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subjectComputer Applications
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An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


New System Allows For High-Accuracy, Through-Wall, 3D Motion Tracking
From ACM News

New System Allows For High-Accuracy, Through-Wall, 3D Motion Tracking

Imagine playing a video game like Call of Duty or Battlefield and having the ability to lead your virtual army unit while moving freely throughout your house.

3-D Images, With Only One Photon Per Pixel
From ACM News

3-D Images, With Only One Photon Per Pixel

Lidar rangefinders, which are common tools in surveying and in autonomous-vehicle control, among other applications, gauge depth by emitting short bursts of laser...

Inexpensive 'nano-Camera' Can Operate at the Speed of Light
From ACM TechNews

Inexpensive 'nano-Camera' Can Operate at the Speed of Light

Researchers have created a $500 "nano-camera" that operates at the speed of light and could have applications in areas like medical imaging. 

'wise Chisels': Art, Craftsmanship, and Power Tools
From ACM News

'wise Chisels': Art, Craftsmanship, and Power Tools

It's often easy to tell at a glance the difference between a mass-produced object and one that has been handcrafted: The handmade item is likely to have distinctive...

How to Program Unreliable Chips
From ACM News

How to Program Unreliable Chips

As transistors get smaller, they also become less reliable.

Better Robot Vision
From ACM TechNews

Better Robot Vision

Researchers  have developed a robot-vision algorithm they say is 15 percent better than its best competitor at identifying familiar objects in cluttered scenes. ...

Making Martian Clouds on Earth
From ACM News

Making Martian Clouds on Earth

At first glance, Mars' clouds might easily be mistaken for those on Earth: Images of the Martian sky, taken by NASA's Opportunity rover, depict gauzy, high-altitude...

New Kind of Microscope Uses Neutrons
From ACM News

New Kind of Microscope Uses Neutrons

Researchers at MIT, working with partners at NASA, have developed a new concept for a microscope that would use neutrons—subatomic particles with no electrical...

Surprisingly Simple Scheme for Self-Assembling Robots
From ACM TechNews

Surprisingly Simple Scheme for Self-Assembling Robots

M-Blocks are cube-shaped robots that can climb over and around one another, leap through the air, roll across the ground, and move while suspended upside down. 

Bringing 'common Sense' to Text Analytics
From ACM News

Bringing 'common Sense' to Text Analytics

Bringing "common sense" to artificial intelligence is one of the biggest challenges in computer science: It entails equipping computers with the shared knowledge...

A Computer Scientist's Approach to Medicine
From ACM TechNews

A Computer Scientist's Approach to Medicine

Massachusetts Institute of Technology computer scientist Stephanie Seneff applies her natural language processing research to solving biological problems.

Artificial-Intelligence Research Revives Its Old Ambitions
From ACM News

Artificial-Intelligence Research Revives Its Old Ambitions

The birth of artificial-intelligence research as an autonomous discipline is generally thought to have been the monthlong Dartmouth Summer Research Project on Artificial...

In The World: Mapping the Logistics of Megacities
From ACM TechNews

In The World: Mapping the Logistics of Megacities

Logistics data on neighborhoods in several world cities is available online in an open-access pool of information that is graphically represented on city maps. 

Terramechanics Research Aims to Keep Mars Rovers Rolling
From ACM News

Terramechanics Research Aims to Keep Mars Rovers Rolling

In May 2009, the Mars rover Spirit cracked through a crusty layer of Martian topsoil, sinking into softer underlying sand.

3-D Mapping in Real Time, Without the Drift
From ACM TechNews

3-D Mapping in Real Time, Without the Drift

A new mapping algorithm that creates real-time, detailed three-dimensional maps of indoor and outdoor environments. 

Views You Can ­se? How Online Ratings Affect Your Judgment
From ACM News

Views You Can ­se? How Online Ratings Affect Your Judgment

Are you influenced by the opinions of other people—say, in the comments sections of websites?

Neuroscientists Plant False Memories in the Brain
From ACM News

Neuroscientists Plant False Memories in the Brain

The phenomenon of false memory has been well-documented: In many court cases, defendants have been found guilty based on testimony from witnesses and victims who...

Research Update: Genome Editing Becomes More Accurate
From ACM News

Research Update: Genome Editing Becomes More Accurate

Earlier this year, MIT researchers developed a way to easily and efficiently edit the genomes of living cells. Now, the researchers have discovered key factors...

Writing Programs Using Ordinary Language
From ACM News

Writing Programs Using Ordinary Language

In a pair of recent papers, researchers at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory have demonstrated that, for a few specific tasks, it's...

New System ­ses Low-Power Wi-Fi Signal to Track Moving Humans—even Behind Walls
From ACM News

New System ­ses Low-Power Wi-Fi Signal to Track Moving Humans—even Behind Walls

The comic-book hero Superman uses his X-ray vision to spot bad guys lurking behind walls and other objects.
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