[A press release from University of Navarra Hospital via Basque Research; more information, including a 1:21 minute demonstration video, is available here] University of Navarra Hospital presents new tool for facilitating diagnosis of Attention Deficit Disorder and Hyperactivity 2011/10/10 The team of specialists at the Neuropaediatrícs Unit of the University of Navarra Hospital has taken part, with the Nesplora company, in the design of “AULA”, a novel test aimed at providing a more precise and complete diagnosis for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The new tool is based on the development of sophisticated software that introduces the child to a virtual…

[From The Sydney Morning Herald] Cinema with a new dimension Movies that smell, blow air and shake you are just the start. Here comes the 4th dimension. Garry Maddox October 7, 2011 Sydney’s newest tourist attraction is a small cinema that appeals to more than just the usual two senses of sight and hearing. The Sydney Tower Eye has a floor that vibrates as waves crash against rocks on screen, a spray of mist as a skiff crosses the harbour and rushing wind as a father and son fly kites during a short 3D film that shows off the city’s…

[From various news sources since the death of Steve Jobs] …

[From Duke Today, where the story includes a 1:26 minute video; additional information is available in LiveScience] Brain Power Moves Virtual Objects Researchers closer to technology allowing quadriplegics to move arms and legs October 5, 2011 | Mary Jane Gore Durham, NC – In a first-ever demonstration of a two-way interaction between a primate brain and a virtual body, two monkeys trained at the Duke University Center for Neuroengineering learned to employ brain activity alone to move an avatar hand and identify the texture of virtual objects. “Someday in the near future, quadriplegic patients will take advantage of this technology…

[From Nashoba Valley Technical High School’s Newswire; the VRSim web site is here and videos are here] [Image: Nashoba Tech sophomore Paul Gambardello of Chelmsford uses SimSpray, a 3-D, virtual-reality teaching tool that simulates painting. His performance can be seen on the screen behind him] Virtual Painting Latest Innovative Educational Tool at Nashoba Tech Posted by Dan Phelps September 20, 2011 WESTFORD — Nashoba Tech once again finds itself on the cutting edge as the first school in the area to employ an innovative, virtual-reality spray gun that allows instructors in the Automotive Collision Repair & Refinishing program to teach students…

[From Laughing Squid] EARonic, iPhone Cases That Look Like Ears By Rusty Blazenhoff on September 14, 2011 CollabCubed has produced the EARonic, a collection of iPhone cases with photographic images of ears. Designed by Rhode Island School of Design student, Daniela Gilsanz, there are five ears total, including one with stubble and piercings and another with a wireless headset. Daniela first came up with the idea last fall when applying to art schools. She was getting a portfolio together and while sketching some ears in her sketchbook (one of the prompts from a school) the initial EARonic mockup and portfolio piece came…

[From Diginfo.TV, where the story includes additional images] Simulating The Sensation Of An Object Passing Through Your Hands 14 September 2011 The Kajimoto research group at the University of Electro-Communications is developing a device that simulates the sensation of something passing through your hand. It is proposed to improve the sense of realism in games, and uses a vibration mechanism to create the illusion.…

[From The Korea Times, where the story includes additional images] [Image: Musicians in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, perform with players in New York, shown in the screen in the background, in a real-time telepresence concert on Monday morning or Sunday evening in the United States.] Telepresence inspires new cross-border music-making  By Lee Hyo-won 09-27-2011 ANSAN, Gyeonggi Province ? Cross-border music-making traditionally meant artists embarking on worldwide tours to reach audiences or musicians from different corners of the world gathering in one place to collaborate. But in this digital age, a live rock concert in London can attract full-house audiences in Sydney…

[From Science] [Image: Deus in machina. A semiautonomous robot can be controlled with the brain waves of paralyzed patients. Credit: José del R. Millán] Disabled Patients Mind-Meld With Robots by Sara Reardon on 6 September 2011 They’re not quite psychic yet, but machines are getting better at reading your mind. Researchers have invented a new, noninvasive method for recording patterns of brain activity and using them to steer a robot. Scientists hope the technology will give “locked in” patients—those too disabled to communicate with the outside world—the ability to interact with others and even give the illusion of being physically…

[From The Red & Black, the independent student newspaper of the University of Georgia] [Image from Angry AP] 3D will plague screens for years to come By MEGAN WHITE on September 25, 2011 My first televised encounter with the third dimension occurred at Disney World’s MGM Studios when I was only six years old. In order to fully embrace the tacky tourist experience, my parents had decided to take my sister and me to see “The Muppets” in the park’s high tech, state-of-the-art 3D theater. For a six-year-old in the 90s, anything involving the Muppets was instantly appealing, so with…

[From MIT’s Technology Review] Augmented Reality Meets Gesture Recognition A new app superimposes imagery over your smart-phone view, and lets you interact with it via hand gestures. Thursday, September 15, 2011 By Tom Simonite To make its business software more effective, HP recently paid $10 billion for Autonomy, a U.K. software company that specializes in machine learning. But it turns out that Autonomy has developed image-processing techniques for gesture-recognizing augmented reality—the type of technology that could be more attractive to consumers than IT managers. Augmented reality involves layering computer-generated imagery on top of a view of the real world as…

[From Nottingham Trent University; see also coverage from BBC Newsbeat] Excessive videogamers transfer virtual experiences into real world impulses Wednesday 21 September 2011 Some videogame players are becoming so immersed in their virtual gaming environments that when they stop playing they transfer some of their virtual experiences to the real world, according to new research. The first of its kind study, led by experts at Nottingham Trent University, reveals that some gamers experience ‘Game Transfer Phenomena’ (GTP) which results in them doing things in the real world as if they were still in the game. Extreme examples of GTP have…