Communications of the ACM
Researchers Develop Soft Robot That Shifts from Land to Sea with Ease
Soft robots developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University can transition from walking to swimming or crawling to rolling… From ACM TechNewsAn 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
Security Firm Is Vague on Its Compromised Devices
More than a day after RSA security posted an "urgent" alert warning that a sophisticated intruder might be able to initiate a "broad attack" on a password device...
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Keeping Tabs on the Infrastructure, Wirelessly
Engineers routinely inspect bridges and other structures for cracks and corrosion. But because they can’t always be there in person, one highly intelligent bridge...
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Google
In early 2009, statisticians inside the Googleplex here embarked on a plan code-named Project Oxygen. Their mission was to devise something far more important...
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Poker Bots Invade Online Gambling
Bryan Taylor, 36, could not shake the feeling that something funny was going on. Three of his most frequent opponents on an online poker site were acting oddly...
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Researchers Show How a Car's Electronics Can Be Taken Over Remotely
With a modest amount of expertise, computer hackers could gain remote access to someone's car—just as they do to people's personal computers—and take over the...
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Armies of Expensive Lawyers, Replaced by Cheaper Software
When five television studios became entangled in a Justice Department antitrust lawsuit against CBS, the cost was immense. As part of the obscure task of "discovery"—providing...
From ACM Opinion
Google Schools Its Algorithm
To humans, computer intelligence is a puzzle, as if the machines have split personalities. They can be so remarkably smart at times, yet so bafflingly dumb at...
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The New Police Siren: You
Joe Bader tried setting the two tones of his invention four notes apart on the musical scale, but the result sounded like music, not a siren. Same thing when...
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Moonlighting Within Microsoft, in Pursuit of New Apps
If you have a smartphone, you probably have apps on it to check the news, play games, help with shopping or further a hobby like travel or bird-watching. But...
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U.S. Sets 21st-Century Goal: Building a Better Patent Office
President Obama, who emphasizes American innovation, says modernizing the federal Patent and Trademark Office is crucial to "winning the future." So at a time when...
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Blogs Wane as the Young Drift to Sites Like Twitter
Like any aspiring filmmaker, Michael McDonald, a high school senior, used a blog to show off his videos. But discouraged by how few people bothered to visit,...
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New Hacking Tools Pose Bigger Threats to Wi-Fi sers
You may think the only people capable of snooping on your Internet activity are government intelligence agents or possibly a talented teenage hacker holed up...
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Facebook Officials Keep Quiet on Its Role in Revolts
With Facebook playing a starring role in the revolts that toppled governments in Tunisia and Egypt, you might think the company’s top executives would use this...
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On 'jeopardy,' Watson's a Natural
In the end, the humans on "Jeopardy!" surrendered meekly.
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Mature Mobile Industry Moves to Keep Customers It Has
In the pioneer days of the mobile phone industry, wireless carriers raced to put phones in the hands of the unconnected masses. With cellphones now ubiquitous...
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Progress in Artificial Intelligence Brings Wonders and Fears
At the dawn of the modern computer era, two Pentagon-financed laboratories bracketed Stanford University. At one laboratory, a small group of scientists and engineers...
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The Dirty Little Secrets of Search
Pretend for a moment that you are Google’s search engine. Someone types the word “dresses” and hits enter. What will be the very first result?
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Nasa
The last time NASA visited the Tempel 1 comet, it was with fireworks, on July 4, 2005. On that day, the Deep Impact spacecraft slammed an 820-pound projectile...
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Innovation Far Removed From the Lab
Daniel Reetz loves trash bins. A big one in Fargo, N.D., was where he found most of the materials he used to build a scanner that was fast enough to scan a 400...
From ACM Opinion