acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

News


bg-corner

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


Disney Research Builds Computer Models to Analyze Play in Pro Basketball and Soccer
From ACM TechNews

Disney Research Builds Computer Models to Analyze Play in Pro Basketball and Soccer

Disney researchers used player-tracking data from more than 600 basketball games from the NBA to develop models that can make accurate in-game predictions of what...

How Disney Is Perfecting Animated Eyeballs
From ACM News

How Disney Is Perfecting Animated Eyeballs

Creating lifelike animated characters is hard.

Why Neural Networks Look Set to Thrash the Best Human Go Players For the First Time
From ACM TechNews

Why Neural Networks Look Set to Thrash the Best Human Go Players For the First Time

University of Edinburgh researchers have applied machine-learning techniques and a vast database of games to train a neural network to find the next move in a...

Optical Illusions Fool Computers Into Seeing Things
From ACM TechNews

Optical Illusions Fool Computers Into Seeing Things

University of Wyoming researchers are studying algorithms working together that may resulting in a program that could generate creative pictures by itself.

The Surprising ­ses of Games Controllers
From ACM News

The Surprising ­ses of Games Controllers

Games controllers can end up in the strangest places.

Boston Researcher Cynthia Breazeal Is Ready to Bring Robots Into the Home. Are You?
From ACM Opinion

Boston Researcher Cynthia Breazeal Is Ready to Bring Robots Into the Home. Are You?

The MIT Media Lab's Personal Robots Group flanks the soaring atrium on the fourth floor of the Wiesner Building, a wall of metal panels along the southern edge...

Football Robot Promises to Get Rid of the Boring Bits
From ACM TechNews

Football Robot Promises to Get Rid of the Boring Bits

BBC NewsPolytechnic University of Catalonia researchers have developed software that can identify the important parts of a soccer match and edit them together to...

Baer's Odyssey: Meet the Serial Inventor Who Built the World's First Game Console
From ACM Opinion

Baer's Odyssey: Meet the Serial Inventor Who Built the World's First Game Console

Even if you're a devoted fan of video games, there's a decent chance you're not familiar with the name Ralph H. Baer.

Haptic Holograms Let You Touch the Void in Vr
From ACM News

Haptic Holograms Let You Touch the Void in Vr

Feeling is believing. A system that uses sound waves to project "haptic holograms" into mid-air—letting you touch 3D virtual objects with your bare hands—is poised...

Finding an Image with an Image and Other Feats of Computer Vision
From ACM Opinion

Finding an Image with an Image and Other Feats of Computer Vision

"We found that people were searching for squirrels just to favorite them, just to click 'like.' And the same with buses."

To Lure Young, Movie Theaters Shake, Smell and Spritz
From ACM News

To Lure Young, Movie Theaters Shake, Smell and Spritz

Having tried 3-D films, earsplitting sound systems and even alcohol sales in pursuit of younger moviegoers, some theater chains are now installing undulating seats...

The Supreme Court Debates Rap Lyrics to Draw a Line on Criminalizing Online Speech
From ACM News

The Supreme Court Debates Rap Lyrics to Draw a Line on Criminalizing Online Speech

The Supreme Court on Monday looked ready to clarify the law on whether violent threats made on websites like Facebook should be liable for criminal prosecution,...

Gregarious and Direct: China's Web Doorkeeper
From ACM Careers

Gregarious and Direct: China's Web Doorkeeper

When a major Chinese-American Internet conference convenes in Washington on Tuesday, a middle-aged Communist Party propaganda chief will be seated amid a room full...

Supreme Court Case Tests the Limits of Free Speech on Facebook and Other Social Media
From ACM News

Supreme Court Case Tests the Limits of Free Speech on Facebook and Other Social Media

About a week after Tara Elonis persuaded a judge to issue a protective order against her estranged husband, Anthony, her soon-to-be ex had this to say: "Fold up...

Sensors For Seniors
From Communications of the ACM

Sensors For Seniors

In-home technologies are helping seniors stay aware, healthy, and in touch.

Intelligent Living
From Communications of the ACM

Intelligent Living

After years of false starts, the smart home is gaining momentum.

Decoding the Language of Human Movement
From Communications of the ACM

Decoding the Language of Human Movement

Computers that recognize what is happening in moving images can help defend against crime, and revolutionize rehabilitation.

:-O: The Surprising Power of Emoticons
From ACM News

:-O: The Surprising Power of Emoticons

It all started with an awkward moment online. In the early 1980s, computer scientist Scott Fahlman realised his words were failing him.

Hour of Code to Feature 'frozen' Characters
From ACM TechNews

Hour of Code to Feature 'frozen' Characters

Educational nonprofit Code.org is collaborating with Disney to open its week-long "Hour of Code" event during Computer Science Education Week Dec. 8-14. 

Sculptor Offers Another Clue in 24-Year-Old Mystery at C.i.a.
From ACM News

Sculptor Offers Another Clue in 24-Year-Old Mystery at C.i.a.

The artist who created the enigmatic Kryptos, a puzzle-in-a-sculpture that has driven code breakers to distraction since it was installed 24 years ago in a courtyard...
Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account