Welcome to the June 14, 2023, edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for IT professionals three times a week.
ACM TechNews mobile apps are available for Android phones and tablets (click here) and for iPhones (click here) and iPads (click here).
To view "Headlines At A Glance," hit the link labeled "Click here to view this online" found at the top of the page in the html version.
The online version now has a button at the top labeled "Show Headlines."
|
|
|
UN-Backed Team Scans Ukraine Historical Sites to Preserve Them Amid War
Associated Press
Jon Gambrell
June 13, 2023
Two United Nations-backed engineers are using advanced laser-scanning technology to digitally preserve historical sites in Ukraine as three-dimensional (3D) models. French engineer Emmanuel Durand and Ukrainian architect Serhii Revenko volunteered for the project through UNESCO, scanning the sites with a donated Zoller & Fröhlich Imager 5010X combined with software and supporting gear. Durand said the 3D digitalizations could help in rebuilding sites like Kyiv's All Saints Church if they are damaged or destroyed during Ukraine's war with Russia. Said Revenko, "This is important to preserve because what the enemy and the Russians are trying to destroy is who we are and what our identity is."
|
Chattanooga Plants Quantum Seed
Bloomberg
Immanual John Milton
June 13, 2023
Chattanooga, TN, will open the first commercially available quantum network in the U.S. by the end of next month. Utility provider EPB will operate the $4.5-million network, which California-based Qubitekk is developing. EPB's J. Ed Marston said the quantum network should give Chattanooga an economic boost by offering universities and companies a testbed for new equipment and applications that use quantum technology. Mayor Tim Kelly said the network would support up to 10 users simultaneously, and officials are negotiating with potential subscribers like startups and billion-dollar enterprises. Marston said the project could recoup its initial investment within five years.
|
Four-Legged Robot Traverses Tricky Terrains with Improved 3D Vision
UC San Diego Jacobs School of Engineering
June 13, 2023
Scientists at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology improved the three-dimensional (3D) perception of four-legged robots so they can negotiate rough terrain easily. A downward-tilted depth camera on the robot's head facilitates a view of the terrain before and beneath it. The researchers developed a model that renders two-dimensional (2D) images into 3D space by analyzing a video sequence consisting of the current frame and a few earlier frames, then extricating fragments of 3D information from each 2D frame. The robot calculates the past-present 3D transformation from that information, combining and correcting it to arrive at the proper representation. This representation governs the robot's movement, which "allows the robot to build a short-term memory of its 3D surroundings so that it can act better," according to UCSD's Xiaolong Wang.
|
IMMERSE Enables Computing's Next Frontier
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Aaron Seidlitz
May 26, 2023
A workshop at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) introduced faculty and staff to IMMERSE: Center for Immersive Computing as a hub for collaborative and interdisciplinary research and innovation in immersive technologies. UIUC's Sarita Adve explained immersive technology includes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality, mixed reality, extended reality (XR), the metaverse, digital twins, and spatial computing. Adve said she and her partners designed IMMERSE to integrate immersive technologies, applications, and human factors to facilitate "the research, education, and infrastructure activities integral to this effort." She said UIUC already uses immersive technologies extensively. UIUC's Nancy M. Amato described IMMERSE as "the future of computing, because we are going to see computing embedded in our world."
|
Abu Dhabi Embraces 3D Tech for Coral Reef Recovery
The Jerusalem Post
Omnia Al Desoukie
June 12, 2023
The Abu Dhabi Environmental Agency, local investment firm ADQ, and Hong Kong-based Archireef have partnered to grow new coral reefs along the Arabian Sea coastline in an effort to reverse the deterioration of coral habitats. Archireef's coral rejuvenation method involves installing three-dimensionally printed terracotta tiles underwater and attaching coral fragments that will reproduce on those Reef Tiles. Archireef's scientists said their networks of Reef Tiles have a 95% success rate in restoring coral populations, which have been hit hard by bleaching after red tides of blooming algae. Mayez Kabbara of Archireef said the use of non-toxic terracotta clay helps preserve the water's optimal pH levels.
|
A Step Toward Safe, Reliable Autopilots for Flying
MIT News
Adam Zewe
June 12, 2023
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Chuchu Fan and Oswin So developed a machine learning method that can autonomously guide a car or airplane in stabilizing its trajectory to reach and stay within a goal region while evading obstacles. The researchers’ stabilize-avoid technique equals or surpasses the safety of current methods, while boosting stability 10-fold, they said. So explained the initial application of constraints ensures the agent avoids obstacles. The researchers then recast the constrained optimization problem in an epigraph form, applying deep reinforcement learning to circumvent challenges. The controller significantly outperformed all baselines in preventing a simulated jet from crashing or stalling while stabilizing to the goal region.
|
Nano-Tattoos Don't Need Batteries or Wires
IEEE Spectrum
Greg Goth
June 12, 2023
Backscattering-based nano-tattoo sensor (BNTS) tattoos created by scientists at Turkey's Yeditepe University and Istanbul Technical University can communicate with nearby devices without needing batteries or wires. The researchers fabricated the tattoos from a nanowire-containing zinc oxide ink laid over a graphene aerogel conductive ink, which are applied to the skin simultaneously through separate needles. Deformations to the BNTS tattoos generate piezoelectric signals to enable wireless communication. The researchers explained, "When the painted tag receives the radio frequency (RF) signals, it reflects some of the signals to establish an up-link with the smartphone reader while the smartphone establishes a down-link with the tag. From these communication links, the smartphone can continuously monitor the BNTS and process the information using artificial intelligence algorithms."
|
Memory Page Placement Integrated into Linux Kernel
University of Michigan Computer Science and Engineering
June 12, 2023
University of Michigan (U-M) researchers have developed a memory-saving technique for datacenters that has been integrated into the Linux kernel. Their transparent page placement (TPP) technique automatically organizes memory pages into tiers based on frequency of use to improve memory access and overall performance. TPP moves colder (less frequently accessed) pages from local central processing unit (CPU) and compute express link (CXL) memory, and hotter (more frequently access) pages closer to them. The integration of the source code into the Linux kernel means TPP is being deployed broadly. Said Maruf, "TPP has become the industry standard."
|
Chatbot Tutors Could Upend Student Learning
The New York Times
Natasha Singer
June 8, 2023
At Khan Lab School in Palo Alto, CA, sixth-graders are using Khan Academy's Khanmigo, a conversational chatbot, for one-on-one math tutoring as part of a pilot program. The bot walks students through problems step by step and congratulates them when a problem is solved. Khanmigo can provide assistance in a variety of subjects and even allows students to converse with fictional characters or simulated historical figures. Khan instructor Jaclyn Major said, "Khanmigo is able to connect with them and be on their level if they want it to. I think it could be helpful in any classroom." However, there are concerns about the accuracy of such artificial intelligence-powered learning tools and their impact on critical thinking, among other things.
*May Require Paid Registration
|
Hackers Can Steal Cryptographic Keys by Video-Recording Power LEDs
Ars Technica
Dan Goodin
June 13, 2023
Researchers at Cornell Tech's Urban Tech Hub and the Cyber Security Research Center at Israel's Ben-Gurion University of the Negev demonstrated side-channel attacks that video-record the power light emitting diodes (LEDs) of smart card readers and smartphones. One such attack uses an Internet-connected surveillance camera to capture high-speed video of the power LEDs on a smart card reader or an attached peripheral during cryptographic operations. The researchers were able to extract a 256-bit Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm key from the same government-approved smart card used in the Minerva side-channel attack. A second exploit recovered a Samsung Galaxy S8 phone's private Supersingular Isogeny Key Encapsulation key by focusing an iPhone 13's camera on the power LED of a Universal Serial Bus speaker linked to the handset.
|
Mercedes-Benz Beats Tesla for California's Approval of Automated Driving Tech
Reuters
Nathan Gomes; Shivansh Tiwary; Bhanvi Satija
June 8, 2023; et al.
German automaker Mercedes-Benz received authorization from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to sell or lease cars with automated driving technology to the public. Vehicles equipped with Mercedes-Benz’s Level 3 “DRIVE PILOT” system will be permitted on designated highways under certain conditions without active driver control. The DMV cleared the system's use only on highways during daylight hours, at a maximum speed of 40 miles per hour. Mercedes-Benz is permitted to offer the system on California highways in the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Valley, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and San Diego, and on interstate highways linking Southern California to Nevada. Other automated driving systems on public roads, including Tesla's Autopilot, are SAE-Level 2-classified technology that require drivers to keep their attention on the wheel.
|
AR Coming to the OR
The Wall Street Journal
Brian Gormley
June 13, 2023
Technology companies are developing augmented reality (AR) technologies to enhance surgical operations. New York-based startup Medivis provides software that can map three-dimensional medical images of patients for surgical planning via commercially available AR headsets. Stephen Monteith at Seattle-based Providence Swedish Neuroscience Institute said Medivis' system helps surgeons perceive the distance between brain tissue and blood vessels with greater clarity. Meanwhile, Illinois-based Augmedics has engineered a headset for visualizing AR images that surgeons can use to help position pedicle screws used in surgeries like spinal fusions. Kareem Zaki of venture firm Thrive pointed out that software advances delivering the precision needed for surgery are relatively new, while obtaining regulatory clearances to support the technology does not happen quickly.
*May Require Paid Registration
|
Hybrid Computer Vision Combines Physics, Big Data
UCLA Samueli School of Engineering
June 12, 2023
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and U.S. Army Research Laboratory researchers have combined physics and data-driven techniques to improve artificial intelligence (AI)-powered computer vision technologies. Their study focused on incorporating physics into AI datasets, network architectures, and network loss functions. UCLA's Achuta Kadambi said, "Physics-aware forms of inference can enable cars to drive more safely or surgical robots to be more precise." The researchers found that a hybrid approach, for instance, could allow more precise and accurate object-motion tracking and prediction by AI. Eventually, the researchers said, deep learning-based AIs might learn the laws of physics on their own.
|
|
