A: We now have a data share page that contains links to data sets. This page includes instructions for proper citations for the work.

A: Unfortunately, almost never. Our group receives 30 or so unsolicited postdoc requests a year and accepts about one every 2-3 years. We are perpetually crunched for space, which makes it especially unlikely. We apologize that we do not have the resources to personally respond to all these requests.

A: This is not as easy as it sounds. The fact is, with new US Immigration and MIT regulations, we are ALWAYS REQUIRED to pay money for international visiting students (and some other categories) even if they bring their own money, and we incur costs in time and space, the latter of which is particularly limited until our new building is built. The paperwork for these arrangements for international requests has also become especially onerous since 9/11. We apologize that we do not have the resources to respond personally to all of these requests.

A: First, get into MIT. Most of our students come from MIT's Program in Media Arts and Sciences, while others have come from Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, or Mechanical Engineering, although we are open to students from any department. We do occasionally accept students from non-technical backgrounds (e.g., psychology/cognitive science) as long as you are willing to learn to create and build new things (hack software or hardware). (We do not just "do studies" or "mock-up designs.") You have to apply individually to each department at MIT in which you might want to work. MIT's Admissions information can guide you to the information for each department.

While there are no special advantages for any group, we especially encourage female and minority applicants to apply. We also encourage anyone who does not fit the mold in some way. We are always looking for ways to expand the diverse viewpoints in our group, which gives us strength in thinking outside the box. If you have a tendency to underestimate your abilities, please set aside your doubt and take the risk to apply. If there is a hardship paying the application fee please let us know. Note that students have traditionally received full funding once they are admitted (provided they remain in good academic standing and graduate in a reasonable amount of time), so cost of attending MIT should not be a concern.

What advice can we give to improve your chances to get in? The best thing to do is to first learn about our latest research projects before you write your statement of objectives. You can download publications, and contact the students working on the projects that interest you most. Because of so many talented applicants, often the admission decisions come down to choosing those whose passions are most closely aligned with the group's current research goals. Learn what interests us and see if it is a good fit to your interests. Of course you can also feel free to suggest things you think we should be interested in.

Professor Picard rarely accepts more than 1-2 new students a year. It is wise to target several areas of interest in your admissions application, to increase your chances of getting into MIT, and then once you are at MIT or in the Media Lab, you will find there are few walls. Thus, repeat the process above for 2 or 3 groups that interest you.

Picard personally goes through the applications to Media Arts and Sciences that mention Affective Computing or Autism, so list these if you want to consider working with this group. If you make the "short-list" of admits, then Picard will probably follow up with you by phone or by arranging a face-to-face meeting before admissions decisions are made.

We wish we had the resources to engage in email dialogue or otherwise interact with all applicants, their families, and others who email us on your behalf. Please do not expect personal responses to all your mails; Prof. Picard usually gets over a hundred mails a day and has time to respond to only a small set of these.

In 2007 Affective Computing had over 50 applicants. Each year many outstanding applicants are turned away, despite that they have enormous talent and we would love to have them join the lab. A rejection does not imply anything negative about your talent or ability. Sometimes people try repeatedly and get in on a 2nd or 3rd attempt. The staff in the office of the Program in Media Arts and Sciences can be of help if you have questions about the process or the status of your application. Faculty are not allowed to respond to individual queries about the status of an application, or why a student was or was not admitted. You will not help your application by bombarding the faculty with such inquiries.

Note that sometimes Prof. Picard serves on student thesis committees outside of MIT as well as outside the USA, so it may be possible to collaborate even if you wind up at another school.

A: If you are a Media Lab Sponsor, then please access the reasonably well maintained, up-to-date sponsor website pages . Sponsors also have access to all our pre-publication work and should feel free to contact us directly for any details, software, etc.

A: The primary work involved in constructing a Handwave device is in constructing a printed circuit board (PCB). A set of design files for the Handwave device may be downloaded and unzipped. This contains OrCad design files, a bill of materials, schematic, Gerber files, firmware source code, sample drivers, and design files for a programming jib. These files are most useful to those who are experienced computer or electrical engineers and are offered without any support or warranty.
Further information can be found in the publications we wrote: The HandWave Bluetooth Skin Conductance Sensor, HandWave: Design and Manufacture of a Wearable Wireless Skin Conductance Sensor and Housing and The HandWave User's Guide.

A: Data can be read by reading from a serial port profile implemented by the Handwave device. More information can be found in the HandWave User's Guide.

A: We do not have a manufacturer for these, but made them in house. Thus they are not for sale, and we only have a limited number for sponsors. However, one of our former students is now looking into making them and you can contact her at "rise" at "media dot mit dot edu" with the usual substitutions.

A: There is no simple answer to this; it is an active research question. "Best" is always with respect to some criteria: recognition accuracy, comfort and ease of sensing in a given situation, respect for user's privacy concerns, and more. For several examples, look at our publications.

A: Research at the MIT Media Lab is funded by sponsoring corporations, governments, and generous individuals. Our group shares ideas and prototypes with these companies, and they take some of the more successful ideas into development. Although Prof. Picard works outside MIT as a consultant and some of our graduates go to work on development efforts, MIT does not get involved in the development, scheduling, and pricing issues that are ultimately a part of turning a prototype into a product.

A: The MIT Media Lab is not in the business of making products, but we do work with many companies who (of course) have products. We have been told that we inspired or otherwise influenced products, such as Hasbro/iRobot's My Real Baby. (The development effort for this product was led by Jonathan Klein, an alumnus of our group.) Picard has worked with companies (outside MIT) on product conception and design.

A: All press/interview/media requests are handled by the Media Lab Press Office. Please contact Alexandra Kahn via the Lab's Contact Us form or call her at 617-253-0365, and her office will handle it from there.

A: We do not develop products, only research prototypes. If you are interested in developing one of our prototypes into a product then please feel free to contact us.

A: The sensors we use in our Prototype Sensing System are available from:

Thought Technology Ltd.
2180 Belgrave Ave.
Montreal Quebec, Canada H4A 2L8
Tel: (514) 489-8251
Fax: (514) 489-8255

We prefer not to give out pricing or technical information on these; please contact the manufacturer. We use these sensors with a wearable computer, which is not available for purchase, but which we built and for years posted instuctions on how to build, but that was ten years ago and you wouldn't want to do it that way now.)

A: The ProComp and ProComp+ systems both deliver real-time data to your computer; however, this data stream is considered proprietary by Thought Technology and it is encrypted. Because we are a research institution, Thought Technology has allowed us to have access to this data stream under a Non-Disclosure Agreement. Please contact Thought Technology at the address above if you wish to negotiate for access to the serial port stream.

Note:

BioGraph Infiniti exports data in CSV (text) format it is the only available format for the exporting of data. It was chosen as the lowest common denominator to ensure that users could import the data into their choice of software. The export sample rate can be selected at 4 different re-sampling rates: 2048 Hz, 256 Hz, 32 Hz or 8Hz. The start time and end time of the data to be exported can also be selected.

(http://www.thoughttechnology.com/pdf/faq/bioinf.htm)