Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
December 2018
From ACM News
NASA's Voyager 2 Probe Enters Interstellar Space
For the second time in history, a human-made object has reached the space between the stars. NASA's Voyager 2 probe now has exited the heliosphere, the protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields created by the Sun.
From ACM TechNews
The .S. National Academies Reports on the Prospects for Quantum Computing
A task force evaluated the feasibility of developing a functional quantum computer, emphasizing "the time and resources required, and how to assess the probability of success."
From ACM TechNews
The 'Weird Events' That Make Machines Hallucinate
Computers can be tricked into misidentifying objects and sounds, raising issues about the real-world use of artificial intelligence; experts call such glitches "weird events."
From ACM TechNews
sing Drones to Simplify Film Animation
Researchers are using drones to streamline the production of realistic animated figures.
From ACM TechNews
Top Computer Scientists Form European Lab Devoted to AI
Prominent computer scientists have formed a coalition to establish a pan-European laboratory concentrating on artificial intelligence.
From ACM TechNews
The Chef That Can Make a Gourmet Burger Every 30 Seconds
A restaurant in San Francisco employs two robots to prepare gourmet burgers for diners.
From ACM TechNews
New Technology Helps the Visually Impaired Reach for the Stars
Researchers have developed an app that helps the visually impaired navigate the stars and planets in the solar system.
From ACM News
The State of European Tech 2018
Welcome to the most comprehensive data-driven analysis of European technology.
From ACM News
All Hail the AI Overlord: Smart Cities and the AI Internet of Things
Cities generate lots of data. The exact amount depends on the size of the city and its sophistication and ambitions, but it's certainly more than mere humans can absorb and use.
From ACM News
NASA InSight Lander 'Hears' Martian Winds
NASA's Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport InSight lander, which touched down on Mars just 10 days ago, has provided the first ever "sounds" of Martian winds on the Red Planet.
From ACM News
DeepMind Achieves Holy Grail: An AI That Can Master Games Like Chess and Go Without Human Help
DeepMind, the London-based subsidiary of Alphabet, has created a system that can quickly master any game in the class that includes chess, Go, and Shogi, and do so without human guidance.
From ACM TechNews
New Attack Could Make Website Security Captchas Obsolete
Researchers have demonstrated a deep learning algorithm that could render captcha security and authentication redundant.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Demonstrate New Building Block in Quantum Computing
Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have demonstrated a new level of control over photons encoded with quantum data.
From ACM TechNews
Walmart Leads the Way...in Floor Scrubbing Robots?
By the end of next month, Walmart will deploy floor-scrubbing robots in its stores.
From ACM TechNews
Teachers Say There's a Disconnect in Computer Science Education
Eighty-eight percent of surveyed K-12 teachers said computer science is critical for students' career success, while two in 10 said their students are not taught computer science.
From ACM TechNews
2018 ACM Fellows Honored for Pivotal Achievements that nderpin the Digital Age
ACM has named 56 members as 2018 ACM Fellows for achievements underpinning the technologies that define the digital age.
From ACM News
NASA's Next Mars Rover Will se AI to Be a Better Science Partner
NASA can't yet put a scientist on Mars. But in its next rover mission to the Red Planet, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is hoping to use artificial intelligence to at least put the equivalent of a talented research assistant…
From ACM News
NASA Reveals Aliens Could Have Already Visited Earth
A NASA scientist suggested that aliens may have already visited earth but evaded detection due to their appearances being vastly different from human expectations.
From ACM Careers
An Inside Look at Apple's Biggest Step Yet in Health Care
Captain America and Black Panther were about to defend Earth from the villain Thanos when Kevin Foley first noticed something was wrong.
From ACM TechNews
The Designer Changing the Way Aircraft Are Built
Generative design is being employed to design seatbelt brackets in cars, motorbike chassis, cabin partitions in passenger aircraft, and other everyday industrial components.
From ACM TechNews
OR's New Supercomputer Has the Brains to Tackle Weather Forecasting, Physics, and More
Oral Roberts University has unveiled an $850,000 supercomputer, with the goal of bolstering the institution's science, technology, engineering, and math program.
From ACM TechNews
CR Researchers ncover New Hacking Methods to Steal Personal Information
University of California, Riverside researchers in October demonstrated side-channel graphics processing unit attacks using direct and cross-computational stacks.
From ACM TechNews
Robot Reality Check: They Create Wealth--and Jobs
A new Information Technology and Innovation Foundation report says U.S. adoption of automation is lagging behind that of other countries.
From ACM News
Overcoming AI Bias with AI Fairness
New tools aim to remove unconscious and other types of bias from algorithms.
From ACM News
More Than an Auto-Pilot, AI Charts Its Course in Aviation
Ask anyone what they think of when the words "artificial intelligence" and aviation are combined, and it's likely the first things they'll mention are drones.
From ACM News
The 'Camera That Saved Hubble' Turns 25
Twenty-five years ago this week, NASA held its collective breath as seven astronauts on space shuttle Endeavour caught up with the Hubble Space Telescope 353 miles (568 kilometers) above Earth. Their mission: to fix a devastating…
From ACM TechNews
OK, Computer: How Much Is My House Worth?
Computer algorithm-based valuations could replace appraisers.
From ACM TechNews
Smartphone Camera Replicates Physical Objects for Virtual Reality
A new technique allows physical objects to be replicated for the augmented and virtual reality space using any digital camera with a flash.
From ACM TechNews
Inside Sellafield's Death Zone With the Nuclear Clean-p Robots
The defunct Thorp nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield, Cumbria in the U.K. is a toxic environment that must be cleaned up by robots.
From ACM TechNews
White House Outlines Five-Year STEM Push
The Trump administration has announced a five-year strategic plan for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.