ScienceDaily: Software News

Four microphones and a computer algorithm are enough to produce a 3-D model of a simple, convex room

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 16:08:08 EDT

An algorithm makes it possible to measure the dimensions of a room using just a few microphones and a snap of your fingers. There are many promising applications on the horizon.

Automated 'coach' could help with social interactions

Fri, 14 Jun 2013 12:56:56 EDT

A new software system could help people improve their conversational and interview skills.

Building more sustainable aircrafts

Thu, 13 Jun 2013 09:22:22 EDT

Life Cycle Assessments of components can help make aircraft production more sustainable. The decisive factor is making the data available at an early stage. Thanks to a new eco design software, these data are now available even at the design stage.

Effective privacy protection in social networks

Tue, 11 Jun 2013 08:42:42 EDT

Researchers are working on new methods to help them gain a better understanding of the usage habits of participants in social networks. The results will be incorporated in the development of userfriendly tools for privacy protection.

Firefighting robot paints 3-D thermal imaging picture for rescuers

Wed, 05 Jun 2013 14:44:44 EDT

Engineers have developed new image processing techniques for rapid exploration and characterization of structural fires by small Segway-like robotic vehicles. A sophisticated on-board software system takes the thermal data recorded by the robot's small infrared camera and maps it onto a 3-D scene constructed from the images taken by a pair of stereo RGB cameras.

Credit card fraudsters quickly exposed

Mon, 03 Jun 2013 09:17:17 EDT

A look at your account balance has just given you a shock: what’s going on here? While you have spent the last few weeks in the office and definitely haven’t traveled abroad, your account balance shows that you bought electronics in Turkey and ate out in France. In such situations, customers just have to call their banks to get their money back. But this often means that the banks lose the money. How can credit cards be better protected?

Android antiviral products easily evaded

Thu, 30 May 2013 13:25:25 EDT

Think your antivirus product is keeping your Android safe? Think again. Ten of the top Android antiviral products are rendered useless by the simplest attacks.

Advanced biological computer developed

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:03:03 EDT

Using only biomolecules, scientists have developed and constructed an advanced biological transducer, a computing machine capable of manipulating genetic codes, and using the output as new input for subsequent computations.

New software spots, isolates cyber-attacks to protect networked control systems

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:29:29 EDT

Researchers have developed a software algorithm that detects and isolates cyber-attacks on networked control systems -- which are used to coordinate transportation, power and other infrastructure across the United States.

IT industry ignores silver surfers at its peril: Design for seniors to tap market, industry urged

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:14:14 EDT

Hardware and software vendors are foolish to ignore the needs of the growing population of older computer and information technology users, the so-called "silver surfers." US researchers offer convincing evidence that from the business perspective, seniors represent a rapidly growing sector of the market with the most disposable income to spend on these companies' products.

Benefit vs. risk of facial recognition technology

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:32:32 EDT

Law enforcement agencies are using facial recognition software as a crime-fighting tool. Now businesses are looking to use the technology to reach customers. But a professor questions whether customers are ready for it.

An electronic nose can tell pears and apples apart

Wed, 08 May 2013 09:28:28 EDT

Engineers have created a system of sensors that detects fruit odors more effectively than the human sense of smell. For now, the device can distinguish between the odors compounds emitted by pears and apples. Scientists have created an electronic nose with 32 sensors that can identify the odors given off by chopped pears and apples.

Older is wiser: Study shows software developers' skills improve over time

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:48:48 EDT

There is a perception in some tech circles that older programmers aren't able to keep pace with rapidly changing technology, and that they are discriminated against in the software field. But a new study indicates that the knowledge and skills of programmers actually improve over time -- and that older programmers know as much (or more) than their younger peers when it comes to recent software platforms.

Tracking gunfire with a smartphone

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 21:38:38 EDT

A team of computer engineers has developed an inexpensive hardware module and related software that can transform an Android smartphone into a simple shooter location system.

'Survival of the fittest' now applies to computers: Surprising similarities found between genetic and computer codes

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:16:16 EDT

"Survival of the fittest" originally referred to natural selection in biological systems, but new research shows that this evolutionary theory also applies to technological systems.

Technique finds software bugs in surgical robots and helps developers fix flaws, ensure safety

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 10:33:33 EDT

Surgical robots could make some types of surgery safer and more effective, but proving that the software controlling these machines works as intended is problematic. Researchers have demonstrated that methods for reliably detecting software bugs and ultimately verifying software safety can be applied successfully to this breed of robot.

New information services quickly

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:12:12 EDT

Be it Smartphone apps, monitoring the temperature of food stuffs or help against product piracy, setting up new services is costly. In the future, the NSEB service engineering platform intends to simplify that.

Finding instead of searching

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:12:12 EDT

It is easy to lose track of things in large storage facilities but not at the wind turbine manufacturer Enercon‘s facility in Magdeburg though, where a positioning system with digital inventory management increases transparency and expedites processes.

Plastic film is the future of 3-D on-the-go

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 09:07:07 EDT

Ditch the 3-D glasses. Thanks to a simple plastic filter, mobile device users can now view unprecedented, distortion-free, brilliant 3-D content with the naked eye. This latest innovation from TP and IMRE is the first ever glasses-free 3-D accessory that can display content in both portrait and landscape mode, and measures less than 0.1 mm in thickness.Mobile device users will soon be able to view brilliant 3-D content with the naked eye with a nano-engineered screen protector that turns ordinary mobile screens into 3-D displays. The unique plastic film can also potentially be used as next generation security tokens employed by banks and corporations.

Molecular geometry, new field in the making

Thu, 21 Mar 2013 08:13:13 EDT

Scientists are working towards creating a new field called Molecular Geometry which provides geometrical solutions within the study of molecules.

Software for new cancer screening method developed

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 17:57:57 EDT

Women may one day have a more accurate, less expensive means of detecting breast cancer, thanks in part to new software. Microwave tomography imaging, or MTI, has the potential to produce an image capable of finding cancer, even in women with dense breast tissue.

Dynamic new software improves care of aging brain

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:11:11 EDT

Innovative medical records software will provide more personalized health care for older adult patients, a population at significant risk for mental health decline and disorders.

Signal processing: Look-up tables to shoulder the processing load

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:16:16 EDT

Computing tasks for signal processing could be performed more quickly with less power by using look-up tables.

Predictive Analysis: New generation of computational intelligence systems

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:55:55 EDT

Large parts of our lives are now being monitored and analysed by computers. Log on to Amazon and intelligent data analysis software can recommend a selection of books you might like to read. Far from being a sinister intrusion into people's privacy, the purpose of these systems is to improve our lives, experts say.

Open software platform to bring down energy costs

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:54:54 EDT

Energy is getting more and more expensive, and experts are predicting record electricity and heating prices. A software platform promises to lighten the load for households and businesses by making it easier for consumers to put renewables to good effect.

Hiding secret messages in email jokes

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 13:49:49 EDT

It is possible to hide secret messages in simple jokes, according to new research.

Spot the difference -- oranges and lemons

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:06:06 EST

A computer recognition system that is 99-percent accurate can identify different fruits and vegetables, even the particular strain of apples or plums, for instance. New research explains how challenging this issue has been until now and shows how it could be used in agricultural science and perhaps to improve efficiency in the growing and food industries as well as at the supermarket.

Hello car, what is the password?

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 09:35:35 EST

As cars get clever -- bristling with computer chips and networking capabilities -- an EU-funded project makes sure that your car's data stays safe and the networks are secure from hackers and tampering.

Creating your own animated 3-D characters and scenes for the web

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:03:03 EST

To show spatial animations on websites, developers so far have had only two options: to use special software or to implement it from scratch. Computer scientists have developed a declarative markup language which facilitates the creation of distinct spatial animations and ensures their smooth replay in the web browser.

New technology for animation film experts

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:19:19 EST

Hollywood devotes great effort to chasing monsters through realistic-looking environments. Researchers have now developed a technology that greatly simplifies the production of such scenes. Actors' movements are captured with a few cameras in a real scene and then transferred extremely realistically to virtual characters. This will not only simplify the work of cartoon makers, but also assist doctors and sportsmen with motion analysis.

Embracing social coding: Software development by the people, for the people

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:07:07 EST

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has leapt aboard the open-development train. Soon, anyone in the world will be able to easily tap into and contribute to the NCI's cancer informatics resources -- and the community will determine development priorities.

Quick, efficient chip cleans up common flaws in amateur photographs

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 12:12:12 EST

Smartphone snapshots could be instantly converted into professional-looking photographs with just the touch of a button, thanks to a new processor chip.

Largest known prime number discovered; has 17,425,170 digits

Wed, 13 Feb 2013 22:54:54 EST

On Jan. 25, the largest known prime number, 257,885,161-1, was discovered on Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search (GIMPS) volunteer Curtis Cooper's computer. The new prime number, 2 multiplied by itself 57,885,161 times, less one, has 17,425,170 digits. With 360,000 CPUs peaking at 150 trillion calculations per second, 17th-year GIMPS is the longest continuously-running global "grassroots supercomputing" project in Internet history.

New modeling approach transforms imaging technologies

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:34:34 EST

Researchers are improving the performance of technologies ranging from medical CT scanners to digital cameras using a system of models to extract specific information from huge collections of data and then reconstructing images like a jigsaw puzzle. The new approach is called model-based iterative reconstruction, or MBIR.

Gap geometry grasped: New algorithm elucidates structure of liquids and how they flow through porous media

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 09:04:04 EST

A new algorithm could help understand the structure of liquids, and how they flow through porous media. Theoretical physicists have now implemented an algorithm for analyzing void space in sphere packing, where the spheres need not all be the same size.

Checking out open access

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 15:29:29 EST

From Wikipedia to shareware, the Internet has made information and software more widely available than ever. At the heart of this explosion is the simple idea that information should be open and free for anyone. Yet with publishers charging exorbitant fees for subscriptions to academic journals, university libraries are struggling to keep up.

The ecological badminton robot: Optimizing energy efficiency in machine design

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 08:27:27 EST

A robot to play with! A childhood's dream has now come true for researchers in Belgium. Wim Symens and his team pioneered the development of the first robot ever to play badminton. But this robot is only a guinea pig to test a software application designed to optimize energy efficiency in machine design.

Grammar undercuts security of long computer passwords

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:35:35 EST

When writing or speaking, good grammar helps people make themselves be understood. But when used to concoct a long computer password, grammar -- good or bad -- provides crucial hints that can help someone crack that password, researchers have demonstrated.

Software package for all types of imaging

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 09:41:41 EST

Signal reconstruction algorithms can now be developed more elegantly because scientists have released a new software package for data analysis and imaging, NIFTY is useful for mapping in any number of dimensions or spherical projections without encoding the dimensional information in the algorithm itself. The advantage is that once a special method for image reconstruction has been programmed with NIFTY it can easily be applied to many other applications.

Novel gene-searching software improves accuracy in disease studies

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 16:21:21 EST

A novel software tool streamlines the detection of disease-causing CNVs through more sensitive detection methods and by automatically correcting for variations that reduce the accuracy of results in conventional software.

Unique software supports behavioural intervention programs

Mon, 21 Jan 2013 08:32:32 EST

The internet offers users a cost-effective way of accessing information and advice on any health problem, 24-hours a day. A group of social scientists has taken advantage of this by developing software which enables other researchers to easily create interactive internet-based intervention programs to support behavioral change. The software, known as LifeGuide, is being used in intervention programs, for example to quit smoking or manage weight loss.

Revolutionizing military manufacturing

Sun, 20 Jan 2013 14:58:58 EST

A new set of engineering software tools may revolutionize the process of designing and manufacturing military vehicles.

A history lesson from genes: Using DNA to tell us how populations change

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 15:11:11 EST

Researchers have developed a software model that can infer population history from modern DNA.

Smart search engines for news videos

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 09:57:57 EST

Searching for video recordings regularly pushes search engines to their limit. The truth of the matter is that purely automatic algorithms are not enough; user knowledge has to be harnessed, too. Now, researchers are making automated engines smarter.

Computer scientists find vulnerabilities in Cisco VoIP phones

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 15:50:50 EST

Researchers have found vulnerabilities in Cisco VoIP telephones, recently demonstrating how they can insert malicious code into a Cisco VoIP phone (any of the 14 Cisco Unified IP Phone models) and start eavesdropping on private conversations—not just on the phone but also in the phone’s surroundings—from anywhere in the world.

Turning smartphones into secure and versatile keys

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 13:09:09 EST

It's already possible to open doors using an app -- but we are a long way from seeing widespread acceptance of this in the market. Now, researchers have developed a piece of software that will make the technology even more secure and versatile.

Video analysis: Detecting text every which way

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 07:30:30 EST

Software that detects and extracts text from within video frames, making it searchable, is set to make a vast resource even more valuable.

Wireless communication’s crystal ball

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:09:09 EST

By now, wireless connections like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are just as commonplace in industry. Yet systems often interfere with one another as data is being exchanged. Now, "Awair" will not only detect available frequencies but will predict them, too.

From rats to people: Gaming platform used to compare memory impairments of rodents and humans with epilepsy

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 08:16:16 EST

A behavioral test widely used on rodents to study spatial learning and memory, the Morris water maze (MWM), was recreated using software developed to create custom video game environments. By creating a virtual reality analogue for humans, it was possible to obtain a direct comparison between the results of studies on a rodent model of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), whose spatial memory performance was found to be severely impaired, and patients with TLE.

Wireless networks: Mobile devices keep track

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 13:26:26 EST

A more sensitive technique for determining user position could lead to improved location-based mobile services.

IT building blocks for the ordinary person

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 07:57:57 EST

Would you like to create your own tourist guide? Or put together telecom services that give you better control of the everyday functions on your phone? We seem to be drowning in ‘intelligent things’ and IT services. In our smart home, we can use various applications to control the front door, TV, washing machine, vacuum, heating and blinds. Other apps enable us to find out what time the bus is leaving, or book a table at a restaurant. On the medical side, there are sensors that can monitor your heart rate, intelligent pill boxes that remember when you should take your medicine, and applications to notify relatives if an elderly person doesn’t get out of bed at their normal time. But what if you go on holiday, and want to be able to water the plants in your garden, or turn the heating on or off in a certain room when the weather changes?

Bug repellent for supercomputers proves effective

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 13:47:47 EST

Researchers have used the Stack Trace Analysis Tool, a highly scalable, lightweight tool to debug a program running more than one million MPI processes on the IBM Blue Gene/Q-based Sequoia supercomputer.

Georgia Tech Releases Cyber Threats Forecast for 2013

Wed, 14 Nov 2012 11:31:31 EST

The year ahead will feature new and increasingly sophisticated means to capture and exploit user data, escalating battles over the control of online information and continuous threats to the U.S. supply chain from global sources. Those were the findings released by the Georgia Tech Emerging Cyber Threats Report for 2013.

Looking for information? Turn the pages with just your eyes

Mon, 12 Nov 2012 09:04:04 EST

Putting on a pair of novel data glasses with an OLED microdisplay allows you to see not only the real world, but also a wealth of virtual information. Imagine looking through a repair manual; the trick here is that you turn the pages using just your eyes.

Software improves quality of sound for hearing aid users

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 13:16:16 EST

New software could greatly improve sound perception for users of hearing aids. The software prescribes the amount of amplification of high-frequency sounds required to restore the audibility of such sounds. This increases the frequency range of sound that individuals with hearing loss are able to detect, improving speech perception, sound localisation and the ability to hear certain musical sounds, when compared with current methods.

Dealing with power outages more efficiently

Wed, 07 Nov 2012 08:56:56 EST

When there is a power failure, the utility companies, public officials and emergency services must work together quickly. Researchers have created a new planning software product that enables all participants to be better prepared for emergency situations.

'Twitterzombie' helps researchers examine bite-sized pieces of Twitterverse

Wed, 31 Oct 2012 13:27:27 EDT

Researchers have created software that helps them capture and analyze the steady flow of data generated on Twitter.

New tool aims to ensure software security policies reflect user needs

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 21:03:03 EDT

Researchers have developed a new natural language processing tool that businesses or other customers can use to ensure that software developers have a clear idea of the security policies to be incorporated into new software products.

New soccer robot has human-like agility

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 14:28:28 EDT

Computer scientists have developed a new robot whose source code and design plan is publicly accessible. It is intended to facilitate the entry into research on humanoids, in particular, the TeenSize Class of the RoboCup. With its white head and black body, "NimbRo-OP" looks almost human and is very agile -- it has no problems kicking a soccer ball, and it can also get up from a prone position like a human.

Biology-friendly robot programming language: Training your robot the PaR-PaR way

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 12:45:45 EDT

PaR-PaR, a simple high-level, biology-friendly, robot-programming language uses an object-oriented approach to make it easier to integrate robotic equipment into biological laboratories. Effective robots can increase research productivity, lower costs and provide more reliable and reproducible experimental data.