MIT’s Media Lab, the “mothership” for parts of the electronic industry, unveiled its new home last week. Costing $90 million, the six-story incubator allows some of the world’s smartest and most creative engineers the ability to explore their “inner robot,” create new social networking tools or build intelligent music systems.
The Wall Street Journal cites MIT Frank Moss, director of the Media Lab, “Industry pays the bill and gives students and faculty unbounded freedom.” Some 60 companies pay $200,000 a year and each has the right to use any intellectual property developed at the lab, royalty free.
The Media Lab, which has spawned products ranging from Guitar Hero to the display technology used in the Kindle, is unusual in academia for its relationship with corporate sponsors.
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Inside the building are large research spaces named for donors. These include the Mastercard Future of Transaction Laboratory and the BT Lab for a Connected World. Other labs are named for Swatch, Lego, Motorola and Telmex.
Even more entwined into the Media Lab, sponsors Procter & Gamble Co. and BT Group Plc pay extra to have one of their own research scientists embedded at the Media Lab to stay on top of developments and work on projects with students. But according to MIT, none of the companies can direct what research areas the students and faculty pursue.
Projects underway: robotics for the U.S. Navy, electric bicycle, new musical digital instruments, and home appliances that would fascinate Judy Jetson.
Tags: New Technologies