Welcome to the June 21, 2023, edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for IT professionals three times a week.
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One in 20 Programmers on Open Source Software Projects Are Women: Study
ISU News
June 20, 2023
Computer scientists at Idaho State University (ISU) and the University of Wisconsin found just one in 20 coders working on open source software projects are women. The researchers analyzed programmers working on 17 coding languages in the World of Code dataset, estimating slightly fewer than 5% of 10,898 unique programmers were female. The researchers analyzed 20,997,331 total commits, finding female contributors average 11.85 commits per person on projects, compared to 23.20 for individual male contributors. ISU's Arifa Islam Champa said, "Other studies have shown that diverse teams outperform their homogeneous counterparts in a variety of ways with higher levels of productivity, innovation, and overall success. Therefore, it is extremely important to increase women's participation in software engineering projects."
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High-Tech Pavement Markers Support Autonomous Driving in Tough Conditions, Remote Areas
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
June 20, 2023
Engineers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Western Michigan University have enabled raised pavement markers to transmit global positioning information that improves autonomous driving in remote areas or during inclement weather. The researchers embedded low-powered sensors within the markers that send information to passing cars about road shape even when obstructions reduce the reliability of vehicle cameras or light detection and ranging (LiDAR). The technology hands over some data processing from the car's software to infrastructure, saving electric vehicle battery power and broadening driving range. The researchers said electrical vehicle navigation systems use up to 90% less power when navigating with the sensor-equipped pavement markers, compared to leading camera and LiDAR-based autonomous driving technology.
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Researchers Expand Ability of Robots to Learn from Videos
Carnegie Mellon University School of Computer Science
Aaron Aupperlee
June 20, 2023
A model developed by Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) researchers allows robots to learn how to complete household tasks by watching videos of people doing chores. With the Vision-Robotics Bridge (VRB) model, two robots learned a dozen chores, such as opening drawers and taking pots off the stove, through observation. VRB builds on a previous model, In-the-Wild Human Imitating Robot Learning (WHIRL). With VRB, robots can learn a new task from a video in just 25 minutes. The model employs the concept of affordances (perceived potential actions), in which the robot determines contact points and direction of movement in the performance of a particular task. Said CMU's Shikhar Bahl, "This work could enable robots to learn from the vast amount of Internet and YouTube videos available."
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Lasers Enable Internet Backbone via Satellite
ETH Zurich (Switzerland)
Daniel Meierhans
June 20, 2023
Scientists at Switzerland's ETH Zurich, French aerospace laboratory ONERA, and French space company Thales Alenia Space transmitted several dozen terabits per second between a mountain peak and the Swiss city of Bern using optical data communications lasers. The researchers supported a 1-terabit/second optical communication link between the High Altitude Research Station on the Jungfraujoch peak and the University of Bern's Zimmerwald Observatory, which are 53 kilometers (33 miles) apart. ONERA implemented a microelectromechanical system chip with 97 adjustable mirrors to improve signals about 500-fold by correcting the phase shift of the beam on its intersection surface along the currently measured gradient 1,500 times per second.
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Airbus Experiments with More Control for Autopilot
BBC News
Shiona McCallum; Ashleigh Swan
June 19, 2023
French aerospace company Airbus' recently completed Project Dragonfly aimed to extend the scope of control of aircraft autopilot technology. The researchers experimented on an Airbus A350-1000 aircraft to enhance automatic landing, taxi assistance, and automated emergency diversion. The automatic emergency descent system assumes control of the aircraft’s descent and landing while identifying other aircraft, weather, and terrain if the pilots are incapacitated. The system can communicate with air traffic control using an artificial intelligence-generated voice via radio, and can provide the crew with audio alerts should the airplane encounter obstacles during taxiing, displaying the path to the runway and advising pilots on speed.
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Open-Source Software to Speed Quantum Research
Chalmers University of Technology (Sweden)
June 20, 2023
Open source software developed by researchers at Sweden's Chalmers University of Technology aims to increase the pace of quantum research by performing advanced simulations and analyses of quantum components. Operating at the mesoscopic level (between the microscope and macroscopic scales), the software can detect the unique properties of quantum particles and make use of them. In particular, the researchers hope the software will shed light on unconventional superconductors, whose properties protect quantum information from interference and fluctuations. Chalmers' Tomas Löfwander said, "We want to make it easier for others to accelerate and improve their quantum research without having to reinvent the wheel every time."
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Biden Administration Taps Google Chair for Chip Research Effort
Reuters
Trevor Hunnicutt
June 20, 2023
The White House has chosen John Hennessy, chairman of Google parent Alphabet, and four other technology industry experts to spearhead research and development of next-generation computer processors. The team will organize a board of trustees to manage the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC). The Biden administration authorized the public-private partnership to head next-generation chip R&D as part of last year's $52.7-billion semiconductor manufacturing and research law, which also subsidizes new chip foundries. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo explained, "We want the NSTC to be an engine of innovation, supporting and extending U.S. leadership in semiconductor research, design, engineering, and advanced manufacturing for decades to come. This selection committee is the next step to helping us stand up the NSTC and ensure it succeeds for generations."
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Tracking Device Keeps Better Tabs on Wolves
University of Copenhagen (Denmark)
June 15, 2023
Scientists at Denmark's University of Copenhagen (UCPH) and the Technical University of Denmark worked with researchers at Germany's Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior to develop a way to track wolves and other species more reliably. UCPH's Rasmus W. Havmøller and colleagues came up with a global positioning system (GPS) wildlife tracker powered by the animal's movements. Said Havmøller, "The more an animal moves, the more [kinetic] energy it generates and the more GPS location messages it sends." In addition to GPS capabilities, the Kinefox tracker features an accelerometer to allow wildlife managers to study an animal's condition through its activity patterns.
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Welcome to White Castle. Would You Like Human Interaction with That?
The Wall Street Journal
Heather Haddon
June 13, 2023
Fast-food chains like White Castle are deploying artificial intelligence-enabled chatbots in drive-throughs, with restaurant executives claiming the technology can boost efficiency by allowing staff to perform other jobs. The bots "talk" through drive-through speakers, with the order count displayed on a screen while workers monitoring on headsets prepare to step in if things go wrong. Across 10 orders on a recent day, three customers at a White Castle in Merrillville, IN, asked to talk to a person because the Julia drive-through chatbot misheard orders or because they preferred human interaction. California-based Presto Automation is training chatbots for this labor, testing personalization with custom voices.
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Meta to Lower Age for Users of VR Headset to 10
The New York Times
Mike Isaac; Adam Satariano; Natasha Singer
June 16, 2023
Social media giant Meta announced its intention to lower the recommended minimum age for users of its Quest virtual reality (VR) headset to 10 from 13. Meta said creating accounts for preteens would require parental approval, while young users would only see applications and content appropriate for their age group. However, VR games are rife with harassment, assaults, bullying, and hate speech, while researchers warn there are few measures for easily reporting misbehavior. Josh Golin at nonprofit children's advocacy group Fairplay said Meta did not prove the safety of its VR products for young people before lowering its age recommendation, which Fairplay said is "clearly driven by the fact that they are trying to compete for a market, not driven by kids' needs."
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A Wearable Robotic Assistant That's All Over You
IEEE Spectrum
Mat Sadowski
June 19, 2023
The Calico assistive robot developed by researchers at the University of Maryland can be worn on the user's clothes, where it runs along a track to perform various tasks. The 18-gram robot can localize itself and map a path with sensors that perceive magnetic neodymium markers embedded in the wearer's apparel. Calico can bear a 20-gram payload and travel between 15 millimeters (0.59 inches) and 227 millimeters (8.93 inches) per second, powered by a battery that holds more than eight hours' charge when idle and 30 minutes' charge when moving. The device can show users its progress on tasks by transforming their arm into a physical progress bar, moving further up the limb as they reach daily goals.
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Google Lens Can Identify Skin Problems with a Picture
PC Magazine
Michael Kan
June 15, 2023
The Google Lens visual search application can help diagnose skin conditions by capturing an image of the affected area and comparing it to visual matches. Google said Lens "can search skin conditions that are visually similar to what you see on your skin" to help a user diagnose skin problems. Google explained, "This feature also works if you're not sure how to describe something else on your body, like a bump on your lip, a line on your nails, or hair loss on your head." The search engine giant said Lens also may be used to help with homework problems, as well as translating street signs when traveling abroad.
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Intel Processor Aims to Put Quantum Technology into More Hands
ScienceAlert
David Nield
June 21, 2023
Certain U.S. universities and other institutions will soon have a new silicon-based quantum processor from chipmaker Intel available to them. With twice as many quantum bits (qubits) as a component announced last year, Intel hopes its 12-qubit Tunnel Falls quantum processing unit (QPU) will advance the practical realization of quantum computing. Tunnel Falls uses quantum dots to trap individual electrons in order to store and read quantum information through their spin. Dwight Luhman at the U.S. Department of Energy's Sandia National Laboratories said, "This level of sophistication allows us to innovate novel quantum operations and algorithms in the multi-qubit regime and accelerate our learning rate in silicon-based quantum systems."
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