Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
February 2020
From ACM TechNews
Wearable Tech Tells Drowsy Truckers It's Time to Pull Over
Trucking companies are equipping drivers with wearable monitors that check for signs of fatigue, and notify them when it’s time to pull over and rest.
From ACM TechNews
World's First Classical Chinese Programming Language
Carnegie Mellon University graduate Lingdong Huang has created the first programming language based on classical Chinese.
From ACM TechNews
Improving AI's Ability to Identify Students Who Need Help
A new artificial intelligence model can predict the extent of students' absorption of knowledge via educational gameplay.
From ACM TechNews
Researcher Creates Drone System to Give Early Warning on Natural Disasters
A Queen's University Belfast researcher developed a drone system that can warn of natural disasters, and function as a Wi-Fi hotspot should telecommunications be disrupted by extreme weather.
From ACM TechNews
What if Half of Switzerland's Rooftops Produced Electricity?
Researchers in Switzerland are using machine learning algorithms, geographical information systems, and physical models to estimate the overall photovoltaic potential of Swiss rooftops.
From ACM News
Making the Internet Civil Again
Researchers are exploring ways to improve discourse in online discussion groups and social media sites.
From ACM TechNews
Engineers Design Bionic 'Heart' for Testing Prosthetic Valves, Other Cardiac Devices
Researchers have built a "biorobotic hybrid heart" from heart tissue and a robotic pumping system for testing prosthetic valves and other cardiac devices.
From ACM TechNews
Facebook to Pay $550M to Settle Facial Recognition Suit
Facebook has agreed to play $550 million to settle a class-action lawsuit over its use of facial recognition technology in Illinois.
From ACM TechNews
Automation Finds Home in Building Design
Startup Higharc iteratively creates customized three-dimensional home designs via algorithmic modeling.
From ACM TechNews
Algorithm Can Infer Velocity, Pressure from Video of Fluid Flows
Researchers at Brown University have developed an algorithm that can determine the velocities and pressures of a fluid flow by analyzing video of the flow.
From ACM TechNews
Iowa Caucus Chaos Likely to Set Back Mobile Voting
The failure of a vote-recording app used in the Iowa Democratic Presidential Caucus may set back online voting.
From ACM TechNews
Teaching Tomorrow's Automobiles to Hear
A new system allows self-driving cars to recognize external noises such as sirens.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Report Progress on Molecular Data Storage System
Researchers have stored and retrieved over 200 kilobytes of digital image files by encoding the data in mixtures of custom-synthesized libraries of small molecules.
From ACM TechNews
Jigsaw Tool to Help Journalists Spot Doctored Images
Jigsaw has released a free tool, designed to help journalists identify doctored photos, including those generated through the use of artificial intelligence.
From ACM TechNews
Handheld 3D Skin Printer Demonstrates Accelerated Healing of Large, Severe Burns
A new handheld three-dimensional skin printer can accelerate healing from burns.
From ACM TechNews
U.S. Dairy Farmers Look for Any Tech Edge in Fight to Survive
U.S. dairy farmers are using technology to boost efficiency and control costs amid low milk prices and Americans buying less milk.
From ACM TechNews
Facebook, Google and Twitter Scramble to Stop Misinformation About Coronavirus
Facebook, Google, and Twitter are struggling to prevent misinformation on their platforms about the outbreak of the coronavirus.
From ACM TechNews
How to Design AI that Eliminates Disability Bias
AI has proven to magnify the prejudices that skew human decision making against women and ethnic minorities.
From ACM TechNews
New Insights Into How the Human Brain Solves Complex Decision-Making Problems
A new study helps explain how the human brain adapts to complexity in learning and decision-making.
From ACM News
Chatbot Pushback
Consumers are underwhelmed by e-commerce chatbots.
From ACM TechNews
MIT's 'Smart Surface' Could Improve Your Wi-Fi Signal Tenfold
Researchers have designed a prototype "smart surface" that can concentrate wireless radio signals to maximize reception.
From ACM TechNews
Safety Helmet for Firefighters
Researchers have developed a firefighter's helmet equipped with haptic actuators, a control box with a radio module, and other devices to provide real-time information to firefighters.
From ACM TechNews
Pinterest Bans Misinformation About Voting, Census
The Pinterest platform has banned the posting of misleading information related to voting or the census.
From ACM TechNews
Self-Learning Heating Control System
Researchers have developed a smart heating control system that can assess a building's behavior and provide greater comfort and lower energy costs.
From ACM TechNews
Mapping Potholes by Phone
A new app for mapping potholes and road quality takes advantage of the accelerometers in smartphones.
From ACM News
The Secret History of Facial Recognition
Sixty years ago, a sharecropper's son invented a technology to identify faces. Then the record of his role all but vanished.
From ACM News
If A Novel Was Good, Would You Care If It Was Created by Artificial Intelligence?
The first computer-generated screenplays are promised within five years. Fiction can't be far behind.
From Communications of the ACM
Tracking Shoppers
Retailers of all stripes are using technology to follow consumers through their brick-and-mortar stores in order to develop detailed profiles of their shopping habits and preferences.
From Communications of the ACM
Dark Web's Doppelgängers Aim to Dupe Antifraud Systems
Digital doppelgängers that fool online payment fraud detection systems are a threat to your bank balance.
From Communications of the ACM
Learning to Trust Quantum Computers
They need to show us they can solve the biggest problems.