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An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


At Alibaba's Futuristic Hotel, Robots Deliver Towels and Mix Cocktails
From ACM TechNews

At Alibaba's Futuristic Hotel, Robots Deliver Towels and Mix Cocktails

A hotel that opened in China last month utilizes robots and a suite of other high-tech tools that drastically reduce the hotel's cost of human labor.

Boeing's Self-Driving Air Taxi Completes First Test Flight
From ACM TechNews

Boeing's Self-Driving Air Taxi Completes First Test Flight

A prototype self-driving air taxi from Boeing's research and development unit completed its first flight in Manassas, VA, last week.

Huawei Is Blocked in ­.S., But Its Chips Power Cameras Everywhere
From ACM News

Huawei Is Blocked in ­.S., But Its Chips Power Cameras Everywhere

Pelco, a California-based security camera maker, set lofty sales targets last year for a model with sharper video resolution and other cutting-edge features. That...

'This Could Be the End' for NASA's Mars Opportunity Rover
From ACM News

'This Could Be the End' for NASA's Mars Opportunity Rover

NASA's Opportunity rover began its 15th year on Mars this week, although the intrepid robotic explorer may already be dead.

Will Robots Take Your Job? Quarter of ­.S. Workers at Risk
From ACM TechNews

Will Robots Take Your Job? Quarter of ­.S. Workers at Risk

The Brookings Institution has determined that about 36 million Americans hold jobs with "high exposure" to automation.

George Mason Students Have New Dining Option: Food Delivered by Robots
From ACM TechNews

George Mason Students Have New Dining Option: Food Delivered by Robots

George Mason University students will soon have a fleet of 25 autonomous wheeled robots delivering meals to them across campus.

Reinforcement Learning Expedites 'Tuning' of Robotic Prosthetics
From ACM TechNews

Reinforcement Learning Expedites 'Tuning' of Robotic Prosthetics

Researchers have developed an intelligence system for "tuning" powered prosthetic knees, a breakthrough allowing patients to walk with the prosthetic device in...

Victoria to Allow Trial of Driverless Cars on Country Roads
From ACM TechNews

Victoria to Allow Trial of Driverless Cars on Country Roads

The state of Victoria in Australia has approved a trial of driverless cars on rural roads.

Mysterious Planet Nine Hiding Beyond Neptune Might Not Be a Planet at All
From ACM News

Mysterious Planet Nine Hiding Beyond Neptune Might Not Be a Planet at All

Out past Neptune, something weird is happening to the orbits of a bunch of space rocks circling the sun. Something, scientists believed, that could only be described...

The Super-Secure Quantum Cable Hiding in the Holland Tunnel
From ACM TechNews

The Super-Secure Quantum Cable Hiding in the Holland Tunnel

A quantum key distribution fiber-optic cable running through the Holland Tunnel harnesses the power of quantum mechanics to protect critical banking data.

FAA Proposes More Commercial Drone Operations at Night and Over People
From ACM TechNews

FAA Proposes More Commercial Drone Operations at Night and Over People

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has released preliminary rules to allow small drones to fly routinely over crowds of people at night.

Defending the Orbital Internet
From ACM News

Defending the Orbital Internet

Hypersonic space debris threatens communications beyond the atmosphere.

We'd Have More Quantum Computers If It Weren't So Hard to Find the Damn Cables
From ACM News

We'd Have More Quantum Computers If It Weren't So Hard to Find the Damn Cables

Blake Johnson spends a lot of time thinking about things like superconducting cables and supercooled refrigerators.

Giving Algorithms a Sense of ­ncertainty Could Make Them More Ethical
From ACM News

Giving Algorithms a Sense of ­ncertainty Could Make Them More Ethical

Algorithms are increasingly being used to make ethical decisions. Perhaps the best example of this is a high-tech take on the ethical dilemma known as the trolley...

Robot Hotel Loses Love for Robots
From ACM TechNews

Robot Hotel Loses Love for Robots

A hotel in Japan hyped as the world's first robot-staffed hotel has eliminated more than half of its robots due to mounting complaints.

Hidden History of the Milky Way Revealed by Extensive Star Maps
From ACM News

Hidden History of the Milky Way Revealed by Extensive Star Maps

Last April, Amina Helmi felt goose bumps while driving to work in the northern Netherlands. It had nothing to do with the weather—it was pure anticipation. Just...

Hackers Are Stealing Computer Power to Make Millions in Cryptocurrency
From ACM TechNews

Hackers Are Stealing Computer Power to Make Millions in Cryptocurrency

Groups of hackers are stealing millions of dollars through cryptojacking, which works by illicitly harnessing the computing power of thousands to mine cryptocurrency...

UT Austin Researchers Use Supercomputing to Study Turning Animals Monogamous
From ACM TechNews

UT Austin Researchers Use Supercomputing to Study Turning Animals Monogamous

University of Texas at Austin researchers used the Texas Advanced Computing Center's Wrangler supercomputer to examine gene activity across the genomes of 10 species...

Giant Food Stores Will Place Robotic Assistants at 172 Locations
From ACM TechNews

Giant Food Stores Will Place Robotic Assistants at 172 Locations

Giant Food Stores will install autonomous assistive robots in 172 stores across Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Efficiency, Innovation Mark Research In Future Memories
From ACM News

Efficiency, Innovation Mark Research In Future Memories

The U.S. National Science Foundation is exploring multiple approaches.
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