[From The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies] Christmas 2062: A glimpse of changes to expect in the next 50 years Dick Pelletier Ethical Technology Posted: Dec 18, 2012 Hot chocolate, warm clothes, and wrapped presents under a tree, ‘tis once again the season to be jolly! We are familiar enough with the holidays as they are now; but what might Christmas be like in 50 years? Of course it’s impossible to predict with 100% accuracy how life will change in the next half century, but if we track today’s exponentially-advancing technologies; and then add some creative possibilities, we can…

[From China Daily] [Image: The winning “food printer” displayed in Beijing. The design won the “most-fun” award of the sixth Sony Student Design Workshop. Provided to China Daily Food for thought in innovation competition Student creates device to capture aroma of meal on a postcard 2012-07-23 By Liu Jie (China Daily) Zhu Jingxuan, a junior in the Fashion & Art Design Institute of Donghua University, loves gourmet food and travel, which inspired her to invent a curious device she calls a food printer. It’s a combination of camera, smell extractor and printer. During a trip, when people enjoy delicious and…

[From The Daytona Beach News-Journal] [Image: Senior Software Engineer Josh Faust, seen on screen, navigates his company’s office using a Beam remote presence system as fellow engineer Stephanie Lee, at right, works on a project. The Beam is a roving computer screen — with video cameras, microphones and speakers — that stands five feet and rides on motorized wheels. Associated Press] Telepresence robots let employees ‘beam’ into work Terence Chea, Associated Press December 25, 2012 PALO ALTO, Calif. — Engineer Dallas Goecker attends meetings, jokes with colleagues and roams the office building just like other employees at his company in…

[From Nanowerk News] [Image :The sellar floor as depicted by actual endoscopy (left) and by intraoperative Simulation of Transsphenoidal Endoscopic Pituitary Surgery (STEPS; right). The internal carotid arteries are rendered in the background (red). The suction device is displayed as a silhouette. Figure 4 from “Virtual Endoscopy in Neurosurgery: A Review” by Neubauer & Wolfsberger] Virtual reality and robotics in neurosurgery – promise and challenges Dec 21st, 2012 (Nanowerk News) Robotic technologies have the potential to help neurosurgeons perform precise, technically demanding operations, together with virtual reality environments to help them navigate through the brain, according to a special supplement…

[From CBC News, where you can watch a 1:19 minute video version of the story and a 0:58 minute sample of the Stadium’s yule log display; for more on digital yule logs, including another video, see “Create a digital Yule log with your Apple TV” at TechWire] Giant burning TV log sends Regina fire crews scrambling CBC News Nov 29, 2012 The Regina Fire Department has stopped fuming about a burning Yule log displayed at Mosaic Stadium’s giant TV screens, now that the football club has agreed to change the video. For weeks, the cheery image of the burning log…

[From DigInfo TV, where the story features a 2:31 minute video] Virtual Body Technology Uses 5 Senses 20 December 2012 Posted By Aki Tsukioka and Takuya Nakajima The Ikei Laboratory of Tokyo Metropolitan University Graduate School of System Design is developing virtual body technology that utilizes the five senses. In addition to using conventional audio and video footage, this technology can recreate smells as well as the feel of the wind and of stepping on the ground. “This exhibition of a virtual body is for the purpose of having a vicarious experience. This technology aims to enable various experiences as…