Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
September 2018
From ACM Opinion
What is Cyberwar?
At its core, cyberwarfare refers the use of digital attacks by one country or nation to disrupt the computer systems of another with the aim of create significant damage, death or destruction.
From ACM TechNews
Getting Your TV to Understand You Better
Researchers have developed a method to improve the voice query understanding capabilities of home entertainment platforms.
From ACM TechNews
This Rollable Tablet Was Inspired by Ancient Scrolls
Researchers have developed a prototype rollable touchscreen tablet with a 7.5-inch 2K flexible display wrapped around a three-dimensionally-printed cylinder.
From ACM TechNews
Networked AV Defense Swarms to Defend Against Malicious Drones
A new defense system for unmanned aerial vehicles is composed of a swarm of the devices that self-assemble into a defensive configuration when an intruder is detected.
From ACM TechNews
Could Python Replace Java as the Most Popular Programming Language?
The September Tiobe Index ranks Python as the third most-popular programming language after Java and C.
From ACM TechNews
Meet Martti, the Finnish Robocar That ses 5G
Researchers are testing the capabilities of 5G network technologies to transmit information to and from vehicles while they are on the road, using a robotic car.
From ACM News
Securing the Vote
A new report advises all U.S. elections should use paper ballots by the 2020 presidential election.
From ACM News
Scientists Create a Clock So Accurate It Won't Lose Time for 40 Million Years
The Cryogenic Sapphire Oscillator is one of the most precise clocks ever invented—and it's not just keeping time, it's keeping Australia safe.
From ACM News
Martian Skies Clearing over Opportunity Rover
A planet-encircling dust storm on Mars, which was first detected May 30 and halted operations for the Opportunity rover, continues to abate.
From ACM News
The Outlook for Reality: Mixed
Exploring new frontiers in augmented and virtual reality.
From ACM TechNews
AIs Are Being Tested to See How Well They nderstand Our Thoughts
Researchers have created a set of tests to explore the progress of artificial intelligence in understanding the world.
From ACM TechNews
No Sweat on Brown niversity Team Trying to Hack a Robot
Brown University researchers were able to hack a University of Washington robot connected to the Internet.
From ACM TechNews
Mathematics Can Assist Cities in Addressing nstructured Neighborhoods
New mathematical models can help guide changes to the layout of poor urban neighborhoods to improve access to resources.
From ACM News
Engineering Tour de Force Births Programmable Optical Quantum Computer
There comes a moment in every physicist's life when they think the unthinkable: I wish I were an engineer. I suspect this thought crossed the minds of the 14-odd physicists involved in creating a key demonstration of the scalability…
From ACM News
Alphabet’s Chairman on Government, China, and Fake News
John L. Hennessy talks about the future that Silicon Valley is creating, the rise of employee activism and how Google should address censorship.
From ACM TechNews
Model Can More Naturally Detect Depression in Conversations
A new neural network model can analyze raw text and audio data from clinical interviews to detect speech patterns signaling depression.
From ACM TechNews
Google and Harvard Made AI to Predict Earthquake Aftershocks
Google and Harvard University researchers have trained a neural network to accurately predict the locations of future aftershocks.
From ACM TechNews
Russian and American Scientists Collaborate to Create Faster Internet
Researchers at Samara Oblast University in Russia and the University of Missouri have created an algorithm that processes data 50% faster.
From ACM TechNews
Silicon Valley Takes a (Careful) Step Toward Autonomous Flying
Several Silicon Valley startups are developing technology that can be applied to small helicopters and other passenger aircraft to allow for autonomous flight.
From ACM TechNews
First In-Home Test of Brain-Computer Communication by ALS Patients Offers Promise Amidst Challenges
Researchers have demonstrated the reliability of a brain-computer interface that gives patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis a means to communicate by thought.
From ACM TechNews
Mobile Robots Cooperate to 3D Print Large Structures
Researchers in Singapore used two mobile robots operating concurrently to three-dimensionally-print a single piece of concrete structure.
From ACM News
The New Science of Seeing Around Corners
While vacationing on the coast of Spain in 2012, the computer vision scientist Antonio Torralba noticed stray shadows on the wall of his hotel room that didn't seem to have been cast by anything.
From ACM TechNews
AI Can Make High-Definition Fake Videos From Just a Simple Sketch
Nvidia and MIT researchers collaborated on open source software that can convert simple animated line drawings into realistic fake videos in 2K resolution.
From ACM TechNews
A New Coded Caching Scheme to Improve Online Video Delivery
Researchers at Imperial College London discovered a method for coded caching that enhances delivery of popular video content online.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Discover Computer Screens Emit Sounds That Reveal Data
Researchers have discovered a computer version of synesthesia that can be used to identify data displayed on a monitor by listening to high-pitched tones the screen emits.
From ACM News
This Lens-less Camera Is Built Specially for AI and Computer Vision Programs
Cameras used to be their own devices with lenses and film and trips to the drug store to get the pictures developed. Then, they disappeared into phones, tablets, laptops, and video game consoles.
From Communications of the ACM
Borders in the Cloud
New data protection laws raise questions about whether certain jurisdictions are trying to thwart the ability of foreign governments to obtain data on their citizens.
From Communications of the ACM
Robotic Implants
Scientists are developing tiny medical machines that stretch the definition of the term "robot."
From Communications of the ACM
AI Holds the Better Hand
Exploiting the techniques of game theory to come up with the superior poker hand.