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
Mind-Reading Tech Helps Beginners Quickly Learn to Play Bach
Every potential virtuoso needs a mentor. It just so happens that this one is a computer.
From ACM News
3D-Printed Display Lets Blind People Explore Images By Touch
Blind and partially sighted people often use tactile displays to interact with computers.
From ACM News
Google Deepmind AI Navigates a Doom-Like 3D Maze Just By Looking
Google DeepMind just entered the 90s. Fresh off their success in playing the ancient game of Go, DeepMind’s latest artificial intelligence can navigate a 3D maze...
From ACM News
Glowing 4d-Printed Flowers Could Pave Way For Replacement Organs
This delicate, glowing flower could one day save your life. It’s the latest example of "4D printing"–3D printed objects that change their shape over time—and it...
From ACM TechNews
Scenic Sat-Nav Will Take You on the Prettiest Route
Autobahn is an artificial intelligence system that can use Google Street View images to optimize a driving route for a particular type of scenery.
From ACM News
Philae Lander Fails to Respond to Last-Ditch Efforts to Wake It
Farewell, Philae. The space lander that touched down on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko (and in our hearts) in November 2014 has not responded to a last-ditch attempt...
From ACM TechNews
Man With No Limbs Controls Robotic Hand sing Muscle Whispers
Sam Wilson, a Ph.D. student at Imperial College London, and supervisor Ravi Vaidyanathan are designing new ways for the human body to control prostheses.
From ACM TechNews
Closing the Last Loophole For nhackable Quantum Security
The perfection of device-independent quantum cryptography will enable devices that guarantee the messages sent on them remain confidential.
From ACM News
Smart Glasses Translate Video Into Sound to Help the Blind See
Blind people have long relied on sound as a substitution for sight, and some even use echolocation to navigate around objects. But it turns out that sound can be...
From ACM News
Inside China's Plan to Give Every Citizen a Character Score
Where you go, what you buy, who you know, how many points are on your driving licence, how your pupils rate you.
From ACM TechNews
Activist Bots Recruit Humans to Their Cause on Twitter
The Botivist program uses Twitter to rally people to social causes, thanks to the efforts of Saiph Savage and colleagues at West Virginia University.
From ACM News
Forget the Turing Test—there Are Better Ways of Judging AI
Last Saturday I took part in a battle of wits at Bletchley Park, the stately home that housed the U.K.’s codebreakers during the second world war.
From ACM News
nhackable Kernel Could Keep All Computers Safe from Cyberattack
An autonomous helicopter gunship is flying over a military base in Arizona. Suddenly, officers on the ground lose radio contact: hackers have taken control of an...
From ACM News
Brain-Controlled Smart Home Lets You Turn the Tv On By Thinking
Feeling cold? Your home already knows, and turns up the heat. Sick of the TV show you are watching? Your home changes the channel.
From ACM News
AI Football Manager Knows How Different Teams Play the Game
Who really calls the shots in team sports?
From ACM News
Computer-Human Hybrids Could Be Best at Scanning For Danger
In A world of algorithms, there are still a few places where humans reign supreme.
From ACM News
Cyber Attack: How Easy Is It to Take Out a Smart City?
When is a smart city not so smart?
From ACM TechNews
Cyborg Cockroach and Drone Teams Can Locate Disaster Survivors
Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed cyborg cockroaches to serve as search-and-rescue scouts during disasters.
From ACM News
The Rise of On-Body Cameras and How They Will Change How We Live
Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court's blockbuster decision on marriage equality, a short YouTube video made the rounds online.
From ACM TechNews