Communications of the ACM
Spies in Our Pockets
Electronic eavesdropping is becoming ever more nefarious in the age of smartphones and digital devices.
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
These Robots Can Merge and Split Their Brains to Form New Modular Bots
We cover all kinds of modular robotics around here, and when we do, we're almost always talking about one overall robotic system made up of many different modules...
From ACM News
How the Internet Kept Humming During 2 Hurricanes
At one node of the industrial backbone that keeps the internet running, employees sheltered from the worst of Hurricane Irma in a stairwell of a seven-story building...
From ACM News
Wind, Warm Water Revved Up Melting Antarctic Glaciers
A NASA study has located the Antarctic glaciers that accelerated the fastest between 2008 and 2014 and finds that the most likely cause of their speedup is an observed...
From ACM News
Chips Off the Old Block: Computers Are Taking Design Cues From Human Brains
We expect a lot from our computers these days. They should talk to us, recognize everything from faces to flowers, and maybe soon do the driving.
From ACM TechNews
Stretchy Artificial 'Skin' Could Give Robots a Sense of Touch
Rubberized electronics and sensors that function normally when stretched up to half of their length could operate as artificial skin on robots.
From ACM TechNews
Connecting Up the Global Quantum Internet
Researchers say they have taken a major step in building the practical components of a global quantum Internet.
From ACM News
Back to Saturn? Five Missions Proposed to Follow Cassini
For 13 years, NASA's Cassini spacecraft sent back captivating observations of Saturn, and its rings and moons, solving some mysteries but raising plenty of new...
From ACM News
Wanna Stop Distracted Driving? Make Cars That Watch Their Humans
Everyone knows that distracted driving is a problem, but it tends to fall in the "other people/not me" category of personal risk assessment among drivers.
From ACM News
Robot Made from a DNA Strand Could Deliver Cargo in Your Blood
You won't read about a smaller robot than this one any time soon. It consists of just a single strand of DNA, and moves by taking tiny 6-nanometre steps—around...
From ACM News
Brain-Machine Interface Isn't Sci-Fi Anymore
Thomas Reardon puts a terrycloth stretch band with microchips and electrodes woven into the fabric—a steampunk version of jewelry—on each of his forearms. ...
From ACM News
Treating Cancer, Stopping Violence . . . How AI Protects Us
For some, the spread of artificial intelligence and robotics poses a threat to our privacy, our jobs – even our safety, as more and more tasks are handed over to...
From ACM TechNews
Computational Tool Recognizes Filamentary Sections of Neurons and Blood Vessels
Researchers in Singapore have developed a computational tool for faster and more reliable screening and diagnosis of vascular and neurological conditions.
From ACM TechNews
IBM Makes Breakthrough in Race to Commercialize Quantum Computers
Recent experiments utilized a method that could enable quantum computers to perform calculations beyond the capabilities of today's most powerful supercomputers...
From ACM TechNews
Fitness Trackers Could Benefit From Better Security
A security analysis of two wearable fitness trackers revealed a technique for intercepting messages transmitted between the trackers and cloud servers.
From ACM TechNews
To Improve Smartphone Privacy, Control Access to Third-Party Libraries
Researchers suggest controlling access to third-party libraries will help limit the undesired exposure of personal information by smartphone applications.
From ACM TechNews
No Strings Attached for Underwater Video System
Researchers in Saudi Arabia say they have developed a flexible underwater wireless video system.
From ACM News
Cassini Crashes Into Saturn but Could Still Deliver Big Discoveries
At 4:55 a.m. California time on 15 September, hundreds of scientists watched their life's work go up in flames.
From ACM News
U.S. Moves to Ban Kaspersky Software in Federal Agencies Amid Concerns of Russian Espionage
The U.S. government on Wednesday moved to ban the use of a Russian brand of security software by federal agencies amid concerns the company has ties to state-sponsored...
From ACM TechNews
First On-Chip Nanoscale Optical Quantum Memory Developed
Researchers say they have developed the first computer chip with nanoscale optical quantum memory.
From ACM TechNews