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
Venus Flytrap Cyborg Snaps Shut with Smartphone Commands
Wenlong Li and colleagues at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University have transformed Venus flytraps into biological robots.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Computers May Finally Have Practical Use
Researchers have developed a method for certifying that quantum computers generate truly random numbers without having to inspect the process.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Computers That Use 'Cat Qubits' May Make Fewer Errors
Researchers in France found so-called "cat qubits” (quantum bits) could reduce errors by quantum computers and accelerate the cracking of common encryption algorithms...
From ACM TechNews
U.S. Air Force Giving Military Drones the Ability to Recognize Faces
A contract between the U.S. Department of Defense and RealNetworks calls for the Seattle-based company to equip U.S. Air Force autonomous drones with facial recognition...
From ACM TechNews
Kombucha Cultures Can Be Turned into Flexible Electric Circuit Boards
Researchers at the U.K.'s University of the West of England, Bristol used the mat of cells that form on top when brewing kombucha to develop flexible electric circuit...
From ACM TechNews
Flying Robot Echolocates Like a Bat to Avoid Hitting Walls
Frederike Dümbgen and colleagues have equipped a flying robot to use bat-like echolocation to map its surroundings using a simple microphone and speaker.
From ACM TechNews
Noisy Flashing Drone Could Stop Bats Crashing into Wind Turbines
Yuval Werber and colleagues at Israel's University of Haifa invented a drone that makes noise and flashes lights to prevent bats from colliding with turbine blades...
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Computers Vulnerable to Eavesdropping Hackers
Allen Mi and colleagues at Yale University warn that even carefully wiping quantum computers of data would not thwart its theft by hackers.
From ACM TechNews
AI-Designed Invisibility Cloak Could Hide Small Communication Devices
Researchers used artificial intelligence to design an invisibility cloak to conceal antennas or small communication devices from infrared light or microwave detectors...
From ACM TechNews
U.K. Will Use GPS Fingerprint Scanner to Track People Facing Deportation
The U.K.'s Home Office says it will soon require people facing deportation to carry a global positioning system (GPS)-enabled fingerprint scanner at all times. ...
From ACM TechNews
Unpiloted Military Helicopter Flies 134 km in Simulated Mission
The U.S. Army flew an autonomous Black Hawk Helicopter 134 kilometers (83 miles) to deliver 230 kilograms (507 lbs.) of simulated and real blood.
From ACM TechNews
Robotic Laser Can Target, Kill Cockroaches
Researchers developed a device that can kill cockroaches using a laser, two cameras, and an artificial intelligence (AI) model capable of targeting specific insect...
From ACM TechNews
Humans Beat DeepMind AI in Creating Algorithm to Multiply Numbers
Researchers at Austria's Johannes Kepler University Linz bested an algorithm developed by DeepMind with a program that can perform matrix multiplication more efficiently...
From ACM TechNews
Bitcoin Has Emitted 200 Million Tons of CO2 Since Launch
Researchers at the U.K.'s University of Cambridge estimated bitcoin miners have discharged nearly 200 million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.12