http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/computers_math/computer_programming/ Computer Programming Research. Read current computer science articles on everything from computer programs to detect cancer genes and control vehicle maintenance to embedded software. en-us Thu, 15 May 2008 01:05:01 EDT Thu, 15 May 2008 01:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/computers_math/computer_programming/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512141718.htm Insects have provided the inspiration for a team of European researchers seeking to improve the functionality of robots and robotic tools. The research furthers the development of more intelligent robots, which can then be used by industry, and by emergency and security services, among others. Smarter robots would be better able to find humans buried beneath the rubble of a collapsed building, for example. Tue, 13 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512141718.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513202149.htm Using mathematics and a computer model of brain activity, scientists have shown a direct link between activity in the cortex and the microscopic structure of this neuronal network. Building on the existing body of research, the new work indicates that the spontaneous activity of small neuronal networks in the cortex consists of highly structured patterns rather than random "noise," shedding light on previous speculations. Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080513202149.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505162820.htm Like the popular children's song "There's a Hole in My Bucket," in which Liza and Henry try to patch a leaking pail, researchers with the San Diego Supercomputer Center at UC-San Diego are plugging a hole in the data management process by creating a universally accepted cyber-infrastructure to study our most valuable natural resource -- water. Tue, 06 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505162820.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502154248.htm Engineeers have discovered a way for peer-to-peer (P2P) users to efficiently identify nearby P2P clients in order to reduce costly cross-network traffic without sacrificing performance for the user. Mon, 05 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502154248.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501125414.htm Researchers show that many real-world networks can be understood as a hierarchy of modules, where nodes cluster together to form modules, which themselves cluster into larger modules -- arrangements similar to the organization of sports players into teams, teams into conferences, and conferences into leagues, for example. Sat, 03 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080501125414.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080425123351.htm One of the first large-scale analyses of how people share knowledge on Yahoo Answers has found that participants use the site to exchange advice and opinions, in addition to technical expertise. In the group that includes the biology, repairs and programming categories, inquiries sought factual answers. These questions tended to receive fewer replies. Once someone gives the right answer, there's no real need for others to respond. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080425123351.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421162714.htm A new approach to robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) could lead to a revolution in the field by shifting the focus from what a thing is to how it can be used. Identifying what a robot is looking at is a key approach of AI and machine cognition. So far ambitious researchers have managed to teach a computer's vision system to recognize up to 100 objects. Granted, this is a huge achievement, yet far short of an "I, Robot" scenario. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421162714.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416161215.htm There's safety in numbers -- especially when those numbers are random. That's the lesson learned from new research that is already helping to beef up security at LAX airport in Los Angeles. Soon it may be used across the country to both predict and minimize risk. Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416161215.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415185011.htm Computer scientists have created a fog and smoke machine for computer graphics that cuts the computational cost of making realistic smoky and foggy 3-D images, such as beams of light from a lighthouse piercing thick fog. By cutting the computing costs, the computer scientists are helping to pull cutting edge graphics techniques out of research labs and into movies and eventually video games and beyond. Sun, 20 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415185011.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080414145659.htm Apple iPhone and iPod (touch) support a new self-localization feature that uses known locations of wireless access points as well as the device's own ability to detect access points. Now researchers have demonstrated that positions displayed by the devices using this system can be falsified, making the use of this self-localization system unsuitable in a number of security- and safety-critical applications. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080414145659.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411103046.htm Would you like instant access to information on the buildings and scenery you see on your travels? A novel mobile phone program is able to provide information on what you see when you see it. Tue, 15 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411103046.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410115336.htm Although millions of people use Web search engines, researchers completed by show that -- by using relatively simple methods -- most queries submitted can be classified into one of three categories. Sun, 13 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410115336.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080408144820.htm Computer scientists are one step closer to realizing distributed quantum computing. They recently demonstrated one of the basic building blocks for distributed quantum computing using entangled photons generated in optical fibers. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080408144820.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080408144817.htm A surprisingly large fraction of Web traffic gets sucked into temporary black holes, in which information between two computers disappears en route. A new online observatory monitors Internet black holes so network administrators -- and frustrated Web users -- can diagnose problems in real time. Wed, 09 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080408144817.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080404122139.htm Will the Miss America pageant ever be the same? "Beauty," goes the old saying, "is in the eye of the beholder." But does the beholder have to be human? Not necessarily, say computer scientists who have successfully "taught" a computer how to interpret attractiveness in women. Sat, 05 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080404122139.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080330225933.htm Second Life is more than an on-line game for some young scientists. It is a handy three-dimensional tool used for resolving real issues. Computer Science students have recently used it to analyze and solve the everyday frustrations involved in borrowing a book from a library. Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080330225933.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080329122121.htm Designers of artificial cognitive systems have tended to adopt one of two approaches to building robots that can think for themselves: classical rule-based artificial intelligence or artificial neural networks. Both have advantages and disadvantages, and combining the two offers the best of both worlds, say researchers who have developed a new breed of cognitive, learning robot that goes beyond the state of the art. Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080329122121.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080325115635.htm Some people may know where their ancestors lived 10 or 20 generations ago, but the rest of us can learn our distant biological heritage only from our DNA. New genomics analysis software developed by computer scientists at Stanford appears far more adept than prior methods at unraveling the ancestry of individuals. Going back 20 generations the software can identify what continent or broad global region an individual's ancestors were from. Thu, 27 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080325115635.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080324102640.htm Researchers are reporting an advance toward a new generation of ultra-powerful computers built from DNA and enzymes, rather than transistors, silicon chips, and plastic. They describe development of a chemical "keypad lock," one of the first chemical-based security systems of its kind. Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080324102640.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320205227.htm Researchers have developed a computer algorithm that can imitate the bat's ability to classify plants using echolocation. The study represents a collaboration between machine learning scientists and biologists studying bat orientation. Mon, 24 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320205227.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317123237.htm Human diseases and social networks seem to have little in common. However, at the crux of these two lies a network, communities within the network, and farther even, substructures of the communities. Computer scientists and geneticists can now use a new computer program to automatically discover communities and their subtle structures in a variety of networks. Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317123237.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317141210.htm Researchers have developed new software that can reduce the impact of cyber attacks by identifying the possible vulnerability paths through an organization's networks. By their very nature networks are highly interdependent and each machine’s overall susceptibility to attack depends on the vulnerabilities of the other machines in the network. Attackers can take advantage of multiple vulnerabilities in unexpected ways, allowing them to incrementally penetrate a network and compromise critical systems. Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080317141210.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312103805.htm With the aid of multiple antenna technology, researchers have succeeded in quadrupling the existing transmission rate of conventional networks from 54 megabytes per second (Mbps) to 216 Mbps. According to the communication theory, only a limited amount of data can be transmitted within a given bandwidth for wireless communication. Mon, 17 Mar 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312103805.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314102734.htm Many gamblers claim to have a "system," whether they're shooting craps, backing horses or punting on the stock market. Now, researchers in Taiwan have devised an approach to spotting when a company is likely to fail based on the principles of natural selection. Sun, 16 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314102734.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080311200326.htm From traffic lights to mobile phones, small computers are all around us. Enabling these 'embedded systems' to create wireless communications networks automatically will have profound effects in areas from emergency management to healthcare and traffic control. Networks of mobile sensors and other small electronic devices have huge potential. Applications include emergency management, security, helping vulnerable people to live independently, traffic control, warehouse management, and environmental monitoring. Fri, 14 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080311200326.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080311202414.htm A European research team has achieved the twin, and apparently contradictory goals, of making embedded systems both smarter and tougher. The RobuCab, an autonomous vehicle about the size of a golf cart, trundles at 10kph along a quiet French street. Alarmingly, it looks like it is driving itself. Surprisingly, that is more or less true. Thu, 13 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080311202414.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310094113.htm Researchers in Germany report an advance toward the much awaited era in which scientists will discover and design drugs for cancer, arthritis, AIDS and other diseases almost entirely on the computer, instead of relying on the trial-and-error methods of the past. The new method involves using computers to analyze the chemical structures of potential drugs and pinpoint the most promising candidates. Wed, 12 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080310094113.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306170924.htm In a provocative new article in Science, computer specialists says it's time for the laboratory research that has defined science for the last 400 years to make room for a revolutionary new method of scientific discovery. Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080306170924.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304200631.htm A man stands in front of a large screen gesticulating in a seemingly hectic manner. As if by magic, images suddenly appear on the display. Their movements follow the actor's gestures, rotate at the slightest turn of a finger, and become larger or smaller as desired. This scene will look familiar to anyone who has watched the science fiction film 'Minority Report'. Fri, 07 Mar 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304200631.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304193035.htm Thick instruction manuals, a confusing tangle of cables and endless different standards -- trying to connect your flat screen, DVD recorder, MP3 player, surround system and computer to one another and get them to work is rather a complicated task. Help is on its way in the form of a project called WiMAC(at)home (Wireless Media and Control at Home). In this project, which is being financed by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi), researchers are working on the wireless connection of electronic devices for broadcasting and entertainment in home networks. Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080304193035.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229130355.htm In the ever more complex world of computer games, developers are constantly looking for new ways to make the playing experience more life-like. One problem that had remained unsolved was how to quickly simulate the gradation of shadows caused by indirect light bouncing off objects -- until a recent breakthrough. A new method can be used to model the path of light as it bounces off surfaces. Graphics are now far more realistic, with more variation in shade on an object, and hues of reflected light adding extra detail. Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080229130355.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080223125318.htm Researchers have developed an algorithm that is capable of processing 30 images per second to recognize a person's facial expressions in real time and categorize them as one of six prototype expressions: anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise. Applying the facial expression recognition algorithm, the developed prototype is capable of processing a sequence of frontal images of moving faces and recognizing the person's facial expression. The software can be applied to video sequences in realistic situations and can identify the facial expression of a person seated in front of a computer screen. Although still only a prototype, the software is capable of working on a desktop computer or even on a laptop. Mon, 25 Feb 2008 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080223125318.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080221162405.htm Preparing groundwork for an exascale computer is the mission of the new Institute for Advanced Architectures, launched jointly at Sandia and Oak Ridge national laboratories. An exaflop is a thousand times faster than a petaflop, itself a thousand times faster than a teraflop. Teraflop computers —the first was developed 10 years ago at Sandia — currently are the state of the art. They do trillions of calculations a second. Exaflop computers would perform a million trillion calculations per second. Fri, 22 Feb 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080221162405.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080214153532.htm Tools developed by researchers exploring language and speech comprehension can be powerful aids for remedial readers, children with language challenges, and anyone learning a second language, according to psychologists. Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080214153532.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080208095158.htm Human-computer interaction has not improved enormously since Mark Twain's time, when the typewriter was invented. A European research task force hopes to change that by making human-computer interaction, well, 'similar' to the way humans do it. Mark Twain famously invested, and then lost, a fortune on the first typewriter, in 1874. Since then, human-computer interaction has moved beyond basic key-entry (here, the mouse is the most pervasive development), but the keyboard's legacy lives on. We are still using Qwerty, a layout designed to slow down the typist's speed, because the mechanical keys would jam together if pressed in rapid succession. Mon, 11 Feb 2008 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080208095158.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080208095559.htm Human-computer interaction has not improved enormously since Mark Twain's time, when the typewriter was invented. A European research task force hopes to change that by making human-computer interaction, well, 'similar' to the way humans do it. Mark Twain famously invested, and then lost, a fortune on the first typewriter, in 1874. Since then, human-computer interaction has moved beyond basic key-entry (here, the mouse is the most pervasive development), but the keyboard's legacy lives on. We are still using Qwerty, a layout designed to slow down the typist's speed, because the mechanical keys would jam together if pressed in rapid succession. Sun, 10 Feb 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080208095559.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080201093341.htm A new approach to cleaning up digital photos and other images has been developed by researchers in the UK and Jordan. The method uses a computer algorithm known as a PSO to intelligently boost contrast and detail in an image without distorting the underlying features. Sun, 03 Feb 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080201093341.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080124233657.htm For years, scientists have been trying to teach computers how to see like humans, and recent research has seemed to show computers making progress in recognizing visual objects. A new study, however, cautions that this apparent success may be misleading because the tests being used are inadvertently stacked in favor of computers. Thu, 31 Jan 2008 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080124233657.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080126100444.htm A new computer program developed by Stanford computer scientists, can take any two-dimensional image and create a three-dimensional "fly around" model of its content, giving viewers access to the scene's depth and a range of points of view. Mon, 28 Jan 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080126100444.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125232552.htm A young researcher has developed algorithms that give a computer the possibility of recognizing a face, even if only one picture is taken. The results can be used for safe and secure identity control or, on the light side, to find out to which famous persons you look alike. If a non-authorized person gets access to your pin code and credit card, most likely your money will disappear from your account. Nevertheless, this would be impossible if the ATM could recognize your face as you look at a camera. Now, the algorithms to carry out this function, face recognition, exist. Face recognition can also be used in other functions, for instance in a dating service. Maybe the customer is interested in a man that looks like Brad Pitt or a woman that looks like Angelina Jolie. Mon, 28 Jan 2008 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080125232552.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080124092529.htm A computer scientist has developed new techniques that make it easier to combine programming languages. Thanks to these techniques, software is no longer sensitive to the most common method of misuse by hackers: so-called injection attacks. Fri, 25 Jan 2008 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080124092529.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080121130202.htm European researchers took the concepts of Web 2.0, like user-generated content and social networking, into the real world. They hope to create user-generated physical networks so internets could be set up, by anyone, anytime. It's radical and, surprisingly, fairly realistic. Welcome to Web 3.0. The internet, Web 1.0, is so incredibly powerful that even now, almost 20 years later, we have only begun to explore its potential. Web 2.0, with its YouTube, Facebook, Flickr and blogs galore is even younger and shows even more potential. Tue, 22 Jan 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080121130202.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080116095531.htm Computer programs may be the most accurate tool for studying acoustic communications amongst animals. New software is able to classify dog barks according to different situations and even identify barks from individual dogs, a task humans find challenging. Sat, 19 Jan 2008 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080116095531.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080112080851.htm Think how many lives could be saved if emergency services were alerted the moment a pedestrian is run over. Think how much more fun snowboarding could be if you could emote your feelings electronically to ski-buddies. Breakthroughs in capturing and transmitting ambient intelligence could make these scenarios a reality. The My Space/Facebook phenomenon has shown how we love to share personal information. But will we take the next step and share our feelings and emotions across the ether? Whether it is sensors on our skin, in our clothing or embedded in the environment, research into ambient intelligence is advancing in leaps and bounds. We could soon be using technology in a whole new, human-centric way. Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080112080851.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080112081743.htm During the festive season, high streets and shopping malls across Europe were packed with shoppers armed with mobile phones. But the big crowds in small areas put intense strain on mobile networks, causing connection failures and reduced quality of service. Better network resource management offers a low-cost solution. The need for greater network capacity has been a constant concern of mobile operators as mobile phone traffic has increased in recent years and new data services have become available. There are two main ways to meet the demand: invest in costly new infrastructure or improve the way you manage the resources you have. Mon, 14 Jan 2008 02:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080112081743.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080107121923.htm New technology that protects Internet advertisers from "click fraud" -- falsely driving up hits to ads on Web pages. The extra clicks drive up costs for pay-per-click advertising. Tue, 08 Jan 2008 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080107121923.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080102222813.htm Researchers, using machine learning and brain imaging, have found a way to identify where people's thoughts and perceptions of familiar objects originate in the brain by identifying the patterns of brain activity associated with the objects. Scientists were also able to accurately determine which of the 10 drawings a participant was viewing based on their characteristic whole-brain neural activation patterns. Fri, 04 Jan 2008 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080102222813.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071221225708.htm Keyboards are a necessary part of today's computers, right? Maybe not for much longer. A group of scientists have used acoustic sensors to turn wooden tabletops and even three-dimensional objects into a new type of computer interface. Sound vibrating a windowpane or through a tabletop is something most people experience daily. Sound waves travel well through most solid materials. Now, researchers have exploited the excellent propagation of sound waves through solids to turn everyday objects -- including 3D objects -- into a new kind of computer interface. Sun, 30 Dec 2007 20:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071221225708.htm