[From AlphaGalileo; more information is available on the BrainAble Project web site] Enhanced brain-computer interface promises unparalleled autonomy for disabled 28 February 2012 CORDIS Features, formerly ICT Results In the 2009 film Surrogates, humans live vicariously through robots while safely remaining in their own homes. That sci-fi future is still a long way off, but recent advances in technology, supported by EU funding, are bringing this technology a step closer to reality in order to give disabled people more autonomy and independence than ever before. From wheelchair-bound victims of car accidents to people suffering full-body paralysis or locked-in syndrome, millions…

[From AsiaOne via Telepresence Options; more information is available from Ctrl Works] Robot to help doctors work remotely By Josephine Price my paper Monday, Mar 05, 2012 A robot will soon help doctors at one hospital check on patients. Called the Telepresence Puppet, it could let doctors interact with their patients without having to be physically present. A doctor can guide the robot, which runs on wheels, to the patient and communicate with him through the machine. The doctor can see and hear the patient using the robot’s camera and microphone, and the patient can see and listen to the…

[A press release from Cisco via Zawya] Bridging Peace: Cisco Empowers Al Fakhoora Students in Gaza to Share their Experiences and Engage in Global Dialogue Cisco TelePresence Technology is at the Heart of Al Fakhoora’s Virtual Majlis Program Facilitating Cross-Cultural Communication Between Students in Gaza, Qatar and the United States DOHA, Qatar – March 6th, 2012: Cisco announced today that Al Fakhoora, an international campaign committed to raising awareness of the plight of students in Gaza, has officially launched its Virtual Majlis initiative based on Cisco TelePresence technology to connect university students from Doha, Gaza and the US to create…

[From The Daily Mail, where the story includes several more pictures] [Image: The world as seen through the LifeClipper helmet – it mixes the ‘real’ as seen through cameras with hallucinations created by computers] ‘A living dream’: The ‘augmented reality’ helmet that turns walk in the park into an encounter with alien creatures under a psychedelic sky By Damien Gayle Last updated on 5th March 2012 Most ‘virtual reality’ helmets plunge users into an unreal video-game world – but a new version mixes the unreal into the real world in a ‘living dream’. The helmet only works in St Johann’s…

[From AP via 3News; more information and a video of Eric Schmidt’s keynote are available at VentureBeat] Google: Technology is making science fiction real Wed, 29 Feb 2012 By Alan Clendenning Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt has predicted that rapid advances in technology will soon transform science fiction into reality – meaning people will have driverless cars, small robots at their command and the ability to experience being in another place without leaving home. Schmidt said the introduction of books available online, internet translation of languages and voice recognition for computers all happened much faster than anyone envisioned and that…

[From PhysOrg, where the story includes three videos] Microsoft demos three new whiz-bang technologies it’s working on (w/ video) February 29, 2012 by Bob Yirka (PhysOrg.com) — Microsoft isn’t really known for giving the world at large much of a clue regarding what it’s working on regarding future products (other than Windows) thus it came as rather a surprise when the head of its research and strategy group, Craig Mundie, gave a presentation at TechForum recently, showing off three new technology products the company has in the works.…

[From Princeton Patch] [Image: Sandy Bay, Bahamas, from WavesDVD] Virtual Vacations Robin Birkel Posted on February 27, 2012 Traveling is a hobby of mine. Before kids, my husband and I traveled the world at any time. Now we have to wait for school vacations to take off on a new journey, which limits our winter getaways. That’s when I implemented virtual vacations. “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” ~ St. Augustine I’ve always felt the need to fill the gap between vacations. Since my family loves foods from around the globe,…

[From CNET, where the story includes a 1:47 minute video] Brainwave-controlled skateboard is totally mental Chaotic Moon Labs’ Kinect-controlled skateboard was pretty awesome, but the company has managed to blow our minds with its Board of Imagination. Crave talks with one of the creators to find out how it works. by Bonnie Cha February 23, 2012 Remember the Board of Awesomeness, the Kinect-controlled motorized skateboard from CES? Well, it just got more awesome. The creator of this high-tech board, Chaotic Moon Labs, has come up with a new version called the Board of Imagination that works by reading your brain…

[From New Scientist’s One Per Cent blog; more details and a video are available from Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)] Virtual tailor’s dummy makes designing clothes easy 31 January 2012 Duncan Graham-Rowe, contributor Creating the pattern for a new dress design can be fiddly, so Amy Wibowo at the University of Tokyo, Japan, is using augmented reality to make it simpler. Six ceiling-mounted cameras are trained on the dummy and on two tools held by the designer, one for creating surfaces and other for cutting them. The tools and the dummy both have markers, so the cameras can work…

[From Kotaku] Google Glasses To Augment Gamers’ Reality Google is in the news this week not so much for their software and search offerings, but for their hardware, and whispers of an item yet to come. According to the New York Times, Google is developing a type of Android-based glasses that will, in some way, project content immediately into the wearer’s field of vision. The glasses reportedly include the features users have come to rely on in their smartphones, like GPS, cameras, and the ability to play and record audio. The Times reports: Several people who have seen the glasses,…

[From The Information Daily; more information about the ALIZ-E project is at here] Valentine’s Day – Time To Hug Your Favourite Robot? On St. Valentine’s Day, we want to be close to the ones we love. Researchers from Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK are testing whether one day that special person in our life could be a robot. Source: European Commission Published Wednesday, February 15, 2012 Experiments have shown that children, for example, can become extremely attached to a robot playmate, but can the robot in turn can develop a bond with a human being? Could we…

[From AllThingsD via Telepresence Options, where the posts include a 3:58 minute video; other reviews are available at NewsFactor and TIME] Real Bonding With Family Around the TV Via Skyp Walt Mossberg January 25, 2012 As you read these words, millions of people are conducting video chats using the popular Skype service, now owned by Microsoft. Most of these calls are low-resolution encounters between two individuals, conducted over personal computers. This week, I tested a new device that aims to transform Skype video chats into room-size experiences, involving whole families or groups of friends on each end—seeing each other, chatting…