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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 Opinion

It's Time to Start 3d Scanning the World

When Microsoft was developing its Kinect 3D sensor, a critical task was to calibrate its algorithms to rapidly and accurately recognize parts of the human body,...

Google's 'babel Fish' Heralds Future of Translation
From ACM TechNews

Google's 'babel Fish' Heralds Future of Translation

The Google Translate project seeks the enablement of real-time language translation by building "statistical models that are automatically training themselves and...

Marines Want iPads to Control Robo-Copter Brains
From ACM News

Marines Want iPads to Control Robo-Copter Brains

It's been less than a month since the Marines flew their first robotic supply helicopter on its debut combat mission in Afghanistan.

How Siri Makes Computers (and Coders) More Human
From ACM TechNews

How Siri Makes Computers (and Coders) More Human

Siri, a program in the latest Apple iPhone that can carry out a wide spectrum of vocal commands without requiring training or special syntax from the user, stands...

Almost 1 In 3 U.s. Warplanes Is a Robot
From ACM News

Almost 1 In 3 U.s. Warplanes Is a Robot

Remember when the military actually put human beings in the cockpits of its planes?

Leaping Lizards and Dinosaurs Inspire Robot Design
From ACM TechNews

Leaping Lizards and Dinosaurs Inspire Robot Design

University of California, Berkeley researchers are developing robots based on lizards, giving the robots tails to help them maintain balance. "Inspiration from...

Trajectory Maneuver Slated for Jan. 11
From ACM News

Trajectory Maneuver Slated for Jan. 11

An engine firing on Jan. 11 will be the biggest maneuver that NASA's Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft will perform on its flight between Earth and Mars.

'Greeley Haven' is Winter Workplace for Mars Rover
From ACM News

'Greeley Haven' is Winter Workplace for Mars Rover

NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity will spend the next several months at a site informally named "Greeley Haven."

10 Tech Research Projects to Watch
From ACM TechNews

10 Tech Research Projects to Watch

Ten promising research projects that could lead to future consumer products include a solar-powered personal computer, three-dimensional images that respond to...

Close Encounters: When Daniel123 Met Jane234
From ACM TechNews

Close Encounters: When Daniel123 Met Jane234

The developers of the Qbo robots continue to explore simulated consciousness. After training a Qbo to recognize itself in the mirror, Francisco Paz and his team...

Robots Put You in Two Places at Once
From ACM News

Robots Put You in Two Places at Once

Mike Fennelly isn't easily surprised by cutting-edge technologies, but when he started as an IT guy at a Silicon Valley startup called Evernote, he was caught...

Nasa Rover Mission Marks 8 Years on Mars
From ACM News

Nasa Rover Mission Marks 8 Years on Mars

While people on Earth have just finished celebrating the arrival of a new year, two NASA robots a world away are marking a big milestone of their own: eight years...

Scientists Create Brain-Like, Massively Parallel Computer from Molecules
From ACM News

Scientists Create Brain-Like, Massively Parallel Computer from Molecules

If you thought Japan was merely the master of miniaturization, tentacles, and creepy robots, think again: A group of Japanese scientists have built a massively...

Civilian Contractors Playing Key Roles in ­.s. Drone Operations
From ACM News

Civilian Contractors Playing Key Roles in ­.s. Drone Operations

After a U.S. airstrike mistakenly killed at least 15 Afghans in 2010, the Army officer investigating the accident was surprised to discover that an American civilian...

From ACM News

First Siri, Now Threat Detection: Inside Sri's Amazing R&d

Who invented Siri?

From ACM News

Powerful Pixels: Mapping the "apollo Zone"

Grayscale pixels—up close, they look like black, white or grey squares. But when you zoom out to see the bigger picture, they can create a digital photograph.

Rise of the Drone: From Calif. Garage to Multibillion-Dollar Defense Industry
From ACM News

Rise of the Drone: From Calif. Garage to Multibillion-Dollar Defense Industry

In 1980, Abraham Karem, an engineer who had emigrated from Israel, retreated into his three-car garage in Hacienda Heights outside Los Angeles and, to the bemusement...

Smart Guide to 2012: How Best to Test Machine Iq
From ACM TechNews

Smart Guide to 2012: How Best to Test Machine Iq

AI programs did not fare well in convincing judges at the 2011 Loebner prize competition that they were people. 

John McCarthy, 1927 - 2011
From Communications of the ACM

John McCarthy, 1927 - 2011

Winner of the 1971 A.M. Turing Award, John McCarthy was a founder of artificial intelligence and inventor of the Lisp programming language.

Better Medicine Through Machine Learning
From Communications of the ACM

Better Medicine Through Machine Learning

Computers that tease out patterns from clinical data could improve patient diagnosis and care.
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