[From Gizmodo; a 1:08 minute video is at BoingBoing; more examples of this type of augmented reality are available at Victor Petit’s web site]

Talking Comic Books Take All Of the Imagination Out Of It

Andrew Liszewski
Jul 7, 2012

We’re not ones to hold back the march of technology, even when it comes to our beloved comic books. Having them electronically delivered to our beautiful retina display devices is a dream come true. But we can’t help but raise an eyebrow at Valiant Entertainment’s new talking comic book cover.

Created for issue #1 of the company’s X-O Manowar comic, to be fair, the comic doesn’t actually include any kind of speaker technology like a musical greeting card. Instead, readers are encouraged to place their iPhone on the cover, where—thanks to augmented reality tricks—the character’s mouth is replaced with an animated version that provides a prelude to the comic’s story.… read more. “Valiant Entertainment’s new talking comic book cover”

[From FotoRater; more details follow below]

The camera that lets you take pictures with your eye

by Marc Cameron on Jun 27, 2012

Steven Spielberg’s superior dystopian thriller Minority Report is famous for showcasing a number of future technologies that are now either a reality or close to being one, including multi-touch interfaces, retina scanners and customised advertising boards. It’s made the previously unthinkable a real possibility, which is why we’re excited about the arrival of the Minority Report-esque IRIS – an eye-controlled camera. Could it also become a reality? We wouldn’t bet against it!

Designed by Royal College of Art student Mimi Zou, the IRIS camera will be controlled by its owner’s eye, understanding the image they want to capture by tracking their eyeball. It’s a fascinating and timely technological proposal, which not only seems plausible because of current developments in the world of technology but, similar to Google’s Project Glass, would satisfy the current demand for lighter, smaller technology products consumers can use while on the move.… read more. “The camera that lets you take pictures with your eye”

[From news@Northeastern; much more information is available from PublicVR]

[Image: Two Northeastern University digital media students have made crucial contributions to an interactive virtual reality experience called “The Egyptian Oracle,” in which avatars, live actors and audience members reenact an authentic Egyptian ceremony.]

A virtual-reality history lesson

July 11, 2012 by Jason Kornwitz

Two Northeastern University digital media students have made crucial contributions to an interactive virtual-reality experience called “The Egyptian Oracle,” in which avatars, live actors and audience members reenact an authentic Egyptian ceremony.

The show will be performed in the Raytheon Amphithe­ater on Friday at 7 p.m.

Ajayan Nambiar, CPS’11, and Siddhesh Pandit, CPS’12, both of whom earned master’s degrees in digital media, completed theses on their contributions to the project. Nambiar designed the show’s surround- sound system, which utilizes the Doppler effect to enhance the environment’s sense of depth and realism.… read more. “Avatars, live actors and audience members reenact an authentic Egyptian ceremony”

[From PC Magazine]

Scientists Demo Thought-Controlled Robots

By Adario Strange
July 9, 2012

In the 2009 film Surrogates, based on the popular graphic novel, Bruce Willis is shown struggling in a world dominated by realistic robot avatars controlled by humans sitting comfortably in their homes. Often injured or somehow disfigured, opting to interact with the world from a distance, the people are shown seamlessly operating their metal doppelgangers via a brain link apparatus that goes mostly unexplained in the film.

Now, a team of researchers based in laboratories around the globe, have developed a system similar to the one depicted in the film, designed to assist the chronically bedridden and those suffering from paralysis.

The development represents the first time an fMRI (Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) machine has been used to allow a person to control a robot’s movements simply by thinking of a command.… read more. “Scientists demo thought-controlled robots”

[From BostInno]

MIT’s Media Lab Brings Watching Movies at Home to a Whole New, Immersive Level [Video]

June 24th, 2012 by Lauren Landry

People run to the theater to see 3-D movies, why? Sure, because Avatar looks cool, but also because they want to be immersed in the experience, making their way through Pandora and helping protect the world alongside long-legged, blue-bellied supernatural creatures. Yet, what if you could achieve a similar experience at home without ever having to throw on a pair of cardboard glasses?

Over at the MIT Media Lab, in the Object-Based Media research group, V. Michael Bove Jr. and Daniel Novy have developed a way to expand the home-video viewing experience by latching on to your peripheral vision. Using open source computer vision tool kits to analyze video on a per-frame basis, they were able to create a seamless extension of the primary content, giving the impression that the scene wraps completely around the person watching it.… read more. “MIT Media Lab’s Infinity-by-Nine brings whole new level of immersion to home viewing”