[From The Albuquerque Journal via TMCnews] IMMERSED IN POSSIBILITIES: Duke City firm thinking beyond military applications for surround-imagery Multifunction Dome technology (Albuquerque Journal (NM) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) May 3–It doesn’t take much to imagine the commercial potential for the technology Albuquerque’s Game Production Services developed for a first-of-its-kind training simulator for the U.S. Army. The company recently announced the completion of the Multifunction Dome, an 18-foot-high, 37-foot-wide platform that employs 84 projectors and ultrasurround sound system to create a 360-degree “immersive environment” for the Army’s Air Defense School at Fort Sill, Okla. For now, the $3.5 million dome will…

[From the Mother Nature Network’s Green Tech blog by Karl Burkart; a 2:20 minute video is here] Winscape: Virtual reality windows are here Who needs nature when you can have virtual reality windows that simulate any setting with the flick of an iPhone app? Fri, Apr 30 2010 At first I thought this was a fake video, albeit a super-cool one. But in actuality it is totally real … well in the virtual sense of the word. Call it trompe l’oeil for the 21st century — Winscape can create the illusion that your living room windows look out over the Golden…

[From MIT’s Technology Review Editors blog; the story includes a 1 minute video]    Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Augmented-Reality Floor Tiling Take a walk on a floor that gives tactile, audio and visual feedback. By Kristina Grifantini Researchers at McGill University in Montreal, Canada have developed floor tiles that can simulate the look, sound and feel of snow, grass or pebbles underfoot. Such a tool could perhaps be used for augmented reality applications, tele-presence, training, rehabilitation or even as virtual foot controllers. The modular “haptic” floor tiling system is made up of a deformable plate suspended on a platform. Between…

[From LiveScience] Culture Men Show Off to Impress Women Even in Virtual Setting By Charles Q. Choi, LiveScience Contributor posted: 27 April 2010 Even in virtual-reality settings, men will take risks to impress the opposite sex. Past research found that males take more risks when someone is watching. However, it was uncertain whether this showing off was aimed more at other males or females. For instance, male pedestrians are more likely to cross busy roads if females are watching, but male drivers are less likely to wear seatbelts if male passengers are present. “Risk-taking is a significant cause of vandalism,…

[From netimperative (“Intelligence for Digital Business”); a summary of the report (in anAcrobat .pdf file) is available here]   Report: Are virtual holidays going to replace real ones? A generation of ‘Go-Nowhere Gamers’ could turn their back on out-of-home leisure in favour of gaming, social networking, and ‘always on’ media unless the travel industry responds to their needs, says a report commissioned by lastminute.com. Apr 26, 2010 The Future of Free Time report, produced by the online travel and leisure retailer in association with think-tank Future Foundation, looks at how travel and free time will change over the next five…

[From National Public Radio (NPR); the online story includes an audio version] Using Virtual Reality To Make Nuclear Reality Safer by Mike Shuster April 26, 2010 At Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico — home of the first American atomic bomb — scientists are using video-game technology to enhance training for the inspectors who monitor civilian nuclear activities around the world. The goal is to use virtual models of nuclear facilities to provide much more realistic training — an effort to revolutionize global efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.…