[From Mashable] Oculus Rift Used to Simulate Decapitation by Guillotine By Stan Schroeder May 7, 2013 We’ve seen the virtual reality headset Oculus Rift take a 90-year old grandmother on a charming tour through Tuscany, but the device can also be used for other, much less pleasant experiences. In one very blatant example, users are going through the experience of being decapitated by a guillotine, a device used for executions, most famously in the 18th century during the French Revolution. This Oculus Rift experience, created during the Exile Game Jam by Erkki Trummal, André Berlemont and Morten Brunbjerg, is dubbed…

[From The Philadelphia Inquirer, where the story includes additional images] [Image: Rolling Game Station, a 32-foot trailer loaded with video games, went to Zachary Jordan’s house in Douglassville for his eighth-birthday party. It is one of at least five games on wheels operations in the area. (MICHAEL S. WIRTZ / Staff Photographer)] Parties favoring video games By Kristin E. Holmes, Inquirer Staff Writer May 05, 2013 It was Zachary Jordan’s eighth-birthday party, but cake and ice cream couldn’t compete. There was something much more delectable outside: Super Mario Bros. in the dark. Parked in front of Zachary’s Douglassville home was…

[From OnlineAthens, where the story includes additional images] [Image: B.J. Whimpey, left, rides a virtual reality bicycle while Ray Smith, one of the two designers, looks on at the Driftmier Engineering Center in Athens, Ga., Thursday, May 2, 2013. (AJ Reynolds/Staff) AJ Reynolds/OnlineAthens & The Athens Banner-Herald] Shooting, biking and space mining at UGA virtual reality showcase By Lee Shearer – Friday, May 3, 2013 The places were virtual, but the fun was real Thursday in a virtual-reality open house on the University of Georgia campus. Visitors could operate a robotic flyer, fire a Glock 9mm pistol complete with recoil,…

[From South Carolina’s The State] [Image: Other students such as Lexie Kinder’s good friend Hazel Kolb, front left, work on their shapes while Alice Drive Elementary third-grade teacher Ivey Smith, back left, talks to Lexie Kinder, a girl who has not been able to attend school in nearly two years, via the VGo robot, a robotic stand-in. Sumter School District is the first school district in the state to pilot VGo, a machine that allows a student to attend school and interact with others through a camera and audio. Jade Anderson — AP/The (Sumter) Item] Sumter girl attends school thanks…

[From Temple University] [Image: Temple researchers are creating a virtual therapist for people with aphasia. Conducting the two-year study are, from left, Justin Shi, associate professor of computer science; Nadine Martin, professor of communication sciences; and Emily Keshner, professor and chair of physical therapy.] Aphasia patients may soon get help using a virtual speech therapist Posted May 1, 2013 — Eryn Jelesiewicz When asked about her stroke, Debi L. Green pulls a worn scrap of paper out of her purse and points to “October 15, 2004.” The paper is a collection of dates, diagnoses and vital facts that helps her…

[From Science Network Western Australia; more information and images are available at the University of Western Australia in Second Life blog] [Image: Left to right: Avatars of Professor Stuart Bunt (UWA), Dr April Richardson-Hatcher (UK), D.Newton (UWA) and Matt Hazzard (UK) meet to launch the collaboration] Virtual reality examined for tertiary science learning A virtual reality teaching program by UWA and collaborators has received an international award for innovative learning using Second Life. Saturday, 20 April 2013 06:00 Now with funding from UWA’s Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning, Professor Stuart Bunt from School of Anatomy, Physiology and…