Communications of the ACM
The Promise of Holographic Displays
The computational expense of creating three-dimensional images that can be viewed by all is just one factor holding them back… From ACM NewsAn 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
Medibots: The World's Smallest Surgeons
A man lies comatose on an operating table. The enormous spider that hangs above him has plunged four appendages into his belly. The spider, made of white steel,...
From ACM News
Quantum Computers Are Coming
WHATEVER happened to quantum computers? A few years ago, it seemed, it was just a case of a tweak here, a fiddle there, and some kind of number-crunching Godzilla...
From ACM TechNews
Electronics 'Missing Link' nited With Rest of the Family
Memristors were identified by Hewlett-Packard (HP) as the missing link of electronics 18 months ago, and since then the same team of HP researchers has upgraded...
From ACM TechNews
Fly-By-Wireless Set For Take-Off
Aircraft manufacturers eager to reduce the weight of planes are looking into the replacement of copper wiring with wireless networks. Imbuing fly-by-wireless networks...
From ACM TechNews
Lobsters Teach Robots Magnetic Mapping Trick
Computer scientist Janne Haverinen reports that a small wheeled robot was able to use a magnetic map to determine where it was in a hospital and move along a corridor...
From ACM TechNews
New Microprocessor Runs on Thin Air
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor researchers Minsoung Rhee and Mark Burns have developed a series of channels and valves that process binary signals by sucking...
From ACM TechNews
'spiderbots' Talk Amongst Themselves Inside Active Volcano
A group of "spiderbots" released inside Mount St. Helens in Washington is the first network of volcano sensors capable of automatically communicating with each...
From ACM TechNews
Robots to Get Their Own Operating System
Robots are limited by the fact that they are often designed and built in isolation for specific functions, and roboticists have started to consider what aspects...
From ACM TechNews
Space Probe to Sport 'transforming' Hardware
A new satellite, planned for launch in 2012, will contain a flight computer built with field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) that can be completely reconfigured...
From ACM TechNews
Dark Flash Camera Takes Photos Without the Glare
New York University researchers have developed a camera that uses ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) light to take photos in the dark without the use of a traditional...
From ACM TechNews
Robo-Wheels Go Where Caterpillar Tracks Fear to Tread
Rescue robots could be more useful in snowy conditions thanks to an adjustable wheel that has been developed by researchers in Japan. A team led by Taro Iwamoto...
From ACM TechNews
Cyborg Crickets Could Chirp at the Smell of Survivors
Research supported by the U.S. Pentagon is attempting to turn insects into search-and-rescue systems capable of locating trapped victims in earthquake rubble and...
From ACM TechNews
Memristor Minds: The Future of Artificial Intelligence
The lack of a rigorous mathematical foundation for electronics impelled engineer Leon Chua to develop one, which led to the formulation of the memristor — a theoretical...
From ACM TechNews
Laser Light Switch Could Leave Transistors in the Shade
Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have developed an optical transistor that uses one laser beam to control another, potentially forming...
From ACM TechNews
Building a Crash-Proof Internet
The Internet's susceptibility to earthquakes, accidents, and other disruptions appears to be greater than people originally assumed, and a great deal of the Net's...
From ACM TechNews
Physics Brings Realism to Virtual Reality
The latest multi-core processors and smart software are enabling physicists and engineers to simulate the real world with unprecedented accuracy to create more...
From ACM News
Virtual Power Plants Could Tame Coming Grid Chaos
Fears over energy security and climate change have led to record investment in renewable energy. But a major problem threatens to stall progress towards a more...
From ACM TechNews
Robots Rolling Toward Farm Revolution
Carnegie Mellon University roboticist Tony Stentz says that in the near future the farming industry may undergo a significant change as robotic farmhands become...
From ACM TechNews
The Mobile Future of the Keyboard
Touchscreen keyboards could stand some improvement before they become the norm in smartphones and make their way to desktop computers, gaming devices, and even...
From ACM TechNews