[From the Association of Virtual Worlds Forum] Just What Virtual Worlds Need: A New Paradigm – Live Video Avatars Posted by Craig McAllister on June 26, 2013 To many people, today’s avatars represent elaborate animations. Recently, however, much fanfare has been made about new technologies enabling animated avatars to mimic a wide range of users’ facial expressions. If you smile, your avatar smiles with you. If you frown, your avatar frowns. This development allegedly translates into greater realism. But is this realism “real” enough? If the objective is to make an avatar truly “real”, why not have it actually be…

[From ETH Zurich] [Image: Innovative software rotates the face of the person on screen during video conferences in order to make eye contact. (Photo: Computer Graphics Laboratory / ETH Zurich)] Skype eye contact finally possible Those separated from family and friends by long distances often use video conferencing services such as Skype in order to see each other when talking. But who hasn’t experienced the frustration of your counterpart not making direct eye contact during the conversation? A software prototype from the Computer Graphics Laboratory ETH Zurich may be able to help. Angelika Jacobs Published: 27.08.13 “We want to make…

[From the University of Washington] [Image: University of Washington researcher Rajesh Rao, left, plays a computer game with his mind. Across campus, researcher Andrea Stocco, right, wears a magnetic stimulation coil over the left motor cortex region of his brain. Stocco’s right index finger moved involuntarily to hit the “fire” button as part of the first human brain-to-brain interface demonstration.] Researcher controls colleague’s motions in 1st human brain-to-brain interface August 27, 2013 Doree Armstrong and Michelle Ma News and Information University of Washington researchers have performed what they believe is the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able…

[From Science Now, where the story includes a 90 second video] [Image: Body swap. Adults were transformed into a 4-year-old child (top) and a scaled-down adult (bottom) in a virtual reality simulation.] Virtual Reality Allows Adults to See World Through a Child’s Eyes 2013-07-15 When you’re a kid, everything seems huge. Teachers tower over you; playgrounds stretch on to infinity. Now, researchers have found a way to make grownups feel the same way. By placing volunteers in virtual reality, scientists are helping adults see the world through the eyes of a child. Virtual reality is more than an illusion. To…

[From New Scientist, where the story includes a 1:26 minute video; follow the “Shipping Gallery” link for a longer video] Virtual reality resurrects a defunct exhibition Using laser-scanning techniques, the Science Museum in London has created a faithful virtual tour of its shipping gallery, which shut last year 27 August 2013 by Shaoni Bhattacharya Magazine issue 2931 Have you ever longed to visit an exhibition that no longer exists? Now you can – virtually. The Science Museum in London has harnessed technology originally developed to study clouds, and used it to capture a now defunct gallery in exquisite detail. A…

[From the Guardian] [Image: England’s David Beckham misses a penalty against Portugal in the Euro 2004 quarter-final at Lisbon’s Estádio da Luz. Photograph: Jose Manuel Ribeiro/Reuters] Virtual reality simulators could end England’s penalty shootout woe Technology can recreate pressurised situations for footballers BAE Systems and UK Sport’s project to help Olympic hopefuls James Riach Friday 23 August 2013 Virtual reality simulators could be the solution to end England’s penalty shootout woe in major tournaments, with plans to replicate the pressurised atmosphere of a packed stadium potentially coming to the aid of players. Technology is being developed by engineering company BAE…