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Margaret Hamilton, who led the team writing onboard flight software for NASA's Apollo lunar missions and helped establish software engineering as a discipline, has died at 90. She worked at MIT from 1959 into the mid-1970s before founding her own software companies, and authored more than 130 publications over her career.
Margaret Hamilton, who coined the term 'software engineering' and led development of NASA's Apollo on-board flight software in the 1960s, has died at age 90. She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016 and was later depicted as a LEGO minifig in the 'Women of NASA' set alongside astronauts Mae Jemison and Sally Ride.
WaveSave has introduced a new flood protection device called SlamDam, which can be quickly deployed along riverbanks or shorelines. The inflatable rubber dam can reach heights of 1.3 meters and is designed to be easily set up by anyone during flood events. This innovation aims to provide a simple, rapid response to rising water levels caused by climate change.
Tesla's humanoid robot, Optimus, has appeared in videos performing simple tasks such as passing popcorn and vacuuming, but struggles with more complex actions like ironing. Despite Elon Musk's optimistic forecasts of mass-market availability by 2027 and potential to automate nearly all human labor, the robot's current performance remains rudimentary. Industry leaders continue to project rapid growth and transformative impact for humanoid robots in the coming decades.
Margaret Hamilton, who directed the software development team for NASA’s Apollo program at MIT, passed away on September 30 at age 90. She was instrumental in establishing software engineering as a formal discipline and authored over 130 publications. Her work earned her numerous awards, including the 2016 Presidential Medal of Freedom, recognizing her role in enabling humans to land on the moon.
At MIT Future Fest, Tony Fadell said he declined requests to advise makers of the Humane AI Pin, Rabbit R1 and Limitless pendant before they were discontinued. He said these devices failed because they offered novel technology without solving a real problem, and compared them to assistants most consumers have never had and don't know how to use.
The MIT Technology Review annually identifies leading climate technology companies, ranging from startups to large corporations, that are developing solutions to combat or adapt to climate change. The 2026 list emphasizes the urgent need for innovation to reduce emissions and mitigate climate impacts.
MIT researchers developed a multimaterial 3D-printing platform that can process conductive and magnetic materials through four interchangeable extrusion tools to build an entire electric machine layer by layer. Using five materials, the team produced a fully functional 3D-printed linear motor in a few hours, requiring only one post-processing step, with performance matching or exceeding motors made through conventional manufacturing.
Meta's Muse app, launched September 8 and capable of performing multi-step tasks in the background, surpassed 5 million U.S. downloads within 22 days, according to Mashable. The app is led by Alexandr Wang, the 29-year-old Scale AI co-founder whom Mark Zuckerberg hired as Meta's first Gen Z senior executive after Meta's $14 billion investment for a 49% stake in Scale AI, the Wall Street Journal reports. Meta's stock has risen nearly 20% since the app's debut.
Valve Software has published GPUVis, a tool for visualizing GPU and system traces, with its source code hosted on GitHub under an MIT license. The project relies on several existing open-source components, including Dear ImGui, Simple DirectMedia Layer, gl3w, and trace-cmd, each retaining their own respective licenses.
A developer has released Pyxel, a retro-style game engine for Python that limits output to 16 colors and 4 simultaneous sound channels to mimic old gaming consoles. The project includes built-in art and sound editors, is licensed under MIT, and is free to use. It is maintained by a single developer who relies on GitHub stars to keep the project active.
MIT Technology Review announced it has finalized its fourth annual Climate Tech Companies to Watch list, set to publish on October 6. The list narrows a broad set of global companies down to 10 selected for their impact on emissions, public safety or health, spanning energy storage, nuclear power and transportation.