Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
April 2018
From ACM News
Heat-Seeking Cameras Could Help Keep Self-Driving Cars Safe
After Uber's fatal self-driving crash last month in Tempe, Arizona, most observers had two basic question: Why did the car not see Elaine Herzberg crossing the street and stop before hitting her? And how can we stop this happening…
From ACM News
Enigma Machine Collection Recalls Computer Science Victory
Carnegie Mellon University will hire a researcher from the Library of Congress to help it decode a collection that includes two WWII German Enigma machines.
From ACM Careers
Chips Down: China Aims to Boost Semiconductors as Trade War Looms
Now, as a trade war with the United States looms, a government decision to accelerate the development of the domestic chip industry underlines how far those goals have fallen short.
From ACM TechNews
How Social Networking Sites May Discriminate Against Women
Researchers have shown how two common recommendation algorithms intensify a network effect known as homophily, in which similar or like-minded people cluster together.
From ACM TechNews
Using AI to Detect Heart Disease
Researchers have developed a better way to predict and monitor cardiovascular disease.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Design ‘Soft’ Robots that Can Move on Their Own
A team of researchers has developed a new class of soft robot that can adapt to the environment.
From ACM News
U.S. Is Way Behind Other Countries on Robot 'Readiness,' Report Says
The United States lags behind other countries in readiness for an increasingly automated world, placing ninth on a ranking of 25 advanced economies, according to a new report from ABB.
From ACM News
The Hunt for Explainable AI
Looking for artificial intelligence that can share the basis for its decisions.
From ACM Opinion
Who Has More of Your Personal Data Than Facebook? Try Google
Recent controversy over Facebook Inc.'s hunger for personal data has surfaced the notion that the online advertising industry could be hazardous to our privacy and well-being.
From ACM News
FDA moves to require patching in connected medical devices
The organization is also looking at launching a public-private safety board to provide analysis and field expertise in a range of technological and clinical subject areas.
From ACM News
Flu Virus Finally Sequenced in Its Native Form
The genome of the flu virus has been fully sequenced in its native RNA form for the first time. Previously, all influenza genomes—as well as those of other viruses that store their genetic material as RNA—had been determined …
From ACM TechNews
How AR and Computer Mapping are Leading to Safer Medical Procedures
New smartphone technology can create a more accurate human body scan by using augmented reality and Simultaneous Localization and Mapping.
From ACM TechNews
Flexible TVs, High-Performance Wearable Smart Tech One Step Closer
Researchers in the U.K. and China have developed a nanoscale transistor that could be used in flexible televisions, tablets, and phones, as well as in wearable smart technologies.
From ACM TechNews
Intelligent Components for the Power Grid of the Future
A smart transformer prototype that automatically regulates the current flow in semiconductors made of silicon carbide could be used for better integration of electric car charging stations.
From ACM TechNews
Sony, Carnegie Mellon Form Partnership to Research Cooking Robots
Researchers are studying how artificial intelligence and robotics can be used to improve food preparation, cooking, and delivery.
From ACM TechNews
Integrating Optical Components Into Existing Chip Designs
A new method uses existing manufacturing processes to build optics and electronics separately on-chip.
From ACM Careers
Made in China 2025: Beijing's Big Ambitions from Robots to Chips
China is looking to catch up with rivals like the United States and Germany in high-end technology, making a major push with a "Made in China 2025" strategy that identifies 10 key sectors, including robotics, aerospace and clean…
From ACM News
Oral History: Russell Impagliazzo in Conversation with Dick Karp
In honor of Dick Karp's five years of service as Founding Director of the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing.
From ACM TechNews
Robot Conquers One of the Hardest Human Tasks: Assembling Ikea Furniture
Researchers have programmed a robot to assemble an Ikea chair.
From ACM TechNews
Chip Developed by Brazilian Researchers Will Be Linchpin of LHC Upgrade
Researchers in Brazil have designed a chip to upgrade the detection system in the Large Hadron Collider's A Large Ion Collider Experiment (ALICE).
From ACM TechNews
Andrea Goldsmith Receives ACM Athena Lecturer Award
Stanford University professor Andrea Goldsmith has received the ACM Athena Lecturer Award.
From ACM TechNews
New Algorithm Locates Fake Users on Social Networks
Researchers have created a generic method to detect fake accounts on most social networks.
From ACM TechNews
FlyJacket Lets You Control a Drone With Your Body
The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne has developed an intuitive, wearable drone control system.
From ACM News
'One Has This Feeling of Having Contributed to Something That’s Gone Very Wrong'
A conversation with virtual reality pioneer Jaron Lanier on Silicon Valley's politics, being quoted by Mark Zuckerberg, and what went wrong with the Internet.
From ACM News
Cerf, Kahn Among 8 Recognized with Franklin Institute Awards
Robert Kahn and Vint Cerf are among the award recipients, "for enabling the Internet by developing TCP/IP."
From ACM News
How to Blow Up a Star
After spending three months trying to blow up a star, Hans-Thomas Janka and his team finally saw what they had been waiting for.
From ACM News
Moscow State University Team Wins World Finals of ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest
University teams from Beijing and Tokyo also were recognized with gold medals.
From ACM News
Machine Learning's 'Amazing' Ability to Predict Chaos
Half a century ago, the pioneers of chaos theory discovered that the "butterfly effect" makes long-term prediction impossible.
From ACM TechNews
Google Offers New Way to Discover Books, Fun Way to Play With Words
Google recently launched a website to demonstrate the company's progress in semantic search.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Use Machine Learning to Speed Discovery of Metallic Glass
Researchers used artificial intelligence to discover and improve metallic glass faster and less expensively than previous methods.