[From Bdaily] [Image: Emma-Jane Alexander, Coordinator at HIVE] University to develop 3D virtual reality wind turbine 14 Nov 2012 Miranda Dobson A virtual reality 3D “cave” created by the University of Hull has been commissioned to provide training for wind turbine engineers and green energy industries. The Higher Education Funding Council has awarded £240,000 to the University to develop the training facility in the Hull Immersive Visual Environment (HIVE), which will be used to simulate the most extreme and hostile conditions that workers in the green power industry face. Hull’s scheme is part of a multimillion pound investment in the…

[From Gamasutra] The Holodeck may be possible, but it’s going to need game designers November 13, 2012 | By Mathew Kumar Science fiction for many is mere fantasy and escapism, but Lee Sheldon—a writer and producer on Star Trek: The Next Generation and now an associate professor at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute—sees the fantasy of Star Trek’s Holodeck as entirely possible. With a seed grant, he and his team are working towards creating the Emergent Reality Lab, using modern technologies to create a “first-generation Holodeck.”…

[From Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; note that Mei Si presented her work at ISPR 2012] Rensselaer Launches Center To Explore Intersections of Science and Humanities Nov. 13 Launch of Center for Cognition, Communication, and Culture Features Demonstrations of Current Research Published November 12, 2012 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute today launched the Center for Cognition, Communication, and Culture (CCC) with a series of multimedia presentations and demonstrations of research in the initial core research areas: cross-modal displays, mixed reality, and synthetic characters. Now one of the 10 Institute-wide research centers at Rensselaer, CCC will focus on the intersections and interdependency of cognition, communication, and…

[From CONTROL; more information is available in the press release from Invensys] [Image: Field operators in the EYESIM environment can interact with simulated incidents like the gas leak shown here. And because both the simulated plant environment and control room are linked to the same underlying DYNSIM model, operators on both ends can be trained in effective communication.] Immersive Simulator Boosts Operator Preparedness SimSci-Esscor Solutions Help Train Clean-coal Plant Operators 10/22/2012 Operator training took on a new sense of realism this summer, when the U.S. Department of Energy started up its new immersive simulator at the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL)…

[From Religious Dispatches magazine] [Image: Apartment building on 8th Avenue between 14th and 15th Street. Credit: Gilad Lotan, @gilgul] Escape From Manhattan: Tech, Tragedy and Storytelling in Sandy’s Wake By Rachel Wagner November 2, 2012 Two weeks ago, I attended the New York Comic Con, braving the crowds of thousands to get a taste of what drives so many to invest so much in costume construction, role-play, and fan devotion to popular media franchises. And, because the convention ended not long before Halloween, I decided to compose a retrospective on America’s two favorite modes of imagination-driven investment in other worlds.…

[From Phys.org, where the story includes additional images and a 1:36 minute video] Build your own home theater for full-blast entertainment with ‘Virtual Sound Ball’ November 5, 2012 Watching a 3 dimensional (3D) film at home can be just as real and fun as going to a movie theater. Professor Yang-Hann Kim and Research Professor Jung-Woo Choi from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, KAIST, have succeeded in building an audio rendering system that will considerably improve the current 3D audio effects technology. 3D audio effects can be produced by stereo speakers, surround-sound speakers, speaker-arrays, or headphones, which essentially give an…

[From The Daily Mail] [Image: Inspiration? Elizabeth Behm-Morawitz said having a fit avatar on a game such as Second Life could help someone to visualise their weight-loss goal] Imagine yourself thin! How having a slim alter-ego online could help you lose weight By Daily Mail Reporter 7 November 2012 Fans of virtual reality games are often stereotyped as geeky introverts. But scientists say having an electronic doppelganger could actually improve a person’s health and appearance. Harnessing the power of the virtual world could even lead to new forms of obesity treatment, according to the team from the University of Missouri.…

[From TechNewsDaily] [Image: Users can control the display of these data glasses with their eye movements. Credit: Fraunhofer COMEDD] Your Eyes Can Control Augmented Reality Glasses TechNewsDaily Staff November 06 2012 The simple act of turning a page has begun to look outdated with iPads replacing books and manuals for many working professionals. But an augmented reality display similar to Google Glasses frees up wearers’ hands by allowing them to turn virtual pages using their eyes alone. Such a display comes in the form of futuristic glasses that allow wearers to see virtual maps, drawings or other images — up…

[From AnnArbor.com, where the story includes additional photos] [Image: Ted Hall, an advanced visualization specialist at the University of Michigan 3D Lab, demonstrates how MIDEN (Michigan Immersive Digital Experience Nexus) works. Courtney Sacco I AnnArbor.com] Tech Beat/With Gallery and Video: University of Michigan 3D Lab blurs line between virtual and reality By Ben Freed Business Reporter Posted on Fri, Nov 2, 2012 There’s a powerful room at the University of Michigan tucked away in the unassuming Duderstadt Center on North Campus. The “room” — three white walls and a floor — opens doors that could allow to you to fly…

[From UCL News] [Image: Virtual reality scene showing the participant’s and the rat’s virtual avatars.] Virtual reality ‘beaming’ technology transforms human-animal interaction 1 November 2012 Using cutting-edge virtual reality technology, researchers have ‘beamed’ a person into a rat facility allowing the rat and human to interact with each other on the same scale. Published today in PLOS ONE, the research enables the rat to interact with a rat-sized robot controlled by a human participant in a different location. At the same time, the human participant (who is in a virtual environment) interacts with a human-sized avatar that is controlled by…

[From The Age] [Image: Surreal experience … researchers are rapidly uncovering the tricks required to fool our brains into semi-believing a virtual world is real.] A glimpse of reality in the unreal world The line between fact and fiction is increasingly being distorted October 25, 2012 Graham Phillips I’ve glimpsed the future – and it’s disturbing. My insight came while giving a lecture to a group of students. I had their full attention for 100 per cent of the time. Indeed these eager young people never broke eye contact with me; they were hanging on my every word. It felt…

[From Iowa State University] SciEthics Interactive project to release free simulation, mid-November October 25, 2012 AMES, Iowa — More than ever before, scientists and engineers are faced with complex moral and ethical dilemmas. Unfortunately, university course offerings centered on ethical issues are not commonplace. To help educators address this curriculum shortcoming, researchers at Iowa State University and West Chester University of Pennsylvania are creating a virtual world where science and engineering students can confront ethical issues in an engaging and safe environment. Join educators from across the country as the first of these National Science Foundation-supported simulations is released to…