Communications of the ACM
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
'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...
From ACM TechNews
MIT Big Data Initiative Launches Transportation Challenge, Privacy Working Group
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab's Big Data Initiative recently announced two new activities aimed at...
From ACM News
How to Program Unreliable Chips
As transistors get smaller, they also become less reliable.
From ACM News
Big Plans For Small Spacecraft
It's hard to miss the rocket engine in Paulo Lozano's MIT office.
From ACM TechNews
Dude, Where's My Code?
Stack is a new system that automatically combs through programmers' code, identifying those lines that compilers might discard, but that could be functional.
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. ...
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...
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...
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.
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...
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.
From ACM Careers
Teaching Computers to See–by Learning to See Like Computers
By translating images into the language spoken by object-recognition systems, then translating them back, researchers hope to explain the recognition systems'...
From ACM TechNews
Graphene Could Yield Cheaper Optical Chips
A new application for graphene in photodetectors could convert optical signals to electrical signals in integrated optoelectronic computer chips.
From ACM TechNews
Research Brings nbreakable Phones One Step Closer
A new method for transferring versatile electronics onto a flexible surface could contribute to the development of flexible displays, solar cells, and energy harvesters...
From ACM TechNews
Artificial-Intelligence Research Revives Its Old Ambitions
Artificial intelligence research has advanced significantly, but much work remains before computers can truly replicate or surpass human intelligence.
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...
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.
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.
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.
From ACM News