Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
May 2017
From ACM News
Teaching Robots to Teach Other Robots
Most robots are programmed using one of two methods: learning from demonstration, in which they watch a task being done and then replicate it, or via motion-planning techniques such as optimization or sampling, which require …
From ACM News
Satellite Images Reveal Gaps in Global Population Data
Nigerian health officials won't have to rely on flawed, decade-old census data when they plan deliveries of the measles vaccine next year.
From ACM TechNews
Internet of Things Sensors Could Connect via Ambient Radio Waves
A new ultra-low-power system of sensors can transmit data to a central receiver by reflecting the ambient radio waves already in office environments.
From ACM TechNews
Device Allows sers to Manipulate 3D Virtual Objects More Quickly
CAPTIVE is an inexpensive controller for manipulating virtual objects in a computer program in three dimensions.
From ACM TechNews
ci Calteach and Ics Partner With Google to Train Computer Science Teachers
A new partnership aims to address the shortage of computer science teachers by developing a training program for pre-service math and science educators.
From ACM News
Computers Tell Smart City Lights What to Do
Onboard sensors often tell a luminaire to change settings, but sometimes the instructions come from entirely different sources, like IBM's Watson.
From ACM News
Jennifer Rexford Announced As 2017 Ncwit Harrold and Notkin Award Recipient
The award recognizes faculty members from non-profit institutions who distinguish themselves with outstanding research and excellent graduate mentoring, as well as those who recruit, encourage, and promote women and minorities…
From ACM News
Geniuses Wanted: Nasa Challenges Coders to Speed p Its Supercomputer
To improve the performance of one of the world's biggest supercomputers, NASA is crowdsourcing some new ideas about an old coding language. And there are cash prizes to be had, totaling up to $55,000.
From ACM News
Pocket Laboratories
As spring turns to summer along the east coast of the United States, thoughts turn to holidays, beaches, picnics—and mosquitoes.
From ACM News
Nasa Rover Samples Active Linear Dune on Mars
As it drives uphill from a band of rippled sand dunes, NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is toting a fistful of dark sand for onboard analysis that will complete the rover's investigation of those dunes.
From ACM News
In Memoriam Harry D. Huskey 1916-2017
Huskey's work included building innovative hardware and novel software, and educating computer scientists worldwide.
From ACM TechNews
Powerpoint & Led Projector Enable New Technique For Self-Folding Origami
Researchers are using PowerPoint slides to generate self-folding three-dimensional origami structures from photocurable liquid polymers.
From ACM TechNews
Could a Doodle Replace Your Password?
Researchers have developed an identity input method which could replace smartphone passwords with patterns drawn by the user on the device's touchscreen.
From ACM TechNews
Red Light, Green Light Invention Prevents Work Interruptions
FlowLight is a desk light that automatically switches from green to red when a user should not be disturbed by co-workers.
From ACM TechNews
Dartmouth-Led Team Develops Smartwatch With All The Moves
Cito is a prototype smartwatch face that moves in five directions.
From ACM TechNews
Does My Algorithm Work? There's No Shortcut For Community Detection
New research questions the validity of the community-detection algorithm testing model.
From ACM TechNews
Nvidia Lets You Peer Inside the Black Box of Its Self-Driving AI
NVIDIA researchers have developed a neural network for autonomous driving that emphasizes what areas it is focusing on in a video image.
From ACM News
Planetariums, Not Just For Kids
Most researchers think of planetariums, if they think of them at all, as a place to take schoolchildren for whizzy trips through the stars, with nothing to offer serious scientists.
From ACM TechNews
Holography With the Wi-Fi Router
Researchers in Germany have developed a holographic imaging process that depicts the radiation of a Wi-Fi transmitter to generate three-dimensional images of the surrounding environment.
From ACM TechNews
Hand That Sees Offers New Hope to Amputees
Researchers are developing a new generation of prosthetic limbs that will enable the wearer to automatically reach for objects without thinking.
From ACM TechNews
An Ostrich-Like Robot Pushes the Limits of Legged Locomotion
The Planar Elliptical Runner is a two-legged robot that will help explore how mechanical design can be used to enable sophisticated legged locomotion.
From ACM TechNews
Artificial Intelligence Prevails at Predicting Supreme Court Decisions
A study led by the Illinois Institute of Technology suggests artificial intelligence can outperform legal scholars in the prediction of U.S. Supreme Court rulings.
From ACM TechNews
When Autonomous Machines Can Do More Than Just Vacuum
Rapidly aging populations will drive growth in home-based robotics, according to Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Rodney Brooks.
From ACM News
The Shock Tactics Set to Shake p Immunology
Six times a day, Katrin pauses whatever she's doing, removes a small magnet from her pocket and touches it to a raised patch of skin just below her collar bone.
From ACM Careers
How to Prepare For an Automated Future
We don't know how quickly machines will displace people's jobs, or how many they'll take, but we know it's happening—not just to factory workers but also to money managers, dermatologists and retail workers.
From ACM TechNews
Iarpa, Nist Hosting Face Recognition Challenge to Improve Accuracy
The Face Recognition Prize Challenge is designed to improve core face-recognition accuracy.
From ACM TechNews
At&t Labs Working to Combine Drone Video Footage With Artificial Intelligence Monitoring
Researchers are studying ways to use artificial intelligence techniques to analyze video shot by a drone for signs of damage to cell towers.
From ACM TechNews
Nmsu Research Shows Technology May Help Speed Political Polarization
Customizable technology wields a sizable influence on accelerating political polarization in the U.S.
From ACM TechNews
$3.1 Million Grant to Build New Data Exploration Software
Researchers will use a $3.1-million grant to develop software that brings statistical rigor to interactive data exploration.
From ACM News
Making Smartphones More Aware
The drive to make electronic devices more situationally, contextually aware of their environments.