[From Ben Lang’s Road to Virtual Reality blog]

YEI Creates First Person Virtual Reality Demo With Full Body Tracking in Unreal Engine

Posted on 07 October 2012
By Ben Lang

The ultimate goal of virtual reality gaming is to convince players that they are actually the inhabitants of another world. A number of components are needed to make this a reality. While head mounted displays like the Oculus Rift bring us one step closer to feeling like we’re inside another world, there are yet more pieces to the puzzle; being able to naturally control the player-character — also referred to as body tracking or full avatar embodiment – within the game will be a massive jump in immersion compared to using the controllers of today’s video game consoles. A company called Yost Engineering Inc. (YEI) is now producing a set of low-cost high-precision wireless motion sensors which, when used in an array, can provide 1:1 body tracking in virtual reality games.… read more. “YEI creates first person virtual reality demo with full body tracking”

[Halloween approaches! From The Daily Mail, where the article includes many more pictures; more information and a 2:52 minute video is available on the artist’s blog]

Invasion of the giant spiders – Seattle ‘under attack’ from creatures painted on to buildings

By Kerry Mcqueeney
14 September 2012

It’s the stuff of nightmares for arachnophobes: Giant eight-legged creatures, crawling over the rooftop of a building, seemingly waiting to pounce on their next victim.

But this is no arachnid invasion. It’s an optical illusion so realistic it’s enough to make the bravest soul’s skin crawl.

These images painted on top of a warehouse in Seattle of harvestman arachnids – otherwise known as a Daddy Long Legs – seemingly spring to life when viewed from a particular angle.

When seen at roof-level, they appear to be nothing more than an innocent work of art.… read more. “Seattle ‘under attack’ from giant eight-legged creatures painted on buildings”

[From The WCF Courier, where the story includes images]

After-school program exposes local students to virtual reality

October 7, 2012
By Emily Christensen

CEDAR FALLS — The teeth of a John Deere combine poke out into a dark theater.

Students raise their arms and try to touch the behemoth as it floats what seems like inches from their faces. But their efforts are futile. Their hands can’t grasp the 3-D image on the screen in front of them.

But their imaginations can.

Nearly 50 Cedar Falls elementary and junior high students recently traveled to Iowa State University in Ames to learn more about virtual reality and how it can help them bring their own ideas to life.

The trip was coordinated by Cedar Falls schools Superintendent Mike Wells to get students excited about a new after-school virtual reality program in the Cedar Valley.… read more. “After-school program exposes students to virtual reality”

[From Mashable, where the story includes a 0:55 minute video]

Travel Through 2,000 Years of Paris’ History With Interactive 3D Model

October 5, 2012 by Zoe Fox

If you’re a fan of time travel, exploring cities, history or virtual reality experiences, you’re going to love the latest project from Dassault Systèmes. With the help of historians and archeologists, Dassault has created Paris 3d, an interactive model that transports any Internet user through two millennia of the city’s history.

See how the French capital developed since its Roman conquest in 52 BC until the present day. Witness the construction of the Bastille and Notre Dame, navigate through winding stone streets in the middle ages and visit the 1889 World’s Fair to see the revelation of the Eiffel Tower.

“This is the first time we have a digital model of Paris, and this virtual model is a big advantage over what we’d had in the past,” says Mehdi Tayoubi, VP of design and experimental strategy at Dassault Systèmes, told Mashable.… read more. “Travel through 2,000 years of Paris’ history with interactive 3D model”

[From The Miami Student; more information is available in The HIVE: A Huge Immersive Virtual Environment for research in spatial cognition (in press) (pdf).]

Students explore virtual reality in HIVE

By Samantha Wargolet for The Miami Student

Published: Tuesday, October 2, 2012

Participants enter a grocery store full of food with a shopping list in hand, and a timer begins to count down from six minutes. As they walk around the aisles, it is slightly difficult to walk straight, and the items on the shelf are impossible to pick up. These shoppers are not at your local Kroger; they are in Miami University’s Huge Immersive Virtual Environment, also known as the HIVE.

Eric Bachmann, associate professor of computer science and software engineering, and David Waller, associate professor of psychology, have created a virtual environment with the world’s largest tracking area.… read more. “Students explore virtual reality in Miami University’s Huge Immersive Virtual Environment (HIVE)”