[From The New York Times, where the story includes two videos; more information is available from Magic Leap] [Image: The start-up Magic Leap, using a different approach called a digital light field, could seamlessly place a swimming shark in an office setting.] Real-Life Illness in a Virtual World By John Markoff July 14, 2014 FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA. — A 3-D animated creature, affectionately named Gerald, appears to walk in circles while floating in front of an elaborate viewer that resembles something from an optometrist’s office. Though only half a foot high, and with four arms, he looks remarkably lifelike through…

[From Mashable, where the story includes more images and two videos] Jibo Wants to Be the World’s First Family Robot Lance Ulanoff July 15, 2014 Social robots. That’s pretty much all Dr. Cynthia Breazeal has thought about for the past 20 years. Not so much how to build a better robot, but how to build one that could work and live alongside humans. It sounds like a simple concept, but it’s not; perhaps that is why it has taken her all these years to finally deliver a consumer product: Jibo, the world’s first family robot. Jibo is a desktop robot…

[From Polygon, where the story includes the 5:58 minute demonstration video mentioned at the end along with a 3:45 minute video review of the “South Park: The Stick of Truth” game] Oculus Rift experiment lets you become a citizen of South Park By Jenna Pitcher on Jul 03, 2014 Oculus Rift users can now walk around as a citizen in a recreation of animation series South Park thanks to a virtual reality project developed by production company Tool. “We started with three goals in mind for the experiment,” Tool’s explanation reads. “One, from a tech point of view, to sharpen…

[From The Sydney Morning Herald, where the story includes more images and a 1:18 minute video] [Image: Pressing on in Hawaii, via Scenic Cycle’s Sydney spinning studio. Photo: Brendan Esposito] Scenic Cycle: Ride the world in virtual reality July 9, 2014 Stephen Lacey with Steve Colquhoun I’m huffing and puffing up one of the most iconic climbs in cycling folklore: the Alpe D’Huez in the French Alps. The mountain is a mainstay of the Tour de France and it’s definitely one that separates the sprinters from the climbers. Who can ever forget Marco Pantani’s battle with Jan Ullrich in 1997?…

[From the Los Angeles Times; more information is available from This Place and an article in BBC News, which includes a short video interview] London firm creates mind-controlled commands for Google Glass Salvador Rodriguez July 11, 2014 Forget voice commands and touch gestures: A London firm has developed a way for Google Glass users to control their devices just by thinking. This Place, an agency that specializes in creating user interfaces and experiences for programs used in the medical industry, developed a software called MindRDR that allows Google Glass to connect with the Neurosky MindWave Mobile EEG biosensor, a head-mounted…

[From Forbes] [Image: Raghuram Sukumar experiences the YouVisit Oculus Rift virtual college tour; a description and 1 minute video are available at Happy Schools] Virtual Reality And The Brave New World Of College Recruiting Chase Peterson-Withorn 7/07/2014 As colleges and universities face an increasingly tech-savvy applicant pool, many recruiters are seeking out novel ways to speak the new generation’s language. The launch of the Common Application in 1975 – and later online version in 1998 – was one of the most expansive attempts schools made toward revolutionizing the college admissions process. Originally 15 schools participated and last year it processed more…