Communications of the ACM
The Promise of Holographic Displays
The computational expense of creating three-dimensional images that can be viewed by all is just one factor holding them back… From ACM NewsAn edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.
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Amateur Astronomers Scour the Sky For Government Secrets
Earlier this year Iran's defense minister put the world on notice: His nation had developed the ability to "easily" watch spacewalking astronauts from the ground...
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Controversy Surrounds Russia's Claim that Cosmic Rays Caused Mars Mission Failure
A heartbreaking, out-of-the-gate failure of Russia's sample return mission early this year created a wide circle of disappointment.
From ACM Opinion
The Coming Entanglement: Bill Joy and Danny Hillis
Digital innovators Bill Joy, co-founder of Sun Microsystems, and Danny Hillis, co-founder of the Long Now Foundation, talk with Scientific American Executive Editor...
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Infrared and 3D Vision Systems Combine to Help Pilots Avoid Crash Landings
When large airliners approach an airport for a landing, a combination of radio signals and high-intensity lighting shows the pilot exactly where the runway is,...
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Wireless Sensors Monitor Brain-Waves on the Fly
A fighter pilot heads back to base after a long mission, feeling spent. A warning light flashes on the control panel.
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Inside the Mind of a Video Game Champ
If there is one general rule about the limitations of the human mind, it is that we are terrible at multitasking.
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Tiny Biocomputers Move Closer to Reality
Several research groups are developing DNA-based circuits that could one day monitor and treat disease from inside the body.
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Did a U.s. Radar Research Station Disable Russia's Phobos Probe?
Soon after the ill-fated Phobos-Grunt spacecraft stalled in Earth orbit, a former Russian official implicated "powerful American radars" in Alaska. Is there a...
From ACM News
Cyberwar Most Likely to Take Place Among Smaller Powers, Experts Say
Most Americans who worry about cyberwarfare are concerned that it will be directed against the United States. But the truth is that cyber conflict is far more...
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Panoramic Tool Lets sers Observe Dynamic Imagery
New imagery available through Carnegie Mellon's GigaPan Time Machine lets users move in space and time to explore the sun, a beehive, or the chlorophyll content...
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IBM Simulates 4.5% of the Human Brain, and All of the Cat Brain
Supercomputers can store more information than the human brain and can calculate a single equation faster, but even the biggest, fastest supercomputers in the world...
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Precision-Controlled Microbots Show They Could Take On Industrial-Scale Jobs
A pioneering research institute that introduced the computer world to the mouse, hypertext, and networks is now setting its sights a bit lower.
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Instant Health Checks For Buildings and Bridges
During 2011's deadly onslaught of earthquakes, floods and tornadoes, countless buildings had to be evacuated while workers checked to make sure they were stable...
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Post-9/11 Technology Brings Exoskeletons, Laser Cannons to 21st-Century U.S. Military
The U.S. military has evolved so fast in the post-September 11th era that much of its technology would be nearly unrecognizable to commanders, soldiers, airmen...
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Security and Surveillance Pervades Post-9/11 New York City
From building-blocking bollards to millimeter-wave scanners, the September 11 terrorist attacks have led to significant changes in security techniques and technology...
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Science After 9/11: How Research Was Changed By the September 11 Terrorist Attacks
New work in forensics, biodefense and cyber security blossomed after the attacks on New York City, Washington, D.C., and in the skies over Pennsylvania, but increased...
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Light at the End of the Racetrack: How Pixar Explored the Physics of Light for Cars 2
Although the stories told by Pixar Animation Studios take place in richly realized fantasy realms, the science and technology required to create those worlds...
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A Test For Consciousness
How will we know when we've built a sentient computer? By making it solve a simple puzzle.
From ACM News
Why Bayes Rules: The History of a Formula That Drives Modern Life
Google has a small fleet of robotic cars that since autumn have driven themselves for thousands of miles on the streets of Northern California without once striking...
From ACM Opinion