Welcome to the March 8, 2024 edition of ACM TechNews, providing timely information for computer professionals three times a week.

John Walker, Who Popularized AutoCAD, Dies at 74

John Walker, the former chief executive of Autodesk, the company that brought the AutoCAD software program to the design and architecture masses, died on Feb. 2 in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, at the age of 74. Walker was well known in tech circles for his success in business and his skills as a programmer. He was also credited with developing an early prototype of the computer virus.
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'Self-Destruct' Chips Could Mitigate Counterfeiting

A "self-destruct" chip developed by a team led by Eric Hunt-Schroeder from the University of Vermont could prevent counterfeit chips from entering the market. The chips generate their own unique digital fingerprints, or physically unclonable functions (PUFs), ensuring their authenticity. If compromised, the PUFs destroy themselves using two methods of circuit suicide, both involving an increase in voltage that leads to electromigration or rapid time-dependent dielectric breakdown.
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Digital Twin of Earth Simulates Possible Natural Disasters

Researchers led by the National Research Council of Italy's Luca Brocca have created a digital twin of Earth that enables anyone to perform interactive simulations of natural disaster scenarios on the terrestrial water cycle in the Mediterranean Basin. The model was created by combining satellite data with soil moisture, precipitation, snow depth, evaporation, and river discharge measurements. The simulations of floods and landslides could help inform water resource management and disaster resilience strategies.
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Smart Glasses Use Sonar to Work Out Where You're Looking

Cornell University researchers developed smart glasses that track a user's eye movements using sound instead of cameras. GazeTrak features small speakers for each eye that are directed toward the face and four microphones on each side. Sounds picked up by the glasses are analyzed by an AI model to determine which direction the user's eyes are pointed based on inconsistencies in the shape of their eyeballs and eyelids. GazeTrak uses 95% less power than other movement detection techniques.
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Linux Market Share Passes 4% for First Time; macOS Dominance Declines

Statcounter's desktop OS usage stats showed that Linux's global market share jumped from 3% in June 2023 to 4.03% in February 2024. Market share was 6.34% if ChromeOS is included as a Linux OS. ChromeOS saw its global market share fall to 2.27%. Windows global market share rose to 72.17% in February, while macOS dropped to 15.42%.
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Robot Ships Are Setting Sail

In Norway, U.S. and U.K. researchers at Ocean Infinity are testing a robotic ship equipped with cameras, microphones, radar, GPS, and satellite technology that eventually will be part of a fleet of 23 such vessels used to assess the seabed for offshore wind farm operators and perform underwater infrastructure inspections for oil and gas companies. The 255-foot ship has just 16 crew members, and that figure ultimately could decline further as more roles are performed remotely using gaming-like controls and touch screens. Reducing the number of crew members can allow for smaller ships that use less fuel and have a smaller carbon footprint.
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Data Centers Could Soon Break Lunar Ground

A prototype lunar data center from Lonestar Data Holdings was aboard Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lander when it touched down on the Moon's south pole, stored within a software application on the lander's on-board computer. Lonestar reported that its tests of the transmission, storage, and receipt of digital documents during lunar flight and from the Moon's surface were successful. Later this year, Lonestar plans to send a Yocto Linux system with 8 terabytes of storage to the Moon's surface.
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Your Doctor's Office Might Be Bugged

More physician practices are implementing ambient AI scribing, in which AI listens to patient visits and writes clinical notes summarizing them. In a recent study of the Permanente Medical Group in Northern California, more than 3,400 doctors have used ambient AI scribes in more than 300,000 patient encounters since October. Doctors reported that the technology reduced the amount of time spent on after-hours note writing and allowed for more meaningful patient interactions. However, its use raises concerns about security, privacy, and documentation errors.
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Scar-Free Surgery Prints Living Skin Right into Wounds

Pennsylvania State University researchers 3D-printed full-thickness living skin on a rat's head during surgery. The researchers bioprinted the hypodermis and dermis layers of skin, with the outer epidermis forming by itself. The wound was nearly healed completely within two weeks. It is notable that the 3D-printed hypodermis supported the formation of downgrowths, marking the beginning of hair follicle development.
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Wearable Could Retrain the Brain After Stroke

A smart glove developed by Stanford University and Georgia Institute of Technology researchers could help relieve spasticity in stroke patients by providing vibro-tactile stimulation at home. Stanford's Allison Okamura said, "The stimulation is sending additional sensory signals to the brain, which helps the brain interpret and reconnect any lost circuits." A clinical trial involving patients who wore the device for three hours per day over eight weeks revealed that some saw symptom relief continue or improve for two weeks after discontinuing use of the device.
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Sam Altman's Eye-Scanning Worldcoin Banned in Spain

Spain has banned Worldcoin for up to three months over privacy risks from the project, co-founded in 2019 by OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman, which scans irises in exchange for a digital ID and free cryptocurrency. More than 4 million people in 120 countries have signed up to have their irises scanned by Worldcoin's "orb" devices, according to its website. But the project has drawn criticism from privacy campaigners over the collection, storage, and use of personal data. Altman says Worldcoin's ID will allow users to, among other things, prove online that they are human.
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AI Is Being Built on Dated, Flawed Motion-Capture Data

A study by a University of Michigan-led research team found that the motion-capture data used to design some AI-based applications is flawed and could endanger users outside the parameters of the preconceived "typical" body type. The benchmarks and standards used by developers of fall detection algorithms for smartwatches and pedestrian-detection systems for self-driving vehicles, among other technologies, do not include representations of all body types. In a systemic literature review of 278 studies as far back as the 1930s, the researchers found that the data captured for most motion-capture systems were from white able-bodied men "of unremarkable weight." Some studies used data from dismembered cadavers.
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