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
Neuroscience's New Toolbox
The hypothalamus is a small structure deep in the brain that, among other functions, coördinates sensory inputs—the appearance of a rival, for example—with instinctual...
From ACM Careers
How Ebay's Research Laboratories Are Tackling the Tricky Task of Fashion Recommendations
If you've ever puzzled over what to wear in the morning, you might also have wondered whether you could leave the choice to an algorithm that could recommend a...
From ACM TechNews
Google’s Experimental Smartphone Captures a Future Mapped in 3D
Google's Project Tango prototype Android smartphone could make it easier, faster, and less expensive to scan and map the world in 3D.
From ACM News
How Statisticians Found Air France Flight 447 Two Years After It Crashed Into Atlantic
"In the early morning hours of June 1, 2009, Air France Flight AF 447, with 228 passengers and crew aboard, disappeared during stormy weather over the Atlantic...
From ACM Opinion
How the .s. Could Escalate Its Name-and-Shame Campaign Against China's Espionage
Earlier this week the U.S. Department of Justice indicted five Chinese military officers for industrial espionage, accusing them of leading attacks on the computers...
From ACM Opinion
Three Questions with the Man Leading Baidu's New AI Effort
Artificial intelligence is guided by the far-off goal of having software match humans at important tasks.
From ACM News
The Emerging Science of Superspreaders (and How to Tell If You're One of Them)
Who are the most influential spreaders of information on a network?
From ACM TechNews
A Smart Watch Controlled By Twists, Tilts, and Clicks
Researchers say they have developed a better way to control smart watches by enabling users to physically tilt, click, and twist the watch's bezel.
From ACM News
Do We Need Asimov's Laws?
In 1942, the science fiction author Isaac Asimov published a short story called Runaround in which he introduced three laws that governed the behaviour of robots...
From ACM TechNews
World's First Covert Communications System With Camouflage Guaranteed
Researchers say they have developed a method to camouflage messages in a way that is mathematically guaranteed.
From ACM TechNews
How Anybody Can Measure Your Computer's Wi-Fi Fingerprint
Computer security experts have discovered a method of uniquely identifying a computer by the way it accesses Wi-Fi resources.
From ACM News
sing ltrasound to Feel Virtual Objects
A startup called Ultrahaptics aims to make gesture control and virtual reality more engaging by using ultrasound waves to let you feel like you’re touching virtual...
From ACM News
Increasingly, Robots of All Sizes Are Human Workmates
Most industrial robots are far less friendly than the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner, which is safe enough to be a surprisingly popular means of feline transportation...
From ACM TechNews
Microsoft Wants You to Educate Its Virtual Assistant
Microsoft's forthcoming mobile operating system upgrade will include Cortana, a virtual personal assistant designed to become more intelligent as people use it. ...
From ACM News
10 Breakthrough Technologies 2014
Technology news is full of incremental developments, but few of them are true milestones.
From ACM News
Jupiter's Radio Emissions Could Reveal the Oceans on Its Icy Moons, Say Planetary Geologists
Among the most exciting destinations in the Solar System are Jupiter's icy moons Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.
From ACM News
Microrobots, Working Together, Build with Metal, Glass, and Electronics
Someone glancing through the door of Annjoe Wong-Foy's lab at SRI International might think his equipment is infested by ants.
From ACM News
World Cup Mind-Control Demo Faces Deadlines, Critics
In less than 60 days, Brazil will begin hosting soccer's 2014 World Cup, even though workers are still hurrying to pour concrete at three unfinished stadiums.
From ACM TechNews
Cheaper Joints and Digits Bring the Robot Revolution Closer
SRI International is rethinking the design of Boston Dynamics' Atlas robot to try to help the machine retain its capabilities while trimming its power consumption...
From ACM Opinion