[From SmartPlanet] Video: How ‘augmented reality’ will make boring cities beautiful By Christopher Mims | August 10, 2011 In the near future, as you stroll down the street, billboards and street signs will change to suit your interests. Ghostly arrows will float in the air, pointing you toward your destination. Buildings, vehicles, the apparel of those you pass, and the very fabric of the reality you perceive will all be as changeable as your wardrobe. That’s the vision of futurists and science fiction authors like Vernor Vinge, and increasingly, it’s the reality brought to us by ever-more-powerful mobile devices.…

[From Microsoft Research] A New Window to the Face By Douglas Gantenbein August 8, 2011 9:00 AM PT The human face is a complicated thing—powered by 52 muscles; contoured by the nose, eyebrows, and other features; and capable of an almost infinite range of expressions, from joy to anger to sorrow to puzzlement. Perhaps that is why realistic animation of the human face has been what Microsoft Research Asia scientist Xin Tong calls a “holy grail” of computer graphics. Decades of research in computer graphics have developed a number of techniques for capturing three-dimensional moving images of the human face.…

[From The Huffington Post] The Modern Meeting — Not a Place We Go, But a Thing We Do Brett Caine President, Citrix Online Posted: 8/9/11 I recently had the honor of writing the foreword for a new book, Read This Before Our Next Meeting, by Al Pittampalli, who offers a very interesting perspective on meeting culture in today’s workplace. Throughout the book, Pittampalli suggests that many of the meetings we attend throughout the day are a waste of time and prevent us from doing the real work at hand. To solve this problem, Pittampalli proposes the “Modern Meeting,” with seven…

[From The Cornell Chronicle; much more information including sample sounds are available via the links at the end] [Image: Rapid movement of heated gases generates high-frequency sounds that are an important part of the sound of fire, but computer-generated images don’t simulate those details. Cornell researchers synthesize low-frequency sounds to match the graphics, then map in the highs based on the sounds of real fire. Provided by Doug James] Computers synthesize sounds — from fire to frictional contact — to go with graphics Aug. 8, 2011 By Bill Steele Computer-generated imagery usually relies on recorded sound to complete the illusion.…

[From AP via The Houston Chronicle; a 1:08 minute video of the wedding is available here] [Image: Miguel Hanson, right, kisses his fiancee Diana Wesley by the computer Thursday, July 28, 2011, in Humble, Texas. (David J. Phillip – AP)] Computer to serve as minister at Houston wedding By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press July 29, 2011 HOUSTON — You could call it “My Big Fat Computer Geek Wedding.” When Miguel Hanson and Diana Wesley get married Saturday, they won’t stand before a gray haired minister holding a Bible. Instead, they’ll be looking at a 30-inch monitor. On one half…

[From BBC News] [Image from Citylife] Virtual people to get ID checks 28 July 2011 The faces and behaviour of online avatars could help identify the people controlling them, scientists believe. Using both characteristics, researchers hope to develop techniques for checking whether the digital characters are who they claim to be. Such information could be used in situations where login details are not visible or for law enforcement. Impersonation of avatars is expected to become a growing problem as real life and cyberspace increasingly merge.…