
When a ringing phone booth appeared in front of the blackboard in 10-250 early this semester, mechanical engineering professor David Wallace entered. Moments later, he emerged as Product Man to announce the theme of “Super” for this year’s 2.009 class, Product Engineering Processes. He charged the class’s eight teams with developing ideas for new super products, such as those to augment human abilities, giving people “super” powers, or those that extend the mind’s reach. The class simulates the experience of engineers working on a design team in a product development firm, from brainstorming new product ideas to designing and building a working alpha prototype. It culminates in an evening of Apple-style launch presentations attended by more than 1,000 product designers, entrepreneurs, academics, and classmates. Last year an additional 15,000 people watched the 2.009 final presentations through a live webcast.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build
“I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us.”
Meet the people who use Notion to plan their whole lives
The workplace tool’s appeal extends far beyond organizing work projects. Many users find it’s just as useful for managing their free time.
Learning to code isn’t enough
Historically, learn-to-code efforts have provided opportunities for the few, but new efforts are aiming to be inclusive.
Deep learning pioneer Geoffrey Hinton has quit Google
Hinton will be speaking at EmTech Digital on Wednesday.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.