[From BBC News, where the story includes more pictures and a 1:09 minute video of the Podrift being set up and tested; for more information see the Podrift web site] Podrift: Is podcasting ripe for virtual reality? By Dougal Shaw Technology reporter 20 October 2014 The key to podcasting’s success is, arguably, its simplicity. A new technology called Podrift wants to revolutionise the genre by giving it the virtual reality treatment – but is it just a gimmick? Imagine if instead of just listening to the Ricky Gervais Show podcast, you could step into a virtual 3D world created by…

[From BBC News; an impressive 1:36 minute video is available on YouTube] [Image: Daniel Shafrir hopes Andy can transform education about space] Robot will beam live Moon pictures to Oculus users By Jane Wakefield, Technology reporter 21 October 2014 Scientists at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a robot which they plan to land on the Moon to act as eyes for Earth-bound space enthusiasts. The project is part of a $30m prize from Google offered to a team that can send video back from the moon. The robot has already been shown to potential investors, including Apollo 9 astronaut Rusty…

[From Bright Side of News, where the story includes more pictures and a 2:48 minute video] Dexmo Exoskeletons Bring Sensation of Touch to VR With the advent of hand-fitted exoskeletons, Dexta Robotics wants to bring the sensation of touch to virtual reality. Derek Strickland – October 1, 2014 Consumers will soon be able to actually feel digital objects in virtual reality. A tech firm known as Dexta Robotics is crafting the Dexmo F2, a specially-made exoskeleton that folds over a users hand to simulate the sensation of touch in VR environments. The device will apparently be compatible with the Oculus…

[From The New York Times, where the story includes more drawings] [Image: By Louie Chin] To Siri, With Love How One Boy With Autism Became BFF With Apple’s Siri By Judith Newman October 17, 2014 Just how bad a mother am I? I wondered, as I watched my 13-year-old son deep in conversation with Siri. Gus has autism, and Siri, Apple’s “intelligent personal assistant” on the iPhone, is currently his BFF. Obsessed with weather formations, Gus had spent the hour parsing the difference between isolated and scattered thunderstorms — an hour in which, thank God, I didn’t have to discuss…

[A press release from Dartmouth College via EurekAlert!] Houston: We have a problem…but no worries, our virtual therapist is on it Dartmouth researchers adding new virtual reality to mental health treatment for astronauts October 14, 2014 Hiking in the mountains or lying on the beach are good ways to relieve stress on Earth, but on spaceflights there’s no way to get back to nature. Astronauts feeling stressed on long-duration flights, however, may soon find computerized solace in the form of a virtual reality-based relaxation system being developed by Dartmouth researchers and their colleagues. Since 2001, Dartmouth, Harvard, UCLA and The…

[From MIT’s Technology Review, where the story includes a different image. Bina was featured in a (satirical) segment of the The Colbert Report on June 10, 2014. The 1989 episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation titled Measure of a Man highlighted many of these issues; a key scene is available on YouTube] [Image: Source] Q&A with Futurist Martine Rothblatt If computers think for themselves, should they have human rights? By Antonio Regalado on October 20, 2014 Bina48 is a robotic head that looks and speaks like a person—it moves its lips and runs conversational software. Although the robot isn’t…

[From NDTV; a summary and the full report are available from Pew Research] [Image: Source] Ultrafast Internet to Open New Possibilities Like ‘Telepresence’: Experts Agence France-Presse, October 10, 2014 Superfast Internet connections are likely open up new kinds of communication such as “telepresence” and improve services such as remote health care, a survey of experts showed Thursday. The ultrafast connections, expected to be widely deployed in the coming years, can open up a range of possibilities by delivering “immersive” experiences and virtual reality, according to the experts polled by the Pew Research Center and Elon University. “People’s basic interactions and…

[From PSFK, where the story includes several more pictures and a 3:46 minute video] Try On Phone-Synced, Effects-Heavy Mask Just in Time for Halloween These tricking and treating items work hand-in-hand (or eye-in-socket) with your mobile to create cringe-worthy FX By Leo Lutero on October 10, 2014 The Digital Dudz mask line offers an easy-to-use smartphone insert that lets your phone save a rather run-of-the-mill monster mask. By downloading the free Digital Dudz app, you can play video loops of restless eyeballs, throbbing hearts or pulsating wounds and use these as the highlight of your spooky get-up. The mind behind…

[From ExtremeTech, where the story includes more images] Virtual reality, the death of morality, and the perils of making the virtual ever more real By Sebastian Anthony on October 10, 2014 As the technology that underpins virtual reality develops and the experiences become increasingly more real, I’ve been pondering a particularly morbid thought: When will we have the first VR-induced death? Will a realistic rocket launcher blast in Team Fortress 2 or VR version of Silent Hill give you a heart attack? Will watching the chase sequence in Casino Royale in full VR 3D pump enough adrenaline into your system…

[From Re/code, where the story includes two videos] Google Set to Lead Huge Investment in Magic Leap and Its “Cinematic Reality” October 13, 2014 By Liz Gannes and Peter Kafka Google and other investors are planning a huge investment in Magic Leap, a secretive but boastful company building hardware and software it says will deliver “cinematic reality.” Sources say Google is leading what could be a $500 million funding round for the Florida-based company; Andreessen Horowitz may be one of the other investors in the consortium. Magic Leap already announced $50 million in funding earlier this year. Google, Andreessen Horowitz…

[From WVAS FM, where the post includes another picture and a 4:55 minute video] Domesticated Robots And The Art Of Being Human September 29, 2014 By Tania Lombrozo In the 1960s — well before Spike Jonze’s Samantha — MIT computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum introduced the world to Eliza, a psychotherapist (of sorts) who interacted with people through a text interface. She’s still around today. In preparing this post, I asked her what makes us human. “Are such questions on your mind often?” she replied. Eliza is a computer program — one of the first “chat bots” and an example of…

[From The Hollywood Reporter] Future of Film: Even Bigger Screens and, Yep, Cinema Selfies A panoramic theater opens in L.A. on Sept. 19 as other new tech includes live audience interaction onscreen 09/02/2014 by Carolyn Giardina As exhibitors try to fend off competition from ever-bigger home theater systems, movie houses may soon take their cues from the ’50s. Back then, to counter the arrival of TV, Hollywood retaliated by offering bigger — and wider — images onscreen, culminating in Cinerama. That panoramic theater configuration, which faded out by the end of the ’60s, left behind the landmark Cinerama Dome on…