[From Businessweek; a 4:06 minute video is available on YouTube;  more information is on the project’s web site] Toyota Robot Booked for First Conversation With Human in Space By Anna Mukai June 26, 2013 Toyota Motor Corp. said a robot it co-developed will have the first human-robot conversation in space as part of a project to make machines that can interact with and assist people living alone. “This is one small step for me, but one giant leap for robots,” the 13-inch-tall humanoid robot named Kirobo said at a briefing in Tokyo after being unveiled to the theme song of…

[From Complex, where the post includes additional images. For more see the project’s blog] Vatican Museums Provides Virtual-Reality Tour of 2,600-Year-Old Tomb (Video) By Justin Ray | Jun 26, 2013 It may be time to make a trip to the Vatican Museums. A pan-European team has created a walk-in, virtual reality tour of the famous Etruscan tomb called the Regolini-Galassi. Although the tomb is not open to the public, for the first time people will be able to experience the tomb via the replica. The Vatican is going futuristic, with the project known as Etruscanning 3D.…

[From The Atlantic] [Image: Brian Moore tests out the VirtuSphere. (Brian Lane Winfield Moore/Flickr)] The Quest for Seamless, High-Quality Virtual Reality One of the greatest challenges for creating a feeling of “presence” has long been physical obstacles such as your sofa. Now, a handful of companies are building devices designed to let you move freely in place. Chris Baraniuk Jun 25 2013 “I put on the head-mounted display and I was very disappointed because all I saw were fat pixels. You know, nothing was interesting,” says Mel Slater, a professor at University College London and a world expert in virtual…

[From The Guardian; see New Scientist for more coverage] Dance and digital projection: Bring on the virtual rhinos It’s disturbing. It’s hallucinatory. And it could be the shape of things to come. Judith Mackrell watches a show that turns dance into a digital dreamscape Judith Mackrell The Guardian, Sunday 23 June 2013 In a converted industrial space on the fringes of Paris’s 13th arrondissement, an assortment of dance, design and technology experts are watching the latest work by the French company Le Théâtre du Corps. What they see is not so much a dance piece as an expensive and beguiling…

[From Digital Energy Journal] Using 3D virtual environments for training UK company Languagelab helped Tengizchevroil staff learn English up to four times faster than with classroom training, by using virtual reality training. Thursday, June 13, 2013 For Kazakhstan oil company Tengizchevroil (TCO), Languagelab created a system that could be used for both health and safety (HSE) and language training. ‘We worked with them to create a bespoke course for their English language needs, and as the engagement that they had from their students was so much higher that any of their previous online solution providers, they chose to offer our…

[From the Cornell Chronicle; much more information, including a video, is available at the links below. Many media stories about this emphasize the robot’s ability to serve beer at the appropriate time; a few note potential applications for telepresence robots] Think ahead: Robots anticipate human actions By Bill Steele Apr. 29, 2013 A robot in Cornell’s Personal Robotics Lab has learned to foresee human action and adjust accordingly. The robot was programmed to refill a person’s cup when it was nearly empty. To do this the robot must plan its movements in advance and then follow the plan. But if…

[From Datamation; reminiscent of Jean Baudrillard’s ideas on simulation] [Image: From Google I/O, May 2013, San Francisco] How Google is Turning Maps Into Virtual Reality The Waze acquisition could bring more user-generated data to Google Maps. June 12, 2013 By Mike Elgan Why did Google, the company that already has the best maps product and the most users, spend a billion dollars to buy a tiny maps startup called Waze that has a fraction of the users ? Why would mighty Google need Waze’s puny map, app or user base? The short answer is that Google didn’t buy Waze’s ability to…

[From TAXI, where the post includes many more images; for even more information and images, see Danny Choo. Are these in Mori’s ‘uncanny valley’? Would viewing a doll of yourself evoke self-presence?] Japanese Cloning Factory Lets You Create 3D Doll Versions Of Yourself By Anthea Quay, 13 Jun 2013 In Akhibara, Japan, a company called “Clone Factory” lets you create 3D-printed doll versions of yourself—and even your pets. To create these mini 3D replicas, Clone Factory uses multiple DSLR cameras to take photos of a person’s or an animal’s face from different angles, computers to stitch the pictures and data…

[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.…