Communications of the ACM
Blinding the Watchman
Internet constellations could thwart killer asteroid discovery algorithms.
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 TechNews
Cyborg Cockroach Can Navigate a Maze
Researchers have developed a method of creating cyborg cockroaches for use in search-and-rescue missions or building inspections that does not injure them.
From ACM TechNews
Mathematicians Find 12,000 Solutions for Three-Body Problem
Mathematicians have identified 12,392 new stable orbital arrangements for three objects as allowed by Isaac Newton's laws of motion, also known as the three-body...
From ACM TechNews
Toughest Known Structure Discovered by Autonomous Robot Lab
The Bayesian experimental autonomous researcher robotics laboratory at Canada's University of Toronto has discovered the most energy-absorbent mechanical structure...
From ACM TechNews
Driverless Cars May Struggle to Spot Children, Dark-Skinned People
Scientists evaluated eight artificial intelligence-based pedestrian detectors used in driverless car research, and found they may have difficulty detecting children...
From ACM News
From Time Crystals to Wormholes: When Is a Quantum Simulation Real?
Physicists are using quantum computers to conjure exotic phenomena and claiming their creations are truly real.
From ACM TechNews
Robot Injects Drugs into Back of Eyeball More Accurately Than Surgeons
The Steady Hand Eye Robot can inject drugs into the back of the eyeball faster and more accurately than surgeons to treat retinal vein occlusion, according to Johns...
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Twist on Common Computer Algorithm Promises Speed Boost
Scientists have demonstrated that a quantum version of the popular Monte Carlo algorithm could eventually overtake versions running on classical computers.
From ACM TechNews
Male Flies Are Better at Mating After Fighting Off Robotic Rival
Scientists found laboratory-reared male fruit flies appear to become more adept at mating after engaging with robotic replicas of rival males.
From ACM News
Microsoft Says Its Weird New Particle Could Improve Quantum Computers
Researchers at Microsoft say they have created elusive quasiparticles called Majorana zero modes–but scientists outside the company are skeptical.
From ACM TechNews
Robot Grows Plants as Well as Humans, but Uses Less Water
Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, developed a robot gardener that can grow plants as capably as humans, while saving more water.
From ACM TechNews
Robotic Dog Spots Invasive Fire Ant Nests Better Than Humans
Scientists in China and Brazil are testing robotic dogs and artificial intelligence (AI) to detect invasive fire ant nests.
From ACM TechNews
Sound-Based Quantum Computers Could Be Built Using Chip-Sized Device
University of Chicago researchers have confirmed the feasibility of building sound-based quantum computers.
From ACM TechNews
Pneumatic Computer Uses Pressure Instead of Electricity
Elliot Hui and colleagues at the University of California, Irvine, built a computer from glass and silicone that encodes data using pneumatic pressure instead of...
From ACM TechNews
Software Update for World's Wind Farms Could Power Millions More Homes
A software upgrade developed by researchers at France's Polytechnic Institute of Paris improves the efficiency of wind turbines by ensuring they spend more time...
From ACM TechNews
Centipede Robots with More Legs Better at Walking Over Bumps
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology found that multi-legged robots with more legs were better at navigating rough terrain than those with fewer legs...
From ACM TechNews
Smart Glasses Dim Bright Objects
Camera- and liquid-crystal display-equipped smart glasses can "balance" a scene by dimming bright objects without affecting dim ones.
From ACM TechNews
Inflatable Drone Can Bounce Off Walls, Perch on Nearly Anything
Arizona State University researchers have developed an inflatable drone that can perch on nearly any object.
From ACM News
Wood Transistor Could Let Us Embed Electronics in Trees
An electrochemical transistor made from balsa wood opens up the possibility of embedding sensors and other electronic devices in plants, which could help in agriculture...
From ACM News
Crystal Impervious to Radiation Could be Used in Spaceship Computers
Putting two forms of semiconductor material called gallium oxide together seems to make it completely resistant to radiation.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Made of DNA Works Out Prime Factors of 6 and 15
Researchers at China's Shanghai Jiao Tong University developed a simple computer using molecules of folded DNA that was able to split the numbers 6 and 15 into...12