[From MIT’s Technology Review] The Avatar Will See You Now Medical centers are testing new, friendly ways to reduce the need for office visits by extending their reach into patients’ homes. By Jessica Leber on June 10, 2013 Most patients who enter the gym of the San Mateo Medical Center in California are there to work with physical therapists. But a few who had knee replacements are being coached by a digital avatar instead. The avatar, Molly, interviews them in Spanish or English about the levels of pain they feel as a video guides them through exercises, while the 3-D…

[From SPACE.com, where the story includes a photo gallery] Mock Mars Mission Will Test Stresses of Red Planet Living by Clara Moskowitz, SPACE.com Assistant Managing Editor Date: 03 June 2013 The question of how people can live and work together well on a mission to Mars may turn out to be one of the biggest challenges of deep-space exploration. To simulate the experience of a crew stuck inside cramped quarters under stressful conditions, a nonprofit is planning a one-year mock Mars mission in the Arctic. The mission, to begin in July 2014, is being planned by the Mars Society, an…

[From Handy Shipping Guide] New Virtual Reality Programme Can Influence Multimodal Freight Designs Jaguar Land Rover Partnerships Aim at Putting UK in the Forefront of Conceptual Vehicle Production 07 June 2013 UK – Jaguar Land Rover and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), along with four of the UK’s leading universities, have announced a £10 million virtual engineering research programme which will aim to improve the quality and capabilities of simulation, using sights, sounds and even smells to make virtual simulation more realistic. Engineering projects such as this could have a major impact on the design of future…

[From Gizmag, where the story includes many additional images] Mind-controlled quadcopter flies using imaginary fists By David Szondy June 8, 2013 Researchers at the University of Minnesota have done away with all that tedious joystick work by developing a mind-controlled quadcopter. It may seem like the top item of next year’s Christmas list, but it also serves a very practical purpose. Using a skullcap fitted with a Brain Computer Interface (BCI), the University’s College of Science and Engineering hopes to develop ways for people suffering from paralysis or neurodegenerative diseases to employ thought to control wheelchairs and other devices.…

[From CNET, where the story includes many images and a video] [Image: It’s been a long road bringing digital eyewear and other wearable technologies out of the shadows, but they are poised to take off at warp speed within the next decade. (Credit: Dan Farber/Augmented Reality Expo)] The next big thing in tech: Augmented reality The wearable revolution is heading beyond Google Glass, fitness tracking and health monitoring. The future is wearables that conjure up a digital layer in real space to “augment” reality. by Dan Farber June 7, 2013 SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Reality isn’t what is used to…

[Satire from The Onion] New, Improved Google Maps Lets User Launch Missile At Any Location On Globe ISSUE 49•22 • May 29, 2013 MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA—Tech giant Google announced Wednesday that their newest version of Maps will enable users to fire a missile at any location on the planet. “Simply zoom in on any point on the map, set the crosshairs, and tap the ‘Launch’ button, and a Google satellite will immediately send an ASM cruise missile accurate within 5 feet,” said Maps product manager Jason Murawski, adding that the feature is available on both iPhone iOS and Android operating…