MIT Researcher Alexander Htet Kyaw Merges Design and Computer Science in Innovative Ways
The intersection of design and computer science is yielding groundbreaking innovations, and MIT MAD Fellow Alexander Htet Kyaw is at the forefront of this convergence. A graduate student pursuing dual master’s degrees in architectural studies in computation and in electrical engineering and computer science, Kyaw is ingeniously blending artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and robotics to revolutionize how we interact with our environment.
Kyaw’s work focuses on creating human-AI workflows that can transform various aspects of our lives, from shopping to architectural design and manufacturing. His projects leverage gesture, speech, and object recognition to create intuitive and efficient systems.
One of Kyaw’s standout innovations is Curator AI, which won first prize at the MIT AI Conference’s AI Build: Generative Voice AI Solutions hackathon. Developed in collaboration with MIT graduate students Richa Gupta, Bradley Bunch, Nidhish Sagar, and Michael Won, Curator AI aims to enhance the online furniture shopping experience using AI and AR.
Curator AI employs AR to measure room dimensions, including the locations of windows, doors, and existing furniture. Users can then describe their desired furnishings, and the system uses a vision-language AI model to find and display suitable options that match both the user’s prompts and the room’s visual characteristics. According to Kyaw, this makes the furniture selection process more intuitive, efficient, and personalized.
Another notable project is Estimate, created during the MIT Sloan Product Tech Conference’s hackathon in March 2024. This product uses AR and object-recognition AI to measure rooms and generate detailed cost estimates for renovation and painting projects. Estimate also uses generative AI to visualize the rooms after the work is completed and generates invoices. Kyaw’s teammates for this project were Guillaume Allegre, May Khine, and Anna Mathy.
Kyaw’s innovative spirit extends beyond software. Unlog, a towering art sculpture on the Cornell campus, demonstrates his approach to sustainable building. By connecting AR with gesture recognition, Kyaw developed software that maps the dimensions of building components by tracking fingertip movements on a material’s surface. This allows structures to be built directly from whole logs, reducing the need for lumber mills and promoting sustainable use of building materials.
Furthermore, Kyaw has developed a system that integrates physics simulation, gesture recognition, and AR to design active bending structures using bamboo poles. This system allows users to manipulate digital bamboo modules in AR and visualize how the bamboo bends, facilitating the creation of stable structures.
Kyaw’s commitment to sustainability is also evident in BendShelters, a startup he founded through the MITdesignX program. BendShelters aims to build prefabricated, modular bamboo shelters and community spaces for refugees and displaced persons in Myanmar, addressing the effects of climate change and extreme poverty in his home country.
Currently, at MIT, Kyaw is collaborating with Professor Neil Gershenfeld and PhD student Miana Smith to create a workflow that uses speech recognition, 3D generative AI, and robotic arms to build objects in an accessible, on-demand, and sustainable manner. With bachelor’s degrees in architecture and computer science from Cornell, Kyaw’s interdisciplinary approach is driving innovation in design and technology.
In April, Kyaw delivered a TEDx talk at Cornell University, showcasing Curator AI, Estimate, and other projects that utilize AI, AR, and robotics in design and construction. His research vision is clear: to develop systems and products that enable natural interactions between humans, machines, and the world around us.
