Research — MIT Media Lab

We are an antidisciplinary research lab working to invent the future of

art
human-machine interaction
health
learning
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consumer electronics
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politics
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civic media
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computer science
augmented reality
ethics
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blockchain
banking and finance
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academia

P2PSTORY: Dataset of Children as Storytellers and Listeners in Peer-to-Peer Interactions

P2PSTORY Dataset Understanding social-emotional behaviors in storytelling interactions plays a critical role in the development of i...

Project Research

Dormio: Interfacing with Dreams to Augment Human Creativity

Sleep is a forgotten country of the mind: A vast majority of our technologies are built for our waking state, even though a third of our ...

Research

Camera Culture

Making the invisible visible–inside our bodies, around us, and beyond–for health, work, and connection

Project Research

KinderCity

KinderCity is a pilot project that attempts to understand the intangibles of city perception. It attempts to understand how people, acros...

Project Research

What's America Listening To?

Talk radio is a platform which is often overlooked during media analysis, but articles show that talk radio has a large influence o...

Project Research

Viralcasting

Ditch the truck. Live, collaborative broadcasting through mixed reality.

Project Research

Holo basketball

Augmented Reality Content is hard to produce due to its 3D nature. Here we explore using 2D video and computer vision to create a pseudo ...

Project Research

Holonews

News reporting in 2017 suffers from sensationalism. News agencies are constantly fighting for attention and clicks, leading to head...

Project Research

LIGHTSABER! LIGHTFIELDS + DIFFUSORS

I'm showcasing a lightsaber with a beam that can be switched on and off. All the electronics and optics are contained within the handle, ...

Project Research

Through Wall/Table interaction using RF

3D interaction is a magical way for users to interact with a system without touching it. This is usually accomplished using a camera, but...

Project Research

Grid-free super-resolution for audio imaging

Audio on a mobile device can be used to form low-resolution 3D images. The resolution of audio ranging and imaging is heavily limited by ...

Project Research

AR Animation Tool

Making 3D aniation easier by utilizing mobile AR, enabling manipulation of spatial objects using a spatial interface.

Article Research

Earth Day Energy Summit

Joi Ito delivered the keynote address at Earth Day Energy Summit in Honolulu

Article Research

Could we train bacteria to make themselves harmless?

Medical researcher Pratik Shah maps metabolites, the food sources our bodies provide to bacteria when we experience infection, and ...

Research

Health 0.0

Post Research

#TechnoSwag

When’s the last time you created something just because?

Project Research

Antimicrobials to treat infectious diseases without leading to resistant bacteria

"Without urgent, coordinated action by many stakeholders, the world is headed for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and m...

Project Research

Next-generation protein vaccines against infectious diseases

The gram-positive cocci Streptococcus pneumoniae causes pneumonia, otitis media, meningitis, and bacteremia in pediatric, elderly, and im...

Publication Research

Near-infrared transillumination guides administration of dental 2D radiography and CBCT imaging

DOI: 10.1109/BIBE.2017.00-33

Publication Research

Medical professionals offering innovative solutions to some of the industry’s most pressing problems

Research

City Science

Looking beyond smart cities

Publication Research

Near-Infrared Imaging for Detecting Caries and Structural Deformities in Teeth

Keith Angelino, David A. Edlund, Pratik Shah. Near-Infrared Imaging for Detecting Caries and Structural Deformities in Teeth. Journal of Translational Engineering in Health and Medicine. 10.1109/JTEHM.2017.2695194

Publication Research

Modeling Knowledge Networks in Economic Geography: A Discussion of Four Empirical Strategies

Broekel, T., Balland, P.A., Burger, M. and van Oort, F. (2014) Modeling Knowledge Networks in Economic Geography: A Discussion of Four Empirical Strategies, The Annals of Regional Science, 53 (2): 423-452

Publication Research

The Dynamics of Interfirm Networks along the Industry Life Cycle: The Case of the Global Video Games Industry

Balland, P.A., de Vaan, M. and Boschma, R. (2013) The Dynamics of Interfirm Networks along the Industry Life Cycle: The Case of the Global Video Games Industry 1987-2007, Journal of Economic Geography, 13 (5): 741-765

Publication Research

The Technological Resilience of U.S. Cities

Balland, P.A., Rigby, D., and Boschma, R. (2015) The Technological Resilience of U.S. Cities, Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society, 8 (2): 167-184

Publication Research

Relatedness and Technological Change in Cities: The rise and fall of technological knowledge in U.S. metropolitan areas from 1981 to 2010

Boschma, R., Balland, P.A. and Kogler, D. (2015) Relatedness and Technological Change in Cities: The rise and fall of technological knowledge in U.S. metropolitan areas from 1981 to 2010, Industrial and Corporate Change, 24 (1): 223-250

Publication Research

Proximity and Innovation: From Statics to Dynamics

Balland, P.A., Boschma, R. and Frenken, K. (2015) Proximity and Innovation: From Statics to Dynamics, Regional Studies, 49 (6): 907-920

Publication Research

Getting into Networks and Clusters: Evidence from the Midi-Pyrenean Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Collaboration Network

Vicente, J., Balland, P.A. and Brossard, O. (2011) Getting into Networks and Clusters: Evidence from the Midi-Pyrenean Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Collaboration Network, Regional Studies, 45 (8): 1059-1078

Publication Research

The Dynamics of Technical and Business Knowledge Networks in Industrial Clusters: Embeddedness, status or proximity?

Balland, P.A., Belso-Martinez, J.A., and Morrison, A. (2016) The Dynamics of Technical and Business Knowledge Networks in Industrial Clusters: Embeddedness, status or proximity?, Economic Geography, 92 (1): 35-60

Publication Research

How Smart is Specialisation? An Analysis of Specialisation Patterns in Knowledge Production

Heimeriks, G., and Balland, P.A. (2016) How Smart is Specialisation? An Analysis of Specialisation Patterns in Knowledge Production, Science and Public Policy, 43 (4): 562-574

Publication Research

Climbing the Ladder of Technological Development

Petralia, S., Balland, P.A., and Morrison, A. (2017) Climbing the Ladder of Technological Development, Research Policy, 46 (5): 956–969

Publication Research

Unveiling the geography of historical patents in the United States from 1836 to 1975

Petralia, S., Balland, P.A., and Rigby, D. (2016) Unveiling the geography of historical patents in the United States from 1836 to 1975, Scientific Data, 3 (160074): 1-14

Publication Research

Proximity and the Evolution of Collaboration Networks: Evidence from R&D Projects within the GNSS Industry

Balland, P.A. (2012) Proximity and the Evolution of Collaboration Networks: Evidence from Research and Development Projects within the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Industry, Regional Studies, 46 (6): 741-756

Publication Research

Structural and Geographical Patterns of Knowledge Networks in Emerging Technological Standards: Evidence from the European GNSS Industry

Balland, P.A., Suire, R. and Vicente, J. (2013) Structural and Geographical Patterns of Knowledge Networks in Emerging Technological Standards: Evidence from the European GNSS Industry, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, 22 (1): 47-72

Publication Research

Scientific Knowledge Dynamics and Relatedness in Bio-Tech Cities

Boschma, R., Heimeriks, G. and Balland, P.A. (2014) Scientific Knowledge Dynamics and Relatedness in Bio-Tech Cities, Research Policy, 43 (1): 107-114

Publication Research

The Geography of Complex Knowledge

Balland, P.A. and Rigby, D. (2017) The Geography of Complex Knowledge, Economic Geography, 93 (1): 1-23

Article Research

The how and why of buying bitcoin

How can a cryptocurrency be worth anything in the first place? Economics correspondent Paul Solman reports.

Project Research

Children's Perception of Empathy in Robot-Robot Scenarios

Empathy is a core human skill. From early stages of our lives, being able to understand and behave with empathy is fundamental to our soc...

Archived

Project Research

Intrepid

Every 98 seconds, a person in the United States is sexually abused. Every 16 hours, a woman in the United States is murdered by her ...

Archived

Project Research

Inertia

Platform for exploring physical interactions between real active agents and virtual elements on an Augmented Reality environment. The use...

Project Research

OnTheGo

As mobile device screens continue to get smaller (smartwatches, head-mounted devices like Google Glass), touch-based interactions with th...

Project Research

Spotz

Exploring your city is a great way to make friends, discover new places, find new interests, and invent yourself. Spotz is an Android app...

Project Research

Spellbound

Emerging pervasive games use sensors, graphics and networking technologies to provide immersive game experiences integrated with the real...

Project Research

CAPS: Curbing Assault to Protect Society

We present CAPS, wearable on-body capsules which produce repulsive odor to deter sexual abuse. The capsules can be triggered by self...

Project Research

Activ8

Activ8 is a system of three short games: See-Saw, a balancing game for Google Glass; Jump Beat, a music beat matching game for Google Gla...

Project Research

MetaSpace I

Most current virtual reality interactions are mediated by hand-held input devices or hand gestures and they usually display only a partia...

Project Research

Conforming Materials

Combining the art of two worlds–fashion and biology–into one. Conforming Materials is working towards designing fully recyclable clo...

Project Research

Kinetix

kinetiX is a transformable material featuring a design that resembles a cellular structure. It consists of rigid plates or rods and elast...

Research

Tangible Media

Seamlessly coupling the worlds of bits and atoms by giving dynamic physical form to digital information and computation

Post Research

MLTalks Series

Learn more about our MLTalks series

Project Research

Becoming Someone

Becoming Someone is a multi-modal concept that lives across Medium, Instagram and human minds. It is comprised of The Ever Contracting Vo...

Job Research

Postdoctoral Associate, Conformable Decoders

Job Research

Postdoctoral Associate, Mediated Matter

Publication Research

Straining but not thriving: Understanding network dynamics in underperforming industrial clusters

Giuliani, E., Balland, P.A., and Matta, A. (2018) Straining but not thriving: Understanding network dynamics in underperforming industrial clusters, Journal of Economic Geography, forthcoming

Publication Research

Smart specialization policy in the European Union: relatedness, knowledge complexity and regional diversification

Balland, P.A., Boschma, R., Crespo, J. and Rigby, D. (2018) Smart Specialization policy in the EU: Relatedness, Knowledge Complexity and Regional Diversification, Regional Studies, forthcoming.

Publication Research

Learning via social awareness: improving sketch representations with facial feedback

Jaques, N., Engel, J., Ha, D., Bertsch, F., Picard, R., and Eck, D. "Learning via social awareness: improving sketch representations with facial feedback." International Conference on Learning Representations (ICLR) Workshop, Vancouver, Canada, April 2018.

Research

Affective Computing

Advancing wellbeing using new ways to communicate, understand, and respond to emotion

Post Research

The Economist magazine quoted my research of online doctor reviews in China

on July 24th, 2014

Research

Signal Kinetics

Extending human and computer abilities in sensing, communication, and actuation through signals and networks

Project Research

Space Exploration Initiative

Beijing Initiative

P2PSTORY: Dataset of Children as Storytellers and Listeners in Peer-to-Peer Interactions

Dormio: Interfacing with Dreams to Augment Human Creativity

KinderCity

What's America Listening To?

Viralcasting

Holo basketball

Holonews

LIGHTSABER! LIGHTFIELDS + DIFFUSORS

Through Wall/Table interaction using RF

Grid-free super-resolution for audio imaging

AR Animation Tool

Earth Day Energy Summit

Could we train bacteria to make themselves harmless?

#TechnoSwag

Antimicrobials to treat infectious diseases without leading to resistant bacteria

Next-generation protein vaccines against infectious diseases

Near-infrared transillumination guides administration of dental 2D radiography and CBCT imaging

Medical professionals offering innovative solutions to some of the industry’s most pressing problems

Near-Infrared Imaging for Detecting Caries and Structural Deformities in Teeth

Modeling Knowledge Networks in Economic Geography: A Discussion of Four Empirical Strategies

The Dynamics of Interfirm Networks along the Industry Life Cycle: The Case of the Global Video Games Industry

The Technological Resilience of U.S. Cities

Relatedness and Technological Change in Cities: The rise and fall of technological knowledge in U.S. metropolitan areas from 1981 to 2010

Proximity and Innovation: From Statics to Dynamics

Getting into Networks and Clusters: Evidence from the Midi-Pyrenean Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Collaboration Network

The Dynamics of Technical and Business Knowledge Networks in Industrial Clusters: Embeddedness, status or proximity?

How Smart is Specialisation? An Analysis of Specialisation Patterns in Knowledge Production

Climbing the Ladder of Technological Development

Unveiling the geography of historical patents in the United States from 1836 to 1975

Proximity and the Evolution of Collaboration Networks: Evidence from R&D Projects within the GNSS Industry

Structural and Geographical Patterns of Knowledge Networks in Emerging Technological Standards: Evidence from the European GNSS Industry

Scientific Knowledge Dynamics and Relatedness in Bio-Tech Cities

The Geography of Complex Knowledge

The how and why of buying bitcoin

Children's Perception of Empathy in Robot-Robot Scenarios

Intrepid

Inertia

OnTheGo

Spotz

Spellbound

CAPS: Curbing Assault to Protect Society

Activ8

MetaSpace I

Conforming Materials

Kinetix

MLTalks Series

Becoming Someone

Postdoctoral Associate, Conformable Decoders

Postdoctoral Associate, Mediated Matter

Straining but not thriving: Understanding network dynamics in underperforming industrial clusters

Smart specialization policy in the European Union: relatedness, knowledge complexity and regional diversification

Learning via social awareness: improving sketch representations with facial feedback

The Economist magazine quoted my research of online doctor reviews in China

Near-Infrared Imaging for Detecting Caries and Structural Deformities in Teeth

ARTextiles: Promoting Social Interactions Around Personal Interests

Theme | CityScope

ARTextiles: Promoting Social Interactions Around Personal Interests Through Augmented Reality

Drive It! Guy Satat wins Lemelson-MIT Student Prize for All Photons Imaging and FemtoPixel technologies

Prototype Strategies for Treating Brain Disorders

Understanding Normal and Pathological Brain Computations

Optogenetics: Molecules Enabling Neural Control by Light

Tools for Recording High-Speed Brain Dynamics

Tools for mapping the molecular architecture and wiring of the brain

Deep Urban Interaction