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
Autonomous Boats Could Service Some Cities, Reducing Road Traffic
Researchers have highly maneuverable autonomous boats that, in waterway-rich cities, could be used to transport people or deliver goods.
From ACM TechNews
Albatross Robot Takes Flight
Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers have created an albatross-like robot that can skim along the water's surface while also surfing the waves like a...
From ACM TechNews
Fundamental Equations Guide Marine Robots to Optimal Sampling Sites
Systems of mathematical equations can forecast the most informative data to collect for an autonomous underwater vehicle mission and the best way to reach the sampling...
From ACM TechNews
Machine-Learning System Processes Sounds Like Humans Do
Researchers have used a deep neural network to build the first model that can replicate human performance on auditory tasks such as identifying a musical genre....
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 TechNews
Artificial Antimicrobial Peptides Could Help Overcome Drug-Resistant Bacteria
A new streamlined approach to developing antimicrobial peptide drugs uses a computer algorithm that mimics natural evolution.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Searches Telescope Data for Evidence of Distant Planets
Researchers have trained a machine learning system to search for debris disks around stars using telescopic data.
From ACM TechNews
'Body on a Chip' Could Improve Drug Evaluation
A microfluidic platform links engineered tissues from multiple human organs to replicate organ-drug interactions so medications' effects on different parts of the...
From ACM TechNews
Private Browsing Gets More Private
The new Veil system is designed to improve private browsing by guaranteeing that any data the browser loads into memory remains encrypted until it is displayed...
From ACM TechNews
Seeing the Brain's Electrical Activity
Researchers say they have developed a light-sensitive protein that can indicate how much voltage a particular nerve cell is experiencing.
From ACM TechNews
Robo-Picker Grasps and Grabs
A new "pick-and-place" robot features a standard industrial robotic arm equipped with a custom gripper and suction cup.
From ACM TechNews
Automating Materials Design
Researchers say they have developed a system that can numerically specify the properties designers want in a material, then generate a microstructure that matches...
From ACM TechNews
Crowdsourcing Big-Data Analysis
FeatureHub is a new collaboration tool designed to make feature identification more efficient and effective.
From ACM TechNews
Let Your Car Tell You What It Needs
Researchers are developing software that measures automotive sounds and communicates any service requirements and other diagnostic information to drivers via a...
From ACM TechNews
sing Artificial Intelligence to Improve Early Breast Cancer Detection
Researchers are working to apply artificial intelligence to improving the detection and diagnosis of breast cancer.
From ACM TechNews
Fast-Moving Magnetic Particles Could Enable New Form of Data Storage
Researchers have shown they can create tiny disturbances in magnetic orientation at will in specific locations, which they say could be used to make a more efficient...
From ACM TechNews
Making Datacenters More Energy Efficient
BlueCache is a more energy-efficient datacenter caching system that uses flash memory.
From ACM TechNews
sing Machine Learning to Improve Patient Care
Researchers are investigating how computers can enhance medical decisions.
From ACM TechNews
Designing the Microstructure of Printed Objects
Researchers have developed a design system to catalog the physical characteristics of a huge number of tiny cube clusters that can function as building blocks for...
From ACM TechNews