VIP-visit - MIT Media Lab FRAMES

When I was schmoozing around academia in 1992 on a quest for Microship development facilities (eventually landing at UCSD), I was sorely tempted by the MIT Media Lab. Although open Cube workspace in an urban environment was a bit overwhelming to contemplate, I’ll always wonder if it would have indeed been the wiser choice… the people there are simply amazing. I was invited to visit by Nicholas Negroponte, and spent a couple of days having my mind blown by wizards various… and this little snippet in FRAMES is an echo of that brief glimpse into another world.

FRAMES masthead - MIT Media Lab

Steven Roberts visited the Media Lab in mid-July together with BEHEMOTH (Big Electronic Human-Energized Machine… Only Too Heavy), the third version of his nomadic system. Steve has logged more than 17,000 miles while publishing stories on adventure and technology.

The 105-speed vehicle is human-powered; the on-board electronics, however, consisting of a satellite data terminal, cellular phone with modem and fax, binary handlebar keyboard, Macintosh and SPARCstation computers, GPS navigation system and all-mode ham radio station, are solar powered.