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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.


New Theory Cracks Open the Black Box of Deep Learning
From ACM News

New Theory Cracks Open the Black Box of Deep Learning

A new idea called the "information bottleneck" is helping to explain the puzzling success of today's artificial-intelligence algorithms—and might also explain how...

Some of the Best Parts of Autonomous Vehicles Are Already Here
From ACM News

Some of the Best Parts of Autonomous Vehicles Are Already Here

Fully automated cars are still many years away. Amid the government activity and potential for social benefits, it's important not to lose sight of smaller improvements...

Scientists From the Rudn ­niversity Will Make Computer Networks More Robust
From ACM TechNews

Scientists From the Rudn ­niversity Will Make Computer Networks More Robust

Researchers from the RUDN University in Russia have applied a new mathematical model called a Markovian arrival process to the breakdown of telecommunication systems...

These Robots Can Merge and Split Their Brains to Form New Modular Bots
From ACM News

These Robots Can Merge and Split Their Brains to Form New Modular Bots

We cover all kinds of modular robotics around here, and when we do, we're almost always talking about one overall robotic system made up of many different modules...

How the Internet Kept Humming During 2 Hurricanes
From ACM News

How the Internet Kept Humming During 2 Hurricanes

At one node of the industrial backbone that keeps the internet running, employees sheltered from the worst of Hurricane Irma in a stairwell of a seven-story building...

Wind, Warm Water Revved ­p Melting Antarctic Glaciers
From ACM News

Wind, Warm Water Revved ­p Melting Antarctic Glaciers

A NASA study has located the Antarctic glaciers that accelerated the fastest between 2008 and 2014 and finds that the most likely cause of their speedup is an observed...

Chips Off the Old block: Computers Are Taking Design Cues from Human Brains
From ACM News

Chips Off the Old block: Computers Are Taking Design Cues from Human Brains

We expect a lot from our computers these days. They should talk to us, recognize everything from faces to flowers, and maybe soon do the driving.

Stretchy Artificial 'skin' Could Give Robots a Sense of Touch
From ACM TechNews

Stretchy Artificial 'skin' Could Give Robots a Sense of Touch

Rubberized electronics and sensors that function normally when stretched up to half of their length could operate as artificial skin on robots.

Connecting Up the Global Quantum Internet
From ACM TechNews

Connecting Up the Global Quantum Internet

Researchers say they have taken a major step in building the practical components of a global quantum Internet.

Back to Saturn? Five Missions Proposed to Follow Cassini
From ACM News

Back to Saturn? Five Missions Proposed to Follow Cassini

For 13 years, NASA's Cassini spacecraft sent back captivating observations of Saturn, and its rings and moons, solving some mysteries but raising plenty of new...

Wanna Stop Distracted Driving? Make Cars That Watch Their Humans
From ACM News

Wanna Stop Distracted Driving? Make Cars That Watch Their Humans

Everyone knows that distracted driving is a problem, but it tends to fall in the "other people/not me" category of personal risk assessment among drivers.

Robot Made from a Dna Strand Could Deliver Cargo in Your Blood
From ACM News

Robot Made from a Dna Strand Could Deliver Cargo in Your Blood

You won't read about a smaller robot than this one any time soon. It consists of just a single strand of DNA, and moves by taking tiny 6-nanometre steps—around...

Brain-Machine Interface Isn't Sci-Fi Anymore
From ACM News

Brain-Machine Interface Isn't Sci-Fi Anymore

Thomas Reardon puts a terrycloth stretch band with microchips and electrodes woven into the fabric—a steampunk version of jewelry—on each of his forearms.   ...

Treating Cancer, Stopping Violence . . . How AI Protects US
From ACM News

Treating Cancer, Stopping Violence . . . How AI Protects US

For some, the spread of artificial intelligence and robotics poses a threat to our privacy, our jobs – even our safety, as more and more tasks are handed over to...

Computational Tool Recognizes Filamentary Sections of Neurons and Blood Vessels
From ACM TechNews

Computational Tool Recognizes Filamentary Sections of Neurons and Blood Vessels

Researchers in Singapore have developed a computational tool for faster and more reliable screening and diagnosis of vascular and neurological conditions.

IBM Makes Breakthrough in Race to Commercialize Quantum Computers
From ACM TechNews

IBM Makes Breakthrough in Race to Commercialize Quantum Computers

Recent experiments utilized a method that could enable quantum computers to perform  calculations beyond the capabilities of today's most powerful supercomputers...

Fitness Trackers Could Benefit From Better Security
From ACM TechNews

Fitness Trackers Could Benefit From Better Security

A security analysis of two wearable fitness trackers revealed a technique for intercepting messages transmitted between the trackers and cloud servers.

To Improve Smartphone Privacy, Control Access to Third-Party Libraries
From ACM TechNews

To Improve Smartphone Privacy, Control Access to Third-Party Libraries

Researchers suggest controlling access to third-party libraries will help limit the undesired exposure of personal information by smartphone applications.

No Strings Attached For Underwater Video System
From ACM TechNews

No Strings Attached For Underwater Video System

Researchers in Saudi Arabia say they have developed a flexible underwater wireless video system.

Cassini Crashes Into Saturn but Could Still Deliver Big Discoveries
From ACM News

Cassini Crashes Into Saturn but Could Still Deliver Big Discoveries

At 4:55 a.m. California time on 15 September, hundreds of scientists watched their life's work go up in flames.
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