Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
July 2010
From ACM News
In a First, Full-Sized Robo-Copter Flies With No Human Help
In mid-June, a single-turbine helicopter took off from a test field in Mesa, Arizona, avoided obstacles in-flight, scoped out a landing site and landed safely. It’s the kind of flight choppers have made tens of thousands of times…
From ACM News
Letting the Machines Decide
Wall Street is notorious for not learning from its mistakes. Maybe machines can do better.
From ACM TechNews
CMU Launches Initiative Using Robots to Boost Science, Technology Majors
Carnegie Mellon University has launched Fostering Innovation through Robotics Exploration (FIRE), a new initiative that will leverage students' interest in robots to increase U.S. enrollment in computer science majors.
From ACM TechNews
It Employment Jumps For First Time Since 2008
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' quarterly current population survey report shows that IT employment rose an estimated 5 percent during the second quarter, the first significant quarterly growth since late 2008.
From ACM TechNews
ECS Releases All Public Data in Open Linked Data Format
The University of Southampton's School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS) recently became the United Kingdom's first university department to release all of its public data in an open, linked data format.
From ACM TechNews
Robots as the Next Big Industry?
Although a lot of artificial intelligence (AI) research has moved away from robotics and into creating algorithms for business intelligence, finance, the Web, and other uses, robotics research has begun to make a comeback.
From ACM TechNews
Tiny Springs Could Reduce Microchip Waste
Palo Alto Research Center researchers led by Eugene Chow have developed a technique involving microscale springs that make computer chips more reliable and less wasteful.
From ACM News
Stony Brook University Receives Nsf Grant to Design 'holodeck'
Stony Brook University received a $1.4 million National Science Foundation grant to build what its creator described as the closest thing in the world to Star Trek's "holodeck."
From ACM News
Battery Research Could Shorten Recharge Time For Cell Phones
Researchers from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory have demonstrated that small quantities of graphene can dramatically improve the power and cycling stability of lithium-ion batteries, while maintaining high energy storage…
From ACM News
U.S. DOE Awards $2.04 Million to Rensselaer Nuclear Engineering Program
More than $2 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Energy will strengthen nuclear research and education, and help develop the next generation of nuclear technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
From ACM TechNews
Taking Computer Games Into the Future
Computing experts from the University of Essex, Imperial College, and the University of Bradford are working to make artificial intelligence smarter, which will make it easier to use and more adaptable for game programmers.
From ACM News
Rainbow Trapping in Light Pulses
A group of scientists at Nanjing University in China have shown how a rather wide spectrum of light—a rainbow of radiation—can be trapped in a single structure.
From ICT Results
Enhancing the ser Experience With Mixed Reality
What we perceive in the world is highly influenced by what we are looking for. Now European researchers have used this theory to create a convincing and engaging 'mixed reality,' and they have put together a cookbook so others…
From ACM TechNews
New Research Can Spot Cloud Computing Problems Before They Start
North Carolina State University researchers have developed a system that will enable large-scale, computer-hosting infrastructure providers to more accurately predict anomalies and address them before they become major problems…
From ACM News
China Seeks to Reduce Internet Users' Anonymity
A leading Chinese Internet regulator has vowed to reduce anonymity in China's portion of cyberspace, calling for requirements that people use their real names when buying a mobile phone or going online, according to a human rights…
From ACM News
Voice Blogging Gains Momentum With Hibuddy
After social networking, blogging, micro blogging comes a new phenomenon called voice blogging. It indeed is what you think it is. It is a voice blogging service offered for mobile users.
From ACM News
China Loses Web Filter Battle
Green Dam, the company behind the controversial mandate to install filtering software on every computer in China, has closed its Beijing office and is running out of money.
From ACM News
nique Thz 'fingerprints' Will Identify Hidden Explosives from a Distance
A breakthrough in remote wave sensing by a team from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute opens the way for detecting hidden explosives, chemical or biological agents, and illegal drugs from a distance of 20 meters.
From ACM News
Google's Do-It-Yourself App Creation Software
Google is bringing Android software development to the masses. The company will offer a software tool, starting Monday, that is intended to make it easy for people to write applications for its Android smartphones.
From ACM News
Feds Publish Final Ehealth 'meaningful Use' Rules
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today issued the final guidelines that will determine how doctors, hospitals and other medical care facilities can qualify for reimbursements by rolling out electronic medical…
From ACM TechNews
Sinister Take on Search Engine Optimization
Cybercriminals are increasingly using SEO to trick computer users into visiting malicious websites, according to security researchers. In one tactic, cybercriminals insert certain keywords into articles in hope of making the…
From ACM TechNews
Java Supplants IT Security as Most Sought-After Tech Skill Set, Survey Finds
Java/J2EE has become the most difficult skill set and position to fill, according to a new Dice.com survey. Java development has supplanted IT security and virtualization, which were first and second on the top 10 list a year…
From ACM News
Shrewd Search Engines Know What You Want
For better or worse, search engines have become the gateway to the Web. They help users to find information, advertisers to sell products—they even help hackers in their shady pursuits. So they are also the focus of intense research…
From ACM News
Techmeme Offers Tech News at Internet Speed
One of the first Web sites loaded on Silicon Valley’s laptops and iPhones each morning—and then again and again throughout the day—is Techmeme.
From ACM News
Microsoft and Nasa Bring Mars Down to Earth Through the Worldwide Telescope
Today, Microsoft Research and NASA are providing an entirely new experience to users of the WorldWide Telescope, which will allow visitors to interact with and explore our solar system like never before.
From ACM News
A Turning Point For Genetic Testing
In a prelude to overhauling its regulatory oversight of genetic diagnostic testing, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will convene a public meeting next week to gather input from test makers and others.
From ACM News
Crunching Cancer With Numbers
When Danny Hillis spent a day watching a top surgeon perform keyhole cancer surgery, he was left both exhilarated and depressed. The clinical precision with which the surgeon opened up the patient, used state-of-the-art robotic…
From ACM News
The Speech That Inspired the Studsat Satellite Project
Studsat, a tiny satellite that was built by 35 students belonging to four engineering colleges in Bangalore and three in Hyderabad, was put in orbit on Monday (July 12).
From ACM News
Computer Science Professor Receives Hp Labs Innovation Research Award
Elke Rundensteiner, professor of computer science at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, has been selected to participate in the HP Labs Innovation Research Program, which provides opportunities to conduct breakthrough collaborative…
From ACM TechNews
Autonomous Cars Could Let Drivers Check Email
Oxford University researchers are developing autonomous vehicle technology that enables drivers to check their email while the car drives itself.