[From The Epoch Times] [Image: A six-legged robot from ArcBotics stands on a table at the Maker Faire on Sept. 29, 2012, at the New York Hall of Science in Queens, New York. Robots are gradually becoming more popular thanks to the DIY community. (Joshua Philipp/The Epoch Times)] What 2013 Holds for Technology Joshua Philipp Epoch Times Staff Created: December 24, 2012 Last Updated: January 1, 2013 By charting the course of technology over the last several years and predicting its continued path, it’s fair to say that we have an interesting year ahead of us. The largest shift will…

[From The Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies] Christmas 2062: A glimpse of changes to expect in the next 50 years Dick Pelletier Ethical Technology Posted: Dec 18, 2012 Hot chocolate, warm clothes, and wrapped presents under a tree, ‘tis once again the season to be jolly! We are familiar enough with the holidays as they are now; but what might Christmas be like in 50 years? Of course it’s impossible to predict with 100% accuracy how life will change in the next half century, but if we track today’s exponentially-advancing technologies; and then add some creative possibilities, we can…

[From China Daily] [Image: The winning “food printer” displayed in Beijing. The design won the “most-fun” award of the sixth Sony Student Design Workshop. Provided to China Daily Food for thought in innovation competition Student creates device to capture aroma of meal on a postcard 2012-07-23 By Liu Jie (China Daily) Zhu Jingxuan, a junior in the Fashion & Art Design Institute of Donghua University, loves gourmet food and travel, which inspired her to invent a curious device she calls a food printer. It’s a combination of camera, smell extractor and printer. During a trip, when people enjoy delicious and…

[From The Daytona Beach News-Journal] [Image: Senior Software Engineer Josh Faust, seen on screen, navigates his company’s office using a Beam remote presence system as fellow engineer Stephanie Lee, at right, works on a project. The Beam is a roving computer screen — with video cameras, microphones and speakers — that stands five feet and rides on motorized wheels. Associated Press] Telepresence robots let employees ‘beam’ into work Terence Chea, Associated Press December 25, 2012 PALO ALTO, Calif. — Engineer Dallas Goecker attends meetings, jokes with colleagues and roams the office building just like other employees at his company in…

[From Nanowerk News] [Image :The sellar floor as depicted by actual endoscopy (left) and by intraoperative Simulation of Transsphenoidal Endoscopic Pituitary Surgery (STEPS; right). The internal carotid arteries are rendered in the background (red). The suction device is displayed as a silhouette. Figure 4 from “Virtual Endoscopy in Neurosurgery: A Review” by Neubauer & Wolfsberger] Virtual reality and robotics in neurosurgery – promise and challenges Dec 21st, 2012 (Nanowerk News) Robotic technologies have the potential to help neurosurgeons perform precise, technically demanding operations, together with virtual reality environments to help them navigate through the brain, according to a special supplement…

[From CBC News, where you can watch a 1:19 minute video version of the story and a 0:58 minute sample of the Stadium’s yule log display; for more on digital yule logs, including another video, see “Create a digital Yule log with your Apple TV” at TechWire] Giant burning TV log sends Regina fire crews scrambling CBC News Nov 29, 2012 The Regina Fire Department has stopped fuming about a burning Yule log displayed at Mosaic Stadium’s giant TV screens, now that the football club has agreed to change the video. For weeks, the cheery image of the burning log…

[From DigInfo TV, where the story features a 2:31 minute video] Virtual Body Technology Uses 5 Senses 20 December 2012 Posted By Aki Tsukioka and Takuya Nakajima The Ikei Laboratory of Tokyo Metropolitan University Graduate School of System Design is developing virtual body technology that utilizes the five senses. In addition to using conventional audio and video footage, this technology can recreate smells as well as the feel of the wind and of stepping on the ground. “This exhibition of a virtual body is for the purpose of having a vicarious experience. This technology aims to enable various experiences as…

[From Mashable, where the story includes videos and more images] 7 Ways Augmented Reality Will Improve Your Life Lauren Drell December 190, 2012 You might think augmented reality is the way of the future, but really, it has its roots in the 20th century. Morton Heilig, the “Father of Virtual Reality,” patented the Sensorama Stimulator, which he called an “experience theater,” on Aug. 28, 1962. Over time, the idea of using technology to create a layer over the real world has been honed and refined and put in our palms, thanks to the proliferation of smartphones. Confused about what augmented…

[From WHDH-TV in Boston; the web story includes a 1:35 minute video version] Boy builds robot to stay connected with family December 18, 2012 Reported by: Brandon Gunnoe LEXINGTON, Mass. (WHDH) — A young boy in Lexington built a relationship with his grandparents using LEGO pieces and a little technology. Nine-year-old Ricky Kundu’s grandparents live in India and can’t visit very often, so block by block he put together a way for them to stay connected. Ricky named the robot Betabot — beta means “child” in Hindi, and “early prototype” in English.…

[From WVIR NBC 29, where the story includes a 2:01 minute video; for more information see NewsPlex and the UVA Health System] UVA Researchers Testing Virtual Driving Simulator at DMV December 17, 2012 The University of Virginia is looking for hundreds of volunteer drivers to get behind the virtual wheel. It’s part of a plan to see if the program can be used one day as an alternative to in-car driving tests. Researchers at UVA’s School of Medicine are tracking data from the virtual reality driving simulator. They want to see if it is effective and fair, as it could…

[From Chalmers University, where the press release includes an additional image] [Image: Max Ortiz Catalan demonstrates how the system works with the aid of electrodes, which capture bio-electric signals from the surface of the arm. Amputees will, however, have the electrodes implanted directly on the nerves and muscles inside the body, which will be permanently accessible through the Brånemark osseointegrated implant (OPRA Implant System). Photo: Oscar Mattsson] Thought-controlled prosthesis is changing the lives of amputees The world’s first implantable robotic arm controlled by thoughts is being developed by Chalmers researcher Max Ortiz Catalan. The first operations on patients will take…

[From NSF] [Image: Surgeons from the University of Illinois Hospital & Health Sciences Systems Neurosurgery Department view a simulation of the human brain vasculature and cortical tissue in the CAVE2 Hybrid Reality Environment. This project is a collaboration between the University of Illinois at Chicago’s (UIC) Electronic Visualization Laboratory (EVL) and Bioengineering Department’s Laboratory for Product and Process Design. EVL OmegaLib software is used to display the 3D model in the CAVE2 System. Credit: Lance Long for Electronic Visualization Laboratory, University of Illinois at Chicago.] State-of-the-Art Virtual Reality System Is Key to Medical Discovery For team of neurosurgeons and researchers,…