Communications of the ACM
A Healthy Dose of AI
Building artificial intelligence into medical devices can speed diagnoses and potentially improve treatments and outcomes.
From ACM NewsAn edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.
From ACM TechNews
Software Update for World's Wind Farms Could Power Millions More Homes
A software upgrade developed by researchers at France's Polytechnic Institute of Paris improves the efficiency of wind turbines by ensuring they spend more time...
From ACM TechNews
Centipede Robots with More Legs Better at Walking Over Bumps
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology found that multi-legged robots with more legs were better at navigating rough terrain than those with fewer legs...
From ACM TechNews
Smart Glasses Dim Bright Objects
Camera- and liquid-crystal display-equipped smart glasses can "balance" a scene by dimming bright objects without affecting dim ones.
From ACM TechNews
Inflatable Drone Can Bounce Off Walls, Perch on Nearly Anything
Arizona State University researchers have developed an inflatable drone that can perch on nearly any object.
From ACM News
Wood Transistor Could Let Us Embed Electronics in Trees
An electrochemical transistor made from balsa wood opens up the possibility of embedding sensors and other electronic devices in plants, which could help in agriculture...
From ACM News
Crystal Impervious to Radiation Could be Used in Spaceship Computers
Putting two forms of semiconductor material called gallium oxide together seems to make it completely resistant to radiation.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Made of DNA Works Out Prime Factors of 6 and 15
Researchers at China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University developed a simple computer using molecules of folded DNA that was able to split the numbers 6 and 15 into...
From ACM TechNews
Supersized Atoms Could Help Quantum Computers Link to Optical Fibers
Researchers developed a device that could enable multiple quantum computers to be networked together by converting quantum outputs into light signals that can travel...
From ACM TechNews
Venus Flytrap Cyborg Snaps Shut with Smartphone Commands
Wenlong Li and colleagues at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University have transformed Venus flytraps into biological robots.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Computers May Finally Have Practical Use
Researchers have developed a method for certifying that quantum computers generate truly random numbers without having to inspect the process.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Computers That Use 'Cat Qubits' May Make Fewer Errors
Researchers in France found so-called "cat qubits” (quantum bits) could reduce errors by quantum computers and accelerate the cracking of common encryption algorithms...
From ACM TechNews
U.S. Air Force Giving Military Drones the Ability to Recognize Faces
A contract between the U.S. Department of Defense and RealNetworks calls for the Seattle-based company to equip U.S. Air Force autonomous drones with facial recognition...
From ACM TechNews
Kombucha Cultures Can Be Turned into Flexible Electric Circuit Boards
Researchers at the U.K.'s University of the West of England, Bristol used the mat of cells that form on top when brewing kombucha to develop flexible electric circuit...
From ACM TechNews
Flying Robot Echolocates Like a Bat to Avoid Hitting Walls
Frederike Dümbgen and colleagues have equipped a flying robot to use bat-like echolocation to map its surroundings using a simple microphone and speaker.
From ACM TechNews
Noisy Flashing Drone Could Stop Bats Crashing into Wind Turbines
Yuval Werber and colleagues at Israel's University of Haifa invented a drone that makes noise and flashes lights to prevent bats from colliding with turbine blades...
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Computers Vulnerable to Eavesdropping Hackers
Allen Mi and colleagues at Yale University warn that even carefully wiping quantum computers of data would not thwart its theft by hackers.
From ACM TechNews
AI-Designed Invisibility Cloak Could Hide Small Communication Devices
Researchers used artificial intelligence to design an invisibility cloak to conceal antennas or small communication devices from infrared light or microwave detectors...
From ACM TechNews
U.K. Will Use GPS Fingerprint Scanner to Track People Facing Deportation
The U.K.'s Home Office says it will soon require people facing deportation to carry a global positioning system (GPS)-enabled fingerprint scanner at all times. ...
From ACM TechNews
Unpiloted Military Helicopter Flies 134 km in Simulated Mission
The U.S. Army flew an autonomous Black Hawk Helicopter 134 kilometers (83 miles) to deliver 230 kilograms (507 lbs.) of simulated and real blood.
From ACM TechNews