[From The Associated Press via The Las Vegas Sun; a 1:55 minute video report is available from KTNV in Las Vegas] Billboard with dummy on noose shocks Las Vegas drivers Michelle Rindels, Associated Press Published Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2012 Even by Las Vegas standards, it was a shocking billboard: A mannequin dangling on a hangman’s noose below a black sign with the ominous words “Dying for Work.” Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Jeremie Elliott says the 911 calls started coming in as the sun came up early Wednesday, with drivers worried the stiff, black-suited dummy swaying at the end of a rope…

[From Gizmag, where the story includes more images and a 3:52 minute video] Disney Research’s gloveless REVEL system adds virtual textures to physical objects By Brian Dodson August 13, 2012 Having long been successful with “talkies,” Disney has developed technology that could allow the creation of “feelies.” While designed more for touchscreens than the silver screen, the REVEL system developed at Disney Research uses reverse electrovibration to bring computerized control over the sense of touch, thereby allowing programmers to change the feel of real-world surfaces and objects without requiring users to wear special gloves or use force-feedback devices.…

[From The Huffington Post, where the story includes images and a video] ‘You, Robot’: Personal Robots For The Masses Lucas Kavner Posted: 07/09/2012 Updated: 07/18/2012 Along a winding dirt road, just west of the Lincoln Gap in Bristol, Vt., sit two big yellow houses on a sprawling property featuring ten solar panels, a dock overlooking a sunlit, trout-filled pond, and porches adorned with rocking chairs. In the smaller of the two houses lives Bina-48, one of the most renowned and highly sought after humanoid robots in America. She (or “it,” depending on your preference) is truly a sight to behold.…

[From TechNewsDaily; more information is available in an article in USA Today] Mars Rover Curiosity Tells Her Story on Twitter by Leslie Meredith, Senior Writer, TechNewsDaily 03 August 2012 “I’m in good health & on course for landing. Countdown to Mars: 3 days!,” said NASA’s Curiosity Rover on Twitter. Okay, so the rover is not really tweeting from space. The voice of Curiosity is the combined effort of three women, led by NASA’s social media manager Veronica McGregor, who told TechNewsDaily that they work as a “hivemind” to communicate on behalf of the rover. All three refer to Curiosity as…

[From Goldsmiths, University of London] Video game characters with natural responses to human body language Published: 06 August 2012 Researchers at Goldsmiths, University of London have been using theatre performers to design computer software capable of reading and replicating the way in which humans communicate with their bodies. Dr Marco Gillies from the Department of Computing has made virtual characters more believable by enlisting actors to teach them body movement. The actors interact with members of the public through a screen, and their responses to specific body language are memorised as algorithms by the software.…

[From The Lost Remote] Logitech launches TV Cam HD for living room video chats: Built-in Skype, 720p, $200 By Sharif Sakr posted Aug 3rd 2012 If Cisco’s ill-fated Umi video conferencing system had been more like this, would it have survived? Logitech is about to find out, one way or the other, once its TV Cam HD — recently spotted at the FCC — arrives in the US this month. The $199.99 device hooks up to your TV and contains all the processing power needed to run Skype and transmit wide-angle, 720p footage of your couch over WiFi or Ethernet.…