Welcome to the September 1, 2023, edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for IT professionals three times a week.
Please note: In observance of the U.S. Labor Day holiday, ACM TechNews will not be published on Monday, Sept. 4. Publication will resume Wednesday, Sept. 6.
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Earthquake Sensors Tracking Bombing Attacks in Ukraine
New Scientist
Jeremy Hsu
August 30, 2023
Scientists at Norway's NORSAR seismic research foundation and Ukraine's State Space Agency are using seismometers usually employed for earthquake detection to monitor bombing attacks in provinces near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. NORSAR's Ben Dando and colleagues used existing software and methods to develop detection algorithms that could automatically alert users within 10 to 15 minutes of a detonation, calculating each blast's location and timing based on when nearby seismic sensors detect different seismic waves. The technique was found to be particularly effective within roughly 200 kilometers (124 miles) of the Malin seismic station northwest of Kyiv, which is equipped with 24 seismic sensors and infrasound sensors that can identify sound waves typically outside the range of human hearing.
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A System to Keep Cloud-Based Gamers in Sync
MIT News
Adam Zewe
August 31, 2023
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Microsoft Research have developed a system that enables interdevice synchronization for cloud gaming. The Ekho system listens for inaudible white noise sequences added to the game audio streamed from the cloud server in the audio recorded by the player's game controller, measuring the interstream delay based on the mismatch between the noise sequences and compensating accordingly. In tests during actual cloud gaming sessions, Ekho synchronized streams to within less than 10 milliseconds almost 87% of the time, compared with no less than 50 milliseconds with other synchronization methods. MIT's Mohammad Alizadeh said, "Using inaudible white noise as a sort of 'timekeeper' is a great example of how out-of-the-box thinking can produce unexpected results."
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Apple Tests Using 3D Printers to Make Devices in Manufacturing Shift
Bloomberg
Mark Gurman
August 30, 2023
Apple reportedly is testing the use of three-dimensional (3D) printers to fabricate stainless steel chassis for its upcoming smartwatches, previewing a shift in its manufacturing model. Sources said the method would make the cutting of large metallic slabs into the product's shape unnecessary, and shorten assembly time while consuming less material. A technique called binder jetting generates the device's general outline at near-actual size, producing the print from a powdered substance that is then squeezed or sintered before milling the precise design and cutouts. The approach only utilizes the approximate portion of metal required to produce the device enclosures.
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High-Speed AI Drone Overtakes World-Champion Drone Racers
University of Zurich (Switzerland)
August 30, 2023
Swift, an artificial intelligence system developed by researchers at Switzerland's University of Zurich and Intel, beat three world-class champions in first-person view (FPV) drone racing in multiple races. In FPV drone racing, quadcopters are flown at more than 100 km/h by pilots wearing headsets linked to an onboard camera. Swift can react to data collected by the onboard camera in real time, as it is equipped with an integrated inertial measurement unit that measures speed and acceleration. It also features an artificial neural network that localizes the drone in space and identifies the racetrack’s gates using camera data. That information also is used by a control unit to determine the best action to take to complete the circuit as quickly as possible.
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Meta Releases Dataset to Probe Computer Vision Models for Biases
TechCrunch
Kyle Wiggers
August 31, 2023
Meta has released the open source FAirness in Computer Vision EvaluaTion (FACET) dataset for the testing of computer vision models that classify and detect things in photos and videos for biases. FACET contains 32,000 images featuring 50,000 human-annotated people, covering classes of images related to occupations and activities, as well as demographic and physical characteristics. The annotators integrated these labels with other labels for people, their hair, and their apparel extracted from the Segment Anything 1 Billion dataset used to train computer vision models to isolate objects and animals from images. Meta wrote, "By releasing FACET, our goal is to enable researchers and practitioners to perform similar benchmarking to better understand the disparities present in their own models and monitor the impact of mitigations put in place to address fairness concerns."
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UT Mourns Pioneer of Computational Mechanics, Founder of Oden Institute
UT News
August 30, 2023
J. Tinsley Oden, who founded the University of Texas at Austin (UT)'s Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, has died at 86. His 1972 treatise, "Finite Elements of Nonlinear Continua," is credited with demonstrating the potential of computational techniques, as well as legitimizing computational mechanics as an intellectually rich field founded on mathematical, computer science, physical, and mechanical principles. Oden was awarded the 2011 SIAM (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics)/ACM Prize in Computational Science and Engineering for his contribution to the development of finite element methods essential for mathematical modeling demanded by modern engineering. UT president Jay Hartzell praised Oden for establishing the Oden Institute, which "is globally recognized as the trailblazing model for interdisciplinary computing research and education."
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DIY 'Bionic Pancreas' Is Changing Diabetes Care—What's Next?
Nature
Liam Drew
August 30, 2023
A community of people with type 1 diabetes formulated a do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to automated insulin delivery (AID) a decade ago, which recently yielded randomized controlled studies demonstrating the safety and efficacy of open source AID. Last year, Sufyan Hussain at the U.K.'s King's College London co-wrote an international consensus statement urging healthcare professionals to support aspiring open source AID users. Research published this year also determined open source and commercial AID systems enabled similar glucose-level control, while a study last September proved the effectiveness of an algorithm that operates an artificial pancreas system on Android smartphones. In January, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted regulatory approval to the open source algorithm-based Tidepool Loop AID system, which Saira Khan-Gallo at the Tidepool nonprofit said "should be available to anyone who is interested."
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Suggestible People Feel More Present in VR
University of Bath (U.K.)
August 24, 2023
Computer scientists in the U.K., New Zealand, and at Meta found more-suggestible people feel a greater sense of presence when using virtual reality (VR) than those who are less suggestible. Christopher Clarke at the U.K.'s University of Bath said, "The better a person's imagination, the more able they are to find themselves in that world." Presence within virtual environments can be sub-categorized as physical, social, or self, meaning that VR users respectively feel the virtual space, characters, and their own avatars as though they were real. Explained Bath's Crescent Jicol, "Imaginative suggestibility affected presence across all three sub types. This could mean that regardless of what you are using VR for—from socializing to adventuring—your imagination is playing an important role."
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How to Engineer a Reliable $1 Sensor for Safe Drinking Water
IEEE Spectrum
Prachi Patel
August 28, 2023
A team of engineers at the universities of Chicago (UChicago) and Wisconsin-Milwaukee developed a potentially mass-producible $1 sensor that can detect contaminants in drinking water in the home. The sensor features a graphene field-effect transistor (FET) that can identify heavy metals, bacteria, and other toxins at parts-per-billion or even parts-per-trillion concentrations within seconds. A nanometers-thick semiconducting graphene oxide sheet deposited on a silicon wafer connects the FET's gold source and drain electrodes while a gate electrode directs current through this channel. Attaching chemical and biological molecules to the graphene surface induces conductivity changes whose magnitude correlates to toxin levels. UChicago's Junhong Chen said the machine learning algorithms enable the sensors to distinguish between contaminants, and testing the sensors in water through impedance spectroscopy can detect defects in the devices.
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Shape-Shifting Robot Squishes Itself into Tight Spaces
CU Boulder Today
Daniel Strain
August 30, 2023
University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder) researchers have developed a small squishable robot able to change its shape to fit in narrow spaces. Inspired by the different shapes and sizes of animals, CLARI's (Compliant Legged Articulated Robotic Insect) basic form is a square with one leg on each side, but it can be squeezed to become wider like a crab or more elongated like a cockroach, ranging in size from 0.8 inches to 1.3 inches wide. The lightweight, four-legged miniature robot potentially could assume a number of different shapes given that each leg functions like an independent robot, with a circuit board and dual actuators that move like a human hip joint. Said CU Boulder's Kaushik Jayaram, "What we want are general-purpose robots that can change shape and adapt to whatever the environmental conditions are."
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New York Police Will Use Drones to Monitor Backyard Parties
Associated Press
Jake Offenhartz
August 31, 2023
New York City (NYC) officials said the police intend to monitor outdoor parties with surveillance drones during the Labor Day weekend, evoking concerns from privacy and civil liberties advocates. New York Police Department (NYPD) Assistant Commissioner Kaz Daughtry said the drones would respond to "non-priority and priority calls" outside the route of the J'ouver festival parade in Brooklyn. NYC data estimates the NYPD has used drones for public safety or emergency purposes 124 times this year, versus four times last year. Privacy proponents say regulations have lagged drone use, creating a path for intrusive surveillance. Albert Fox Cahn with the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project said, "One of the biggest concerns with the rush to roll out new forms of aerial surveillance is how few protections we have against seeing these cameras aimed at our backyards or even our bedrooms."
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Putting Quantum Computers to the Test
Freie University Berlin (Germany)
August 24, 2023
A team of researchers from Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, and the U.A.E. invented a method for evaluating the quality of quantum computers based on physics, computer science, and math techniques. Jens Eisert at Germany's Freie Universität Berlin said, "Random circuits are implemented and then the measurement results are output in 'quantum bits' or 'qubits'." The data contains a full range of diagnostic information that can be used to assess various aspects of the quantum system's performance and functioning.
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Syracuse University Libraries Enters Open Access Agreement with ACM
Syracuse University
Cristina Hatem
August 30, 2023
A new publishing agreement between Syracuse University (SU) Libraries and ACM permits all Syracuse authors to publish open access with ACM for free, upon completing the ACM assignment of rights and permissions in the conference or journal submission system. Syracuse University Libraries reached the agreement through its membership in the nonprofit Lyrasis consortium for libraries, archives, museums, and cultural heritage organizations. Syracuse's Jae C. Oh said, “As a member of ACM, I am excited and thankful for Syracuse University’s participation in the ACM Open Access program. This agreement will continue to support researchers in computer science and related fields at Syracuse University to share their top-notch research work with worldwide audiences."
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