[From scienceline]   [Image: A new existence awaits right inside our computer screens. Credit: Snooze] Virtually everything at stake A video game designer and a scientist explore the undeniable pull of virtual worlds By Kelly Slivka | Posted November 13, 2011 Lee Guzofski loves people, and that’s why he loves virtual reality. By the time I arrived to interview him at a coffee shop near Washington Square Park in Manhattan, he was already on a first-name basis with the baristo Leo, chatting with him like an old friend. “New York City is endlessly fascinating and authentic,” Guzofski told me after…

[From The New York Times’ Lens blog; the post includes a 1:37 minute video]   Immersing Yourself in the Story November 11, 2011 By Michael Kamber Tired of news footage where all you can see is what’s right in front you as the camera rolls down a road in a war-torn landscape? A new iPad app is about to change all that, immersing viewers in a near virtual reality where they can become director and editor. With the Condition One app, which debuts Friday, viewers can get a 180-degree field of view by simply moving the iPad in their hands.…

[From Gizmag; coverage in DigInfo TV includes additional information including many images]   Robotic avatar transmits real-time sensations of remote environment By Pawel Piejko November 8, 2011 Developing true robot surrogates that allow you to be in two places at once means duplicating all of our movements and senses in machine form. Given you can now make a video call on your phone, it’s fair to say we have the sight and sound aspects pretty well covered, but the challenge of adding touch to the equation is formidable. The TELESAR V Robot Avatar shows just how far we’ve come in turning into telepresence into telexistence…

[From The Daily Mail, where the story includes additional images] Virtual changing rooms hit the high street: Debenhams first to trial new technology By Sadie Whitelocks Last updated on 1st November 2011 If clammy changing rooms clogged with rails of clothing and queues of belligerent shoppers drive you mad, the virtual changing room might be the answer. Using your smartphone, iPad or webcam you can try on potential purchases at your leisure, without getting undressed or battling through crowded shops. Known as augmented reality (AR) this cutting-edge technology superimposes outfits over your image, bringing together real and virtual worlds. Now…

[From Wired’s GeekDad blog] Real-Life Holodecks? Microsoft Kinect Augmented Reality Room Is the Closest Thing Yet By Chuck Lawton November 5, 2011 I first saw technology like this at the Microsoft Imagine Cup where student teams hacked the XBox 360 accessory Kinect to do some pretty amazing things. Microsoft’s previously released SDK was showcased at the event with workshops for students to learn how to leverage the platform and every competitor received a free Kinect to further the platform. And while what’s showcased in this [6:00 minute] video is far from a group of students hacking away at a consumer device,…

[From The Vancouver Sun] [Image: A giant steel dome in central Montreal shelters the world’s first ‘immersion theatre’. A 360-degree screen, eight projectors and 157 loudspeakers plunge the spectators completely inside a virtual reality created by modern digital filmmakers. Photograph by: Geraldine Woessner, AFP, Getty Images, Agence France-Presse] Experiencing 3-D without the glasses Satosphere provides 360-degree view of art projections and puts audiences into the action Agence France-Presse November 4, 2011 The audience finds itself inside a giant uterus. Or it flies around cathedral ruins. Or it is transported to a dark, lonely forest. Such are the experiences offered by…

[From BikePortland.org, where the post includes additional images] A look inside Oregon State’s bicycling and driving simulator laboratory Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on October 19th, 2011 A research laboratory at Oregon State University in Corvallis is the first in the nation to integrate an advanced driving simulator with a bicycling simulator. When the two are connected, researchers can collect real-time data on how vehicle operators react in an extremely realistic, three-dimensional roadway environment. Think about that for a minute. Imagine the possibilities of researchers being able to do everything from testing how road users react to each other, how…

[From Scientific American’s Assignment: Impossible blog, where the post includes additional images and a video] A Modest Proposal: Virtual Keyboards via Kinect Eyeglasses By Charles Q. Choi | October 28, 2011 In the series “A Modest Proposal,” my colleagues and I will propose inventions and projects that I think are eminently doable and would love made real. I love my iPad. I scan vast amounts of information daily for work and play, and tablet computers are ideal for displaying it. But tablets and mobile devices in general have a key weakness — as much as they help people consume information,…

[From MIT’s Technology Review] Biomedicine The Virtual Nurse Will See You Now In the hectic world of a hospital, a computer-simulated nurse can be surprisingly comforting. Tuesday, November 1, 2011 By Emily Singer Researchers at Northeastern University have developed a virtual nurse and exercise coach that are surprisingly likable and effective—even if they’re not quite as affable as the medical hologram on Star Trek. In fact, patients who interacted with a virtual nurse named Elizabeth said they preferred the computer simulation to an actual doctor or nurse because they didn’t feel rushed or talked down to. A recent clinical trial…

[From Technabob; a 0:50 minute video is available here along with additional details] Last-Minute Costume Idea: Cut a Hole in Your Torso with Two iPad 2s October 30th, 2011 by: Technabob If you still don’t have a Halloween costume, you’re probably left to the dregs of the random ill-fitting Scooby Doo and Teletubbies costumes at your local Wal-Mart. But if you and a buddy can spare your iPad 2s for the night, you could end up being the life of the party. By taking a pair of iPad 2s and strapping them to his chest and back using duct tape, Technabob…

[From The Huffington Post] Microsoft Shows Off 3D Concept ‘HoloDesk’ (VIDEO) The Huffington Post  Jason O. Gilbert Updated: 10/20/11 Hang on to your perceptions of reality: Microsoft just released a video of a 3D ‘HoloDesk,’ a radical system that allows users to seemingly manipulate 3D objects like balls and cubes with their hands. Check out the [4:15 minute] video to see what this means. Per the video description from the MicrosoftResearch YouTube channel: HoloDesk is a novel interactive system combining an optical see through display and Kinect camera to create the illusion that users are directly interacting with 3D graphics.…

[From Zee News; the Echoes web site is here] Virtual worlds help autistic kids develop social skills Last Updated: Saturday, October 22, 2011 Washington: A new study has suggested that the benefits of virtual worlds can be used to help autistic children develop social skills beyond their anticipated levels. Researchers on the Echoes Project have developed an interactive environment which uses multi-touch screen technology where virtual characters on the screener act to children’s actions in real time. During sessions in the virtual environment, primary school children experiment with different social scenarios, allowing the researchers to compare their reactions with those…