MIT’s AI Detects Asymptomatic COVID-19 Coughs Through Sound

“There’s, in fact, sentiment embedded in how you cough,” Brian Subirana, a research scientist at MIT, tells designboom. This knowledge informs a new AI that Subirana’s lab is currently developing for use in COVID-19 detection. Using information gleaned from forced-cough recordings, the AI “distinguishes asymptomatic people from healthy ones.” While the nuances in sound cannot be identified by human ears, the AI can detect asymptomatic …

Link About It: This Week’s Picks

NYC's campaign to encourage voting, award-winning virtual reality work, LTE internet on the moon and more

NYC’s Vote Your Future Campaign With contributions from artists and designers including Laci Jordan, Amanda Phingbodhipakkiya, Gillian Dreher and Carolyn Suzuki, NYC’s Vote Your Future campaign—curated by Amplifier—comprises posters that encourage the public to flex their democratic privilege. The non-partisan initiative will place these prints (with messaging in English, Spanish and Mandarin) all over the city, specifically in neighborhoods that have historically lower voter turnout. …

Interview: HempWood Founder Greg Wilson

A new sustainable design material enters the market with innumerable benefits

A patent-wielding Willy Wonka-like character who whips up sustainable building and design materials from various fibers, Greg Wilson has released details on his latest developments that focus on the dynamic, controversial hemp plant. His creation, HempWood, and its parent company, Fibonacci, are based out of a factory in a former cornfield in West Kentucky. And there, Wilson’s day-to-day workload includes educating consumers and imagining the …