Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
June 2015
From ACM TechNews
Alabama Researcher Devises a Way to Harness nused Iot Power
Researchers have developed a computer architecture that can harness the unused computer cycles generated by smart home devices.
From ACM TechNews
Can Phone Data Detect Real-Time Unemployment?
A multi-university team of researchers has demonstrated that mobile phone data can provide rapid insight into changing employment levels.
From ACM TechNews
Samsung, LG Smartwatches Give p Personal Data to Researchers
Researchers have shown they can extract personal information from two smartwatches because none of the data is encrypted.
From ACM Careers
U.s. 'export Rules' Threaten Research
The U.S. government is considering policy changes that could dramatically affect how researchers handle equipment and information that have national-security implications.
From ACM News
Who Will Own the Robots?
The way Hod Lipson describes his Creative Machines Lab captures his ambitions: "We are interested in robots that create and are creative."
From ACM News
Consumer Groups Back Out of Federal Talks on Face Recognition
A central component of President Obama's effort to give consumers more control over how companies collect and share their most sensitive personal details has run aground.
From ACM News
Philae Wake-Up Triggers Intense Planning
The receipt of signals from Rosetta's Philae lander on 13 June after 211 days of hibernation marked the start of intense activity. In coordination with its mission partners, ESA teams are working to juggle Rosetta's flight plan…
From ACM TechNews
Argonne Scientists Announce First Room-Temperature Magnetic Skyrmion Bubbles
Researchers have developed a method for creating magnetic skyrmion bubbles at room temperature.
From ACM News
Saturn Spacecraft to Buzz Icy Moon Dione June 16
NASA's Cassini spacecraft will make a close flyby of Saturn's moon Dione on June 16, coming within 321 miles (516 kilometers) of the moon's surface.
From ACM TechNews
Spanish Software Tracks the Source of Fecally Polluted Water
A Spanish research team has developed software that can predict the source of fecal pollution in seas, reservoirs, and rivers.
From ACM TechNews
Centimeter-Long Origami Robot
At the recent International Conference on Robotics and Automation, researchers presented a printable robot than can fold itself up from a flat sheet of plastic.
From ACM Careers
How Facebook Is Eating the $140 Billion Hardware Market
It started out as a controversial idea inside Facebook. In four short years, it has turned the $141 billion data-center computer-hardware industry on its head.
From ACM News
When Does a Hack Become an Act of War?
A tremendous number of personnel records—including some quite personal records—have likely been stolen by computer hackers.
From ACM TechNews
Newly Discovered Property Could Help Beat the Heat Problem in Computer Chips
Researchers observed an exotic property that could alter the electronic structure of a material to reduce heat buildup and improve performance in computer components.
From ACM TechNews
Interpreting ltrasound Images sing an App
Researchers have developed a game-like app that trains healthcare professionals to interpret ultrasound images.
From ACM TechNews
Deep-Learning Machine Beats Humans in Iq Test
Researchers say they have built a deep-learning machine that outperforms the average human's ability to answer verbal reasoning questions.
From ACM TechNews
Listen to Me: Machines Learn to nderstand How We Speak
Apple has announced features it is adding to the voice recognition capabilities of its Siri personal assistant app as part of its most recent iOS 9 update.
From ACM TechNews
Robotic Harvesting of Broccoli Could Be Coming to a Field Near You
A project involving three-dimensional camera technology at the University of Lincoln could result in a fully automatic robotic harvesting system for broccoli.
From ACM TechNews
Cyber Citizen Tool Shows Which Countries' Laws Cover Our Surfing
London artist James Bridle has created a tool that can determine how much time users spend on different countries' websites and then compute their algorithmic citizenship.
From ACM TechNews
Bridging the Rift Between Classroom and Online Learning
Researchers are experimenting with Oculus Rift, an immersive virtual reality system, to determine how it could enhance student learning.
From ACM News
Rosetta's Lander Philae Wakes p from Hibernation
Rosetta's lander Philae has woken up after seven months in hibernation on the surface of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
From ACM News
Different Faces of Pluto Emerging in New Images from New Horizons
The surface of Pluto is becoming better resolved as NASA's New Horizons spacecraft speeds closer to its July flight through the Pluto system.
From ACM News
Facial Recognition Technology Is Everywhere. It May Not Be Legal.
Being anonymous in public might be a thing of the past.
From ACM Careers
Vietnam's Mobile Revolution Catapults Millions Into the Digital Age
To get an idea of how the mobile Web is catapulting millions of people into the digital age by skipping landline connections, have a look at Vietnam.
From ACM TechNews
Tipping Point in Transit
Many in academia and the transit industry believe the world is on the cusp of a tipping point in transit technology.
From ACM TechNews
Coding Boot Camps Are on the Rise
Coding boot camps could turn out as many as 16,000 graduates this year, up from 6,740 in 2014, according to a Course Report survey.
From ACM TechNews
The Government's High-Tech Plan For Identifying You Based on Your Tattoos
The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology has reviewed the results of a challenge to develop systems to identify a person based on their tattoos.
From ACM TechNews
Stroke Patients Recover Arm se With Virtual Reality
Pompeu Fabra University researchers say using virtual reality to increase a stroke patient's confidence in using a paralyzed arm could facilitate recovery.
From ACM TechNews
Nasa Tests Darpa Challenge Robot For Space Manufacturing
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Jet Propulsion Lab plans to use a robot to build parts in space.
From ACM News
The Quest to Find Philae
While Rosetta continues to study the ever-changing comet from a distance, the mission teams have been trying to narrow down the location of Philae on the comet nucleus using a variety of data, including imaging, magnetic field…