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 TechNews
Popcorn-Driven Robotic Actuators
Cornell University researchers have devised ways for biodegradable robotic actuators to be powered by popping corn.
From ACM TechNews
Teaching Bipedal Robots to Step Across Discrete Terrain
Leveraging recent advances in optimal and nonlinear control systems, the University of California, Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon University have demonstrated a bipedal...
From ACM News
A .S. Machine Recaptures the Supercomputing Crown
Today, U.S. supercomputer advocates are cheering, because for the first time since 2012, a U.S. supercomputer—Oak Ridge National Laboratory's newly installed ...
From ACM TechNews
Flying DRAGON Robot Transforms Itself to Squeeze Through Gaps
A new modular flying robot powered by ducted fans can change shape while in flight.
From ACM TechNews
Firefighting Robot Snake Flies on Jets of Water
Researchers in Japan have developed a firefighting snake-like robot with the body of a fire hose.
From ACM TechNews
Making Radio Chips for Hell
A new wireless radio mixer integrated circuit can operate at temperatures up to 500 degrees Celsius.
From ACM TechNews
Feel What This Robot Feels Through Tactile Expressions
Cornell University's Human-Robot Collaboration and Companionship Lab is developing a robot designed to explore textual communication.
From ACM News
Hiding Information in Plain Text
Computer scientists have now invented a way to hide secret messages in ordinary text by imperceptibly changing the shapes of letters.
From ACM News
Spying on a Storm's Infrasonic Signals to Improve Tornado Warnings
Tornado survivors often compare the terrifying, deafening roars of a twister's furious winds to the sound of a freight train. But storms also emit sounds that are...
From ACM TechNews
The Unhackable Envelope
Researchers have developed an envelope for hardware security modules that requires no battery and cannot be broken into without deleting its stored data.
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 TechNews
Nanobots Glide Through Living Cells
Using small, rotating magnetic fields, researchers controlled nanomachines inside of living cells to trace the letters "N" and "M."
From ACM News
20 Entangled Qubits Bring the Quantum Computer Closer
In 1981, Richard Feynman suggested that a quantum computer might be able to simulate the evolution of quantum systems much better than classical computers. Except...
From ACM TechNews
'Quasi-Non-Volatile' Memory Looks to Fill Gap Between Volatile and Non-Volatile Memory
Researchers at Fudan University in China have created a new gate design for transistors using two-dimensional materials
From ACM TechNews
See Straight Through Walls by Augmenting Your Eyeballs With Drones
Researchers are studying how to use augmented reality to change drones into remote cameras that an untrained user can easily control.
From ACM News
Self-Powered Image Sensor Could Watch You Forever
Solar cells convert light to electricity. Image sensors also convert light to electricity. If you could do them both at the same time in the same chip, you'd have...
From ACM TechNews
Yarn-Like Rechargeable Zinc Battery Could Power Smart Clothes and Wearables
In a development that could lead to washable, sensor-laden smart clothes and wearable electronics, researchers at the City University of Hong Kong have molded a...
From ACM TechNews
To Speed p AI, Mix Memory and Processing
The University of Illinois' Naresh Shanbhag is pushing for a new computer architecture that blends computing and memory so devices can be smarter without consuming...
From ACM News
To Speed p AI, Mix Memory and Processing
If John von Neumann were designing a computer today, there's no way he would build a thick wall between processing and memory. At least, that's what computer engineer Naresh...
From ACM TechNews