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subjectHardware
authorNew Scientist
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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.


From ACM News

Robots ­se Kinect to ­nderstand Our World

Picture the scene, a few years from now. "Robot, fetch me that pillow over there," you say to your ever-willing butlerbot. "Certainly sir," it replies. "What's...

Autopiloted Glider Knows Where to Fly For a Free Ride
From ACM News

Autopiloted Glider Knows Where to Fly For a Free Ride

Hawks and albatrosses soar for hours or even days without having to land. Soon robotic gliders could go one better, soaring on winds and thermals indefinitely...

Intel Anthropologist: Fieldwork with the Silicon Tribe
From ACM News

Intel Anthropologist: Fieldwork with the Silicon Tribe

Anthropologist Genevieve Bell gives the chip maker insight into how people experience new technologies.

From ACM News

Amusement Park Rides that Know When You're Scared

What would it feel like to ride on a roller-coaster that reacts to your emotional state? Visitors to amusement parks may soon be able to find out.

Chemical Computers Solve Shapely Puzzles
From ACM TechNews

Chemical Computers Solve Shapely Puzzles

Chemical computers can solve certain problems in computational geometry, according to University of West England professor Andrew Adamatzky and colleagues.

From ACM News

Internet Probe Can Track You Down to Within 690 Metres

Online adverts could soon start stalking you. A new way of working out where you are by looking at your internet connection could pin down your current location...

From ACM News

Flying Robots Team ­p to Juggle

Our flying robot overlords seem to have a fun side after all. In this video, watch two quadrocopters team up to skillfully juggle a ball, thanks to software developed...

Surveillance Robots Know When to Hide
From ACM News

Surveillance Robots Know When to Hide

The spy approaches the target building under cover of darkness, taking a zigzag path to avoid well-lit areas and sentries. He selects a handy vantage point next...

Crickets Inspire Stealthy Robots to Fire Rings of Air
From ACM TechNews

Crickets Inspire Stealthy Robots to Fire Rings of Air

Monash University's Andy Russell used the African cave cricket, Phaeophilacris spectrum, as inspiration for creating stealth communication between robots.

Will Goal-Line Technology Bring Justice to Soccer?
From ACM News

Will Goal-Line Technology Bring Justice to Soccer?

A sporting miscarriage of justice that occurred last summer triggered a series of experiments that could this weekend see soccer (that's football to the rest...

Metamorphosis Key to Creating Stable Walking Robots
From ACM TechNews

Metamorphosis Key to Creating Stable Walking Robots

A study to find the quickest way to evolve walking behaviors in virtual robots was conducted by University of Vermont researcher Josh Bongard. He ran simulations...

Smart Contact Lenses For Health and Head-up Displays
From ACM News

Smart Contact Lenses For Health and Head-up Displays

Lenses that monitor eye health are on the way, and in-eye 3D image displays are being developed too—welcome to the world of augmented vision.

Make Way for Mathematical Matter
From ACM News

Make Way for Mathematical Matter

We already have solid, liquid, gas, plasma and Bose-Einstein condensate. Now it seems we may be on the verge of discovering a whole host of new forms of matter...

Wireless at the Speed of Plasma
From ACM TechNews

Wireless at the Speed of Plasma

A new type of antenna could dramatically change high-speed wireless communications, miniature radar, and energy weapons. The antenna consists of thousands of diodes...

Microsoft Develops Shape-Shifting Touchscreen
From ACM TechNews

Microsoft Develops Shape-Shifting Touchscreen

Microsoft has filed a patent application to add real texture to a tactile touchscreen. A layer of shape-memory plastic placed above a touchscreen would distort...

From ACM TechNews

Ice and a Slice Makes Transistors More Precise

Transistors can be built more precisely by using ice as a mask, according to researchers at Harvard University. The ice lithography process resembles how computer...

Better Hands May Help Robots Grasp Meaning
From ACM News

Better Hands May Help Robots Grasp Meaning

Two recent studies show that roboticists are applying some fresh thinking to the building and operation of robot hands, and a third suggests why the work is so...

Robot Limbs to Plug Into the Brain with Light
From ACM News

Robot Limbs to Plug Into the Brain with Light

Imagine a bionic arm that plugs directly into the nervous system, so that the brain can control its motion, and the owner can feel pressure and heat through their...

From ACM News

Body Organs Can Send Status ­pdates to Your Cellphone

For cardiac patients such as myself, too much excitement can be a shocking experience. If my heart rate gets too high the implanted defibrillator in my chest can...

From ACM News

Breaking the Noise Barrier: Enter the Phonon Computer

Noise is a chip designer's worst enemy. But handled properly it could become a powerful ally—and usher in the age of phonon computing.
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