[From NBC Bay Area, where the story includes an impressive 2:07 minute video] Los Altos School District Tries Out Virtual Reality in the Classroom By Jessica Aguirre and Barb Kunz Friday, May 2, 2014 The STEM Lab (short for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) at Gardner Bullis Elementary School in Los Altos is the site of an unusual class project. “So my animal was a dolphin,” sixth grader Adam Mekay explains to a first grader. Adam and his classmates are among the first kids in the country to use a new 3D educational display. “These are some of the body…

[From Playstation Blog, where the post includes more pictures] First Look at Project CARS on PS] Posted by Andy Tudor on May 01, 2014 // Creative Director, Slightly Mad Studios If you haven’t heard about it already, Project CARS is a bit different. Different in the philosophy of freedom that runs throughout the entire game, and different in how it’s being created — by YOU, the gamers! Project CARS was conceived back in October 2011 (Wow, time flies!) as a natural continuation of our work on two of racing’s biggest franchises — Need For Speed and Test Drive — and…

[From Business Insider, where the story includes another image] [Image: A man tries the Oculus Rift headset at Facebook’s F8 conference. Credit: Kyle Russell/Business Insider] Oculus Rift Will Finally Go On Sale To Consumers Next Year Jim Edwards Apr. 30, 2014 An Oculus Rift virtual reality headset for consumers could go on sale next year, a company representative told Business Insider at Facebook’s F8 developer conference today. Management at Oculus VR, the Irvine, Calif.-company that Facebook bought for $2 billion earlier this year, will be “disappointed” if it doesn’t have a headset available at retail for ordinary people by 2016, according…

[From Gigaom, where the story includes more images and a 1:01 minute video; a 2:46 minute BBC News report is available here; both reports touch only briefly on how people respond to the robot] [Image: CEO William Santana Li with a K5. Photo by Signe Brewster.] The K5 security robot will begin patrolling one Silicon Valley campus this year By Signe Brewster Feb. 25, 2014 The Knightscope K5 robot’s 5-foot-tall bullet-shaped frame is impressive. Studded with cameras and sensors and colored Stormtrooper black and white, it really is imposing. But that’s the point: It’s a robot cop, and it doesn’t…

[From The Hollywood Reporter] [Image: Atlantic Productions/Zoo] British TV Producer Creating Virtual Reality Narratives for Sony and Oculus Rift Atlantic Productions, the company behind the BAFTA-winning “Flying Monsters 3D,” is working on documentary, animated and dramatic pilots for Oculus Rift and Sony’s Project Morpheus. 4/25/2014 by Adrian Pennington British TV producer Atlantic Productions, the company behind natural-history documentaries fronted by Sir David Attenborough (Galapagos, Kingdom of Plants and the BAFTA-winning Flying Monsters 3D) is pioneering virtual-reality narrative content. It includes documentary, CG and drama pilots in development for Facebook’s virtual-reality headgear-maker Oculus Rift and for Sony’s Project Morpheus. Anthony Geffen,…

[From Fast Company’s Co.Create, where the post includes a 1:01 minute video] This Interactive Site Gives You A Taste Of What It’s Like To Drown By Jeff Beer April 22, 2014 French marine clothing and safety brand Guy Cotten takes the scared straight approach to life jacket awareness. Summer is approaching and with it the migration of millions of people to the coast to enjoy the sun and the sea. Guy Cotten, a French marine clothing and safety equipment brand, is taking the opportunity to dramatically remind us that when it comes to boating, a life jacket is necessary no…

[From Fast Company’s Co.Create, where the story includes more pictures and two short videos, “Lucid Dreaming” and “Reality of the Virtual”] Dreaming With Your Eyes Open: How Humans Are Hardwired For Stories Brain Games host Jason Silva explains the transformation that occurs when we’re immersed in a story, and what makes an effective storyteller. By Joe Berkowitz April 23, 2014 Talking to Jason Silva might make your head spin. Perhaps not quite in the same manner as the possessed child at the center of The Exorcist, but something closer to the way the film itself does a number on audiences.…

[From The Rift Arcade, where the story includes a 12:54 minute video –  the last segment, beginning at 9:50, is particularly worth watching] How the Oculus Rift helped Roberta Firstenberg battle cancer 17 Apr, 2014 Tom Rudderham “I can’t believe it. I mean, you hear about things that like that, and you think you’re all prepared for it, and it’s like dropping into a mirage… into a new life… it’s beautiful… it’s awe-inspiring.” –Roberta Firstenberg By the end of 2013, Roberta Firstenberg was losing her battle with cancer. After several months of radiation therapy and chemotherapy, she was told that…

[From The Verge, where the story includes a 3:18 minute video; for a related story, see  “Oculus Rift Now Lets You Ride the ‘Back to the Future’ Hoverboard” at Mashable] Explore the bridge of ‘Star Trek: Voyager’ through Oculus Rift By Jacob Kastrenakes on April 21, 2014 The Oculus Rift has been used to transport people everywhere from Jerry Seinfeld’s fictional apartment to another human’s body, and over the weekend, one developer began taking gamers someplace even a bit further from reality: to the bridge of Star Trek: Voyager‘s famous ship. The new virtual reality demo lets you walk around a fairly accurate…

[From Wired, where the story includes more images and a video] [Image: Honda’s newest version of its advanced humanoid robot, ASIMO, signs with its hands during a demonstration for media outlets at the Westin Grand Central Hotel in Manhattan. Andrew White/WIRED] Watch the Astounding Dexterity of Honda’s Dancing Humanoid Robot By Tim Moynihan  04.19.14 Even in today’s rapidly evolving world of technology, there are few things that make your jaw drop when you see them in real life. Honda’s ASIMO is one of those things. When you witness this bipedal humanoid robot hopping in a circle on one foot, taking…

[From BBC News, where the story includes more images and a 0:22 minute video; a longer video is available on YouTube] Cyborg glasses save users the need to control emotions By Leo Kelion Technology desk editor 16 April 2014 As Google continues to stoke excitement for its Glass smart-eyewear, a Japanese researcher has developed a radical alternative. Rather than focus on what the owner sees, Prof Hirotaka Osawa’s kit shows computer-generated eye animations in place of the wearer’s real ones. Special lenses let the user see out or take a secret nap if they prefer. The professor said the glasses…

[From Robohub, where the story includes additional images] [Image: Chris Anderson interviews Edward Snowden, who appears at TED 2014 in Vancouver via BEAM telepresence robot from an unknown location in Russia.] Snowden BEAMs into TED: How robotic telepresence disrupts borders by Hallie Siegel and Andra Keay March 19, 2014 Travel in some parts of the world, or for some people, can be dangerous, but robots may soon change that. Yesterday former-NSA-contractor-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden “walked” onto the TED stage in Vancouver via BEAM telepresence robot, while safely stationed out of the US government’s reach in Russia. It was the first time…