[From here]

Dolby Atmos surround sound technology could transform video games

Dolby Laboratories introduces Dolby Atmos, surround sound that can create terrifyingly realistic noise environments.

April 24, 2012 By Anthony John Agnello

Dolby Laboratories wants to scare the crap out of you. The famous sound system designer unveiled its latest surround sound technology on Monday, and its implications for entertainment, particularly horror, are hair-raising. Dolby Atmos will be implemented first in movie theaters but the goal is to eventually bring the technology into the home where it will find its place in video games.

Described as Dolby’s “most significant innovation in years,” here’s how Dolby Atmos works. 64 speaker feeds are arranged around a theater. Unlike current speaker arrangements which pump in sound from the right and left sides of the theater to create a surround sound experience, Atmos pumps the sound from above and, as The New York Times puts it, “swirl” sound in any direction. Read more on New Dolby Atmos surround sound technology increases immersion, realism…

[From here and here]

Dr. Roboto? Interactive Teddy Bear Helps Kids Manage Diabetes

April 27, 2012 by Lauren Hockenson

Name: Jerry the Bear

Big Idea: Jerry the Bear is a robotic teddy bear that “has” diabetes. Children are able to take care of Jerry by checking his blood glucose levels, giving him “insulin shots” and “feeding” him a variety of foods.

Why It’s Working: Targeted specifically to children living with type 1 diabetes, Jerry helps sick kids not only learn about the procedures that are performed on them daily but also empowers them to understand the importance of symptom-checking and self-care. Read more on Interactive teddy bear helps kids manage diabetes…

[From

Bilingual Robot Receptionist Helps University Students In Both English & Arabic

By Lamya Hussain on April 30, 2012

Researchers at the University of Carnegie Mellon in Qatar have created a prototype of a bilingual robot that is both effective and articulate while communicating with people. The “roboreceptionist” is able to answer the phone and note important messages. It is also able to direct visitors and students to different locations on campus and provide information on the weather. It is proficient in both English and Arabic making it accessible to the local population in the region.

Read more on Bilingual robot receptionist Hala 2 helps university students in Qatar…

[A press release from Altadyn via here]

ALTADYN® Adds Third Dimension to Facebook®

IRVINE, CA–(Marketwire – Apr 27, 2012) – Social Movie Watching in Your 3D Virtual Home, Social Photo Viewing of Your Holiday Pics During a Facebook^® Hangout With Friends and 3D Immersive Social Gaming Are Among Enabled Apps, Thanks to ALTADYN^®‘s Patent Pending Platform

ALTADYN^® the leading provider of 3D web technology, today announced a new development platform. Offered in PaaS mode (Platform as a Service) on the cloud, the new platform has been designed for web developers, including Facebook^® app developers, who want to create easily accessible sophisticated applications where users enter 3D immersive spaces and socialize virtually with each other. Read more on Altadyn adds third dimension to Facebook…

[From

These Creepy Dolls Are Actually Real Humans

By Sam Biddle
Apr 20, 2012

Even if these were toys, [they'd] be super, super unsettling to look at. The dead eyes. The bleached skin. The lack of any discernible genitalia. But they’re flesh and blood humans, transformed into terrifying figurines [the photos are at the "Portraits & Fashion" link].

Read more on These creepy dolls are actually real humans…

[From Wired’s

Darpa to Troubled Soldiers: Meet Your New Simulated Therapist

By Katie Drummond
April 20, 2012

The Pentagon hasn’t made much progress in solving the PTSD crisis plaguing this generation of soldiers. Now it’s adding new staff members to the therapy teams tasked with spotting the signs of emotional pain and providing therapy to the beleaguered. Only this isn’t a typical hiring boost. The new therapists, Danger Room has learned, will be computer-generated “virtual humans,” used to offer diagnostics, and programmed to appear empathetic. Read more on Darpa to troubled soldiers: Meet your new simulated therapist…

[From here]

Out of the Box: USC Researchers Debut Smartphone 3-D Virtual Reality Viewer Made Out of Cardboard

Easy-to-assemble fold-out viewer transforms smartphones into portable immersive virtual reality systems. First 100 do-it-yourself VR viewers being distributed at IEEE Virtual Reality Conference in Orange County, March 4 – 8

March 05, 2012

Smart phones have endless applications that keep users connected to the real world. But researchers from the Mixed Reality (MxR) Lab at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies are developing ways to use these ubiquitous devices to transport people to virtual worlds as well.

Beginning Sunday, March 4, at the IEEE Virtual Reality Conference Workshop on Off-The-Shelf Virtual Reality, they began handing hundreds of manila envelopes, each containing a FOV2GO, a portable fold-out iPhone and Android viewer that turns the smartphone screen into a 3-D virtual reality system.  Downloadable software allows users to create their own virtual worlds or environments to display.

Developed with researchers from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the folded paper device, constructed for less than five dollars, is one of a growing number of do-it-yourself projects that are decreasing the overhead and hardware required for fully immersive virtual reality experiences.  These low-cost, lightweight systems can be used to create portable virtual reality applications for training, education, health and fitness, entertainment and more. Read more on FOV2GO: USC researchers debut smartphone 3-D virtual reality viewer made out of cardboard…

[From Fast Company's

Heady Gadget Lets You Simulate An Out-Of-Body Experience

If the soul left the body, what would that feel like?

Many religions claim that the body is just a vessel for the soul. And at death, the soul doesn’t die, but it leaves the body to go somewhere else. How would that moment feel? Obviously, there’s really no way to know. Or is there?

Faith Condition, by Lukas Franciszkiewicz, is an ongoing project that explores the role of technology in the future of faith. His initial plan was to alter self-perception by “blurring the boundaries between the real and a virtual body.” He wanted to simulate the out-of-body experience, so he built a video rig that used a rear-mounted camera combined with video glasses, to give someone a view of themselves from the outside. Then he improved his system, creating a 3-D image by upgrading to stereoscopic cameras.

“Seeing yourself from behind in an immersive way is a simple method to achieve a disembodied feeling. My awareness during the experiments was that our technological augmentation is already so present that you don’t question what you see,” Franciszkiewicz tells Co.Design. “So instead of experiencing telepresence, I created scenarios for an disembodied sense to think about the implications of technological augmentation [of religion].” Read more on Lukas Franciszkiewicz’s Faith Condition device lets you simulate an out-of-body experience…

[From Jason Godfrey’s blog

The final frontier?

When models have to compete with video game characters for jobs, it’s time for a re-think.

By Jason Godfrey
Sunday April 22, 2012

It’s tough being a model and it only gets tougher. Not only is competition among models for jobs incredibly fierce, but now models are competing against computers too.

Yep, this could be to modelling what Deep Blue beating Kasparov was to chess, but way less mentally straining. April’s issue of Arena Homme features Prada’s new spring/summer collection as modelled entirely by characters from a video game (designtaxi.com/news/352140/Video-Game-Characters-Get-Used-As-Prada-Fashion-Models/). Seriously.

Like models didn’t have it hard enough with all the major fashion cosmetics campaigns and major magazine covers going to celebrities – remember Tobey Maguire for Prada? – but now they are losing out to virtual celebrities? That’s a kick in the collective groin of live action mannequins everywhere. Read more on Final Fantasy video game characters model Prada: Time for a re-think…

[From

[Image: Susan Watts/New York Daily News]

Bloomingdale’s virtual reality windows let shoppers try on shades without wearing them

System gives a screen test on how you’ll look with the latest designer eyewear

By Gina Salamone / New York Daily News
Thursday, April 19, 2012

Window shopping is taking on a new meaning at Bloomingdale’s.

As they get ready for summer, busy New Yorkers now can try on sunglasses without stepping inside the store.

Virtual-reality technology projects designer shades onto shoppers who simply stand in front of the Lexington Ave. windows. Read more on Bloomingdale’s virtual reality windows let shoppers try on shades without wearing them…