[From The University of Western Ontario’s Western News, where the story includes an additional image]

Collaboration leads to ‘something special’

Article and photos by Paul Mayne
September 13, 2012

Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences professor Mandor Jog, director of the National Parkinson Foundation Centre of Excellence at London Health Sciences Centre, runs through the augmented immersion virtual reality project which helps researchers understand how patients with neurodegenerative conditions, such as Parkinson’s, navigate their environments.

In a non-descript room of an eerily quiet wing of South Street Hospital, Mandor Jog’s work may look like a game to some. But the outcome could have a tremendous impact when it comes to the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and other neurological movement disorders.

Patients with Parkinson’s struggle with multitasking. Activities like answering the door or getting out of bed involve a number of decisions that can be overwhelming, which puts them at high risk for falls and reduced mobility, said the professor in the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences at Western.… read more. “Augmented Immersion Virtual Reality (AIVR) helps researchers understand neurodegenerative conditions”

[From Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance]

Lake Forest Graduate School of Management Introduces the Next Generation of Online Learning

Avatars as Business-School Collaborators

Press Release: Lake Forest Graduate School of Management – Mon, Sep 10, 2012

LAKE FOREST, Ill.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Move over, gamers — avatars aren’t just for entertainment anymore. While most graduate business schools prepare their MBA students for the world of business that awaits them after graduation, Lake Forest Graduate School of Management (LFGSM) is changing the game by immersing a new cohort of students into that world of business through an innovative approach to learning. In LFGSM’s new Immersion MBA (iMBA) program, part-time students live out the experiences of business by being the primary actors in a simulated corporate environment where colleagues are avatars and business problems play out on the computer screen rather than through case studies in a classroom.… read more. “iMBA immerses students in a virtual-reality curriculum”

[From CVG; see Patently Apple for full details]

Ground-breaking Xbox 720 tech could turn rooms into 3D environments

Microsoft patent filing reveals new depth sensor and 360-degree interactive display

By Rob Crossley for CVG UK

Microsoft’s R&D division is working on a landmark display technology that will project a full 3D game environment across the walls of player’s bedrooms and living areas, a new patent filing shows.

A breakthrough device, known in the patent as an “environmental display”, will project 360-degree game worlds across all four walls of a room using advanced projection technology.

Crucially, the device will also boast a 3D depth camera, which it appears can calculate the player’s position by emitting infrared light patterns and registering where the player is blocking the signal. This is a similar technique used for Kinect.

But the patent suggests further immersion with the use of Kinect’s 3D camera, which can separately calculate the posture and various movements of the player.… read more. “Ground-breaking Xbox 720 tech could turn rooms into 3D environments”

[Remembering 9/11…  first from AirPano, where the panorama is available in several resolutions and formats , along with additional information]

New York. Remembering 9/11 • 360° Aerial Panorama

AirPano is a Moscow based non-commercial group of photo enthusiasts, dedicated to creating hi-resolution aerial panoramas.

Usually we photograph from a helicopter, however at times we use light jets, dirigibles, hot air balloons, and radio-controlled helicopters.

During upcoming 2 years AirPano team will create aerial photo panoramas and virtual tours of the most significant places of our planet. We have already made over 500 panoramas showing over 100 amazing locations of the world, which you can view on our website. AirPano.com features the largest number of panoramas in the world. All our panoramas are of the highest artistic and technical quality. New virtual tours are published on AirPano.com weekly.

—

[Another navigable panorama, from NBC News’ Photo blog, where the post also features additional images and information]

The National September 11 Memorial at dusk

A 360 degree panoramic image of the National September 11 Memorial.… read more. “Remembering 9/11”

[From IEEE Spectrum’s Automaton blog]

[Image: Logo from the We Robot 2012 conference]

Extending Legal Protection to Social Robots

Posted by: Kate Darling  /  Mon, September 10, 2012
Note: This is a guest post. The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not represent positions of Automaton, IEEE Spectrum, or the IEEE.

“Why do you cry, Gloria? Robbie was only a machine, just a nasty old machine. He wasn’t alive at all.”
“He was not no machine!” screamed Gloria fiercely and ungrammatically. “He was a person like you and me and he was my friend.”
– Isaac Asimov (1950)

Most discussions of “robot rights” play out in a seemingly distant, science-fictional future. While skeptics roll their eyes, advocates argue that technology will advance to the point where robots deserve moral consideration because they are “just like us,” sometimes referencing the movie Blade Runner.… read more. “Extending legal protection to social robots”

[From Electronic House; a press release and a 2:30 minute video are available here]

Virtual Reality, Voice Control on Display at Future Tech Pavilion

Cool video kitchen and customized entertainment also shown at CEDIA Expo simulated home.

September 05, 2012 | by Steven Castle

What will the Home of 2016 look like? CEDIA (Custom Electronic Design & Installation Association) gave us a peek of its vision at the Future Technology Pavilion on display this week at the trade group’s Expo in Indianapolis.

The pavilion brings visitors through a simulated day in the life with cutting-edge technology in the home office, gym, kitchen, bedroom, entertainment room and even a virtual reality room.… read more. “Telepresence, VR, voice control at Future Tech ‘home of 2016’ Expo”