As a child, you likely saw a few Disney movies depicting inanimate objects, such as clocks, cups and toys, as interactive companions to humans—an act of pure magic, seemingly. But scientists at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) are now doing something similar: transforming stationary items into self-aware tools that perceive and respond to human motion to complete a task.As a child, you likely saw a few Disney movies depicting inanimate objects, such as clocks, cups and toys, as interactive companions to humans—an act of pure magic, seemingly. But scientists at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) are now doing something similar: transforming stationary items into self-aware tools that perceive and respond to human motion to complete a task.[#item_full_content]