate—but improve upon—biological gaits, the Media Lab is transforming mobility for the 21st century.
This exhibit features the work of two Media Lab research groups: Changing Places (Kent Larson, director) and Biomechatronics (Hugh Herr, director). Changing Places researchers are creating more livable and sustainable cities with projects like the CityCar, GreenWheel, RoboScooter, and PEV (Persuasive Electric Vehicle). The Biomechatronics group focuses on smart prostheses, orthotics, and exoskeletons, blurring the boundaries between what is human and what is not.
This work results from a shared commitment to disruptive technologies created at the interface of traditional disciplines. The only limitations are physical law and the boundaries of our collective imaginations.
Much of this work is based on the vision of Professor William J. Mitchell (1944-2010), who pioneered a new vision for smart, sustainable cities, and who advanced that vision through the Media Lab’s Smart Cities research group.
Special thanks to Ryan Chin, William Lark, Jr., Michael Chia-Liang Lin, and Praveen Subramani of the Changing Places group for their work in designing and producing this exhibit, prosthetist Robert Emerson, Paula Aguilera, Will Glesnes, Ellen Hoffman, Greg Tucker, Ryan Walsh, and Nina Wishnok.