[From Ars Technica]

Microsoft researchers want to turn your hand into a touchscreen

By Jon Brodkin | Published October 19, 2011

Multitouch screens are so versatile and easy to use, why limit them to smartphones and tablets? Researchers have been working for several years to extend multitouch to arbitrary surfaces, but a project called OmniTouch from Microsoft Research and a PhD student at the Human-Computer Interaction Institute at Carnegie Mellon University may bring it closer to reality.

OmniTouch turns body parts and nearby surfaces into touch interfaces. Users can read and reply to an e-mail by touching their hands or a nearby wall, or even use multiple applications at once on multiple surfaces. The results from a user study “suggest our prototype system approaches the accuracy of conventional, physical touch screens, but on arbitrary, ad hoc surfaces,” the researchers say in a [3:24 minute] video.… read more. “OmniTouch turns body parts and nearby surfaces into touch interfaces”

[From The Daily Mail, where the story features many additional images; more information including a 2:28 minute video is available at PhysOrg.com]

[Image: A new generation: Geert Matthys, research and development manager at Barco, demonstrates the 360 degree view of the simulator]

The ultimate in virtual reality: New simulator which gives fighter pilots a 360-degree view of the world

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated 17th October 2011

A Belgian company has unveiled the ultimate fighter jet training tool: a fully immersive 360-degree flight simulator designed to reproduce reality exactly as a pilot sees it.

The dome is the first flight simulator to give trainee pilots a full, unobstructed 360 degree view of the world as they conduct virtual missions.

‘It’s not an improvement, it’s a new generation of simulators,’ Geert Matthys, research and development manager at Barco, said.… read more. “A new generation of flight simulators gives fighter pilots a 360-degree view of the world”

[From the FedLine blog of Federal Times; more information is available at the GSA’s telepresence web site here]

GSA virtual meeting centers open to agencies

October 14th, 2011 | Posted by Nicole Johnson

The General Services Administration’s 15 virtual meetings centers are finally open for business after months of delays.

In the face of shrinking travel budgets, GSA is encouraging agencies to reduce costs and greenhouse gas emissions by meeting virtually.

The telepresence centers, which opened earlier this month, cost $399 per hour per location, comparable to the price of public telepresence rooms. Public meeting rooms usually cost between $400 and $450 an hour, said Mark Barounos, CEO for Colorado-based Telepresence World.… read more. “US Government opens telepresence centers”

[From The Daily Mail, where the story includes many additional images]

Pencil vs reality… where do you draw the line? The incredible optical illusions created by artist

By Kerry Mcqueeney
Last updated 26th September 2011

You have often heard about art imitating life, but an artist has taken the saying to a whole new level with an incredible collection of drawings that reveal a masterful eye for illusion.

Reality meets fantasy in this amazing series of drawings which are to be exhibited at art shows in London next month.

Using expertly-drawn sketches, Belgian artist Ben Heine blends pencil, photography, imagination and reality – and the results are truly astonishing.… read more. “Artist Ben Heine blends pencil, photography, imagination and reality”

[From ScienceDaily; the article in PLoS ONE is here]

Talk to the Virtual Hands: Body Language of Both Speaker and Listener Affects Success in Virtual Reality Communication Game

ScienceDaily (Oct. 13, 2011) — Modern technology allows us to communicate in more ways than ever before, but this virtual communication usually lacks the body gestures so common in face-to-face interactions.

New research, published Oct. 12 in the online journal PLoS ONE, finds that the lack of gestural information from both speaker and listener limits successful communication in virtual environments.… read more. “Study: Body language of both speaker and listener affects success in VR communication”