Communications of the ACM
An 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
Nasa Spacecraft to Enter Large Asteroid's Orbit on July 15
On July 15, NASA's Dawn spacecraft will begin a prolonged encounter with the asteroid Vesta, making the mission the first to enter orbit around a main-belt asteroid...
From ACM News
A New Direction for Digital Compasses
Cell phones and many other mobile devices now come packed with sensors capable of tracking them as they move. The digital compasses, gyroscopes, and accelerometers...
From ACM TechNews
Wireless Power Could Cut Cord For Patients With Implanted Heart Pumps
Researchers at the universities of Washington and Pittsburgh have developed a wireless power system for ventricular assist devices, which are implanted in people...
From ACM TechNews
Stanford Engineers Build a Nanoscale Device For Brain-Inspired Computing
Stanford University researchers have developed a nanoelectronic device that mimics human brain synapses, which they say could lead to portable, energy-efficient...
From ACM TechNews
Sandia's 'cooler' Technology Offers Fundamental Breakthrough in Heat Transfer For Microelectronics, Other Cooling Applications
Sandia National Laboratories researchers have developed the Sandia Cooler, air-cooling technology that has the potential to greatly improve the heat-transfer capabilities...
From ACM News
'Talking' Cars Could Reduce Motorway Pile-ps
Scientists from the University of Bologna in Italy have developed software that lets cars "communicate" with one another on the road.
From ACM News
Actuated Ankles Make Fake Feet Fitter
A bionic foot with a battery pack could put the spring back in the step of people who wear leg prostheses.
From ACM News
Global Race on to Match U.s. Drone Capabilities
At the most recent Zhuhai air show, the premier event for China's aviation industry, crowds swarmed around a model of an armed, jet-propelled drone and marveled...
From ACM TechNews
Raspberry Pi: Rise of the $25 Computer
Raspberry Pi developers have created a computer designed to inspire a new generation of computer programmers but inexpensive enough to enable schools to give them...
From ACM News
In Search of a Robot More Like S
The robotics pioneer Rodney Brooks often begins speeches by reaching into his pocket, fiddling with some loose change, finding a quarter, pulling it out and twirling...
From ACM TechNews
China Unveils Another Supercomputer
China recently launched its newest supercomputer, known as the Tianhe-1 system, using the same technology that it used to build the Tianhe-1A system.
From ACM News
As Smartphones Proliferate, Some sers Cut the Computer Cord
A third of all American adults own a smartphone and for many minority and low-income users, those mobile devices have replaced computers for Internet access. The...
From ACM News
Building a Better Quantum Computer with Lasers and (impure) Diamonds
If the development of a quantum computer were like motor racing, then we would currently be in the twisty-turny bit that comes before we barrel over the mountain...
From ACM News
Spies Want to Mine Your Tweets For Signs of the Next Tsunami
The intelligence community has seen the future, and the future is Google Trends. Actually, more like a highly sophisticated version of Google Trends, with Twitter...
From ACM News
Kevin Mitnick Shows How Easy It Is to Hack a Phone
British tabloid News of the World said it is closing down over a phone hacking scandal in which workers for the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper allegedly snooped...
From ACM News
Safer Skies
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has mandated that by 2020, all commercial aircraft—and small aircraft flying near most airports—must be equipped with...
From ACM News
Should the Government Need a Search Warrant to Track Your Car with Gps?
The Supreme Court ended its term with a high-profile ruling that violent video games are protected by the First Amendment, but a bigger technology decision could...
From ACM Opinion
Nasa's Lessons From The Outer Limits
In April 1981, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched a space shuttle program meant to take astronauts, cargo, research experiments and military...
From ACM News
Scientists Hope to Get Glimpse of Adolescent Universe from Revolutionary Instrument-on-a-Chip
Scientists know what the universe looked like when it was a baby. They know what it looks like today. What they don't know is how it looked in its youth.
From ACM News