[From the Spring 2009 issue of Brain Matters on the web site of the UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth] Face Reality in the Virtual World T. Boone Pickens stood in front of a large computer monitor and smiled. On the screen, a 3D model of a character (called an avatar) that extraordinarily resembled him returned the identical smile, down to the slight tilt of the head, in real time. Then the renowned entrepreneur, philanthropist, and generous supporter of the UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth frowned. His computerized doppelganger flashed him the exact scowl in return. The prescient businessman with the…

[From the News & Events section of the web site of The University of Warwick] Virtual reality games could help bullying victims Monday November 9, 2009 Virtual reality games could help children to escape victimisation and bullying at school, according to researchers at the University of Warwick. Children who took part in a three-week anti-bullying virtual learning intervention in schools in the UK and Germany showed a 26% decrease in victimisation. In the study, published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Maria Sapouna and Professor Dieter Wolke from Warwick Medical School and the Department of Psychology at the…

[From The Financial Times] Playing Stravinsky with a full orchestra By Hannah Nepil Published: November 6 2009 22:50 I brandish a stick and wallop a bass-drum 11 times in quick succession. “Very good,” remarks David Corkhill, principal percussionist of the Philharmonia. This would be encouraging, were my mentor not merely a recorded image on a flat screen. Re-Rite: Be the Orchestra, an installation-cum-exhibition that opened last Tuesday, offers the chance, according to its creator Esa-Pekka Salonen, “to understand the physical reality of being inside an orchestra”. Since becoming principal conductor of the Philharmonia in September 2008, the Finnish maestro has…

[From Delmarva Now; more information about the Fourmation project is available here] Web designer’s college work wins award By Brian Shane, Staff Writer, November 5, 2009 OCEAN CITY — A local graphic designer was part of a design team that won an international award recognizing an innovative project completed using Wii video game controllers. Nick Deimler, 22, and four of his fellow Drexel University digital media majors created a video game for their senior project. It uses infrared technology inherent in the Nintendo Wii video game system to create a new game that immerses the player in a 3-D virtual…

[From Gizmag (“invention, innovation and emerging technologies in all fields of human endeavour”); the web version of this story contains video segments] GOOD THINKING Take a stroll through virtual reality on the CyberWalk omni-directional treadmill By Darren Quick November 4, 2009 PST Jogging on the spot has gone high tech thanks to an omni-directional treadmill that allows you to walk in any direction while staying centered on the treadmill. When coupled with virtual reality (VR) technology it offers the potential for truly natural walking and immersion in virtual environments.…

[From the web site of Zest Audio; more information about Lightstep Technologies follows below] Community Simulates Disaster for Life Safety Zest Audio has recently completed the installation of a high power Community sound system for the demonstration facilities of Lightstep Technologies at their Belfast headquarters. Lightstep produce innovative products to help people escape from life threatening situations. Following many well publicised disasters in recent years, involving major loss of life in high rise buildings, nightclubs, underground stations and at sea, Lightstep has developed systems that represent a significant step forward in Life Safety systems. Much has been done to improve…

[A press release from Media-Newswire] Video Game to Help Urban Teens Avoid HIV Infection Focus of Nearly $4 Million Grant To Yale New Haven, Conn. – Creating a video game to help teens avoid sex, drugs and alcohol use-behaviors that could lead to HIV infection-is the aim of a five-year, $3.9 million research grant to Yale from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The grant, to be paid out over five years, will fund work by Lynn Fiellin, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine. (Media-Newswire.com) – New Haven, Conn. –…

[From The Vancouver Sun] Butting out in virtual reality may have real-life results By Linda Nguyen, Canwest News Service October 28, 2009 Our actions in virtual reality may subconsciously lead to changes to real-life addictive behaviours, according to a group of Quebec researchers. A recent study by the GRAP Occupational Psychology Clinic and University of Quebec in Gatineau found that smokers who destroyed cigarettes in a virtual-reality environment many times over a period of months reported having less of a tobacco addiction than those who were assigned another virtual-reality task. The theory behind the study, published in the current issue…