[From The Huffington Post] The Modern Meeting — Not a Place We Go, But a Thing We Do Brett Caine President, Citrix Online Posted: 8/9/11 I recently had the honor of writing the foreword for a new book, Read This Before Our Next Meeting, by Al Pittampalli, who offers a very interesting perspective on meeting culture in today’s workplace. Throughout the book, Pittampalli suggests that many of the meetings we attend throughout the day are a waste of time and prevent us from doing the real work at hand. To solve this problem, Pittampalli proposes the “Modern Meeting,” with seven…

[From The Cornell Chronicle; much more information including sample sounds are available via the links at the end] [Image: Rapid movement of heated gases generates high-frequency sounds that are an important part of the sound of fire, but computer-generated images don’t simulate those details. Cornell researchers synthesize low-frequency sounds to match the graphics, then map in the highs based on the sounds of real fire. Provided by Doug James] Computers synthesize sounds — from fire to frictional contact — to go with graphics Aug. 8, 2011 By Bill Steele Computer-generated imagery usually relies on recorded sound to complete the illusion.…

[From AP via The Houston Chronicle; a 1:08 minute video of the wedding is available here] [Image: Miguel Hanson, right, kisses his fiancee Diana Wesley by the computer Thursday, July 28, 2011, in Humble, Texas. (David J. Phillip – AP)] Computer to serve as minister at Houston wedding By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press July 29, 2011 HOUSTON — You could call it “My Big Fat Computer Geek Wedding.” When Miguel Hanson and Diana Wesley get married Saturday, they won’t stand before a gray haired minister holding a Bible. Instead, they’ll be looking at a 30-inch monitor. On one half…

[From BBC News] [Image from Citylife] Virtual people to get ID checks 28 July 2011 The faces and behaviour of online avatars could help identify the people controlling them, scientists believe. Using both characteristics, researchers hope to develop techniques for checking whether the digital characters are who they claim to be. Such information could be used in situations where login details are not visible or for law enforcement. Impersonation of avatars is expected to become a growing problem as real life and cyberspace increasingly merge.…

[From PSFK] The Aeon Project: AR & Virtual Reality In Vehicles By Emma Hutchings on August 3, 2011 Designers Michaël Harboun, Fabien Chancel and Akki Reddy Challa have been working in collaboration with Dassault Systems to explore augmented reality inside vehicles. In the future, when our cars are autonomous and can drive themselves, Harboun and his colleagues have been questioning what we’ll be doing while travelling along. The Aeon Project features three levels the user can select from the heads up display (HUD): augmented reality, mixed reality and virtual reality. So they can choose from text information, 3D integration and complete…

[From Popular Science] Video: ‘Unlimited Detail’ Graphics Tech Surfaces Again With Tantalizing New Demo Using point-cloud construction rather than polygons, the software promises digital environments that are 100,000 times more detailed than the current state of the art By Clay Dillow Posted 08.02.2011 A little more than a year ago, we wrote about an Australian hobbyist named Bruce Dell who was claiming–with video evidence to back it up–that he’d created a new graphics technology that could deliver unlimited power. That is, rather than working with a limited number of polygon shapes (restricted, of course, by computing power), a graphic environment…

[From The Sport Blog of The Guardian] [Image: Technology is being developed that will make TV viewers feel like they are watching matches from the stands. Photograph: Stephen Pond/Empics] Fantasy football is about to become reality with immersion technology The Premier League is in talks to develop an Avatar-style viewing experience that makes it feel like you are watching a top-flight game live from the stands Dominic Fifield guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 2 August 2011 The Premier League’s desire to innovate is about to become a virtual reality. English football’s elite division has long prided itself on an ability to refresh the…

[From the University of Maryland Newsdesk, where the story includes more images and a 2:15 minute video] [Image: Harsha Agashe, a Ph.D. student in Contreras-Vidal’s lab wears the Brain Cap, a non-invasive, sensor-lined cap with neural interface software. Photo Credit – John Consoli, University of Maryland] UMD Brain Cap Technology Turns Thought into Motion Mind-machine interface could lead to new life-changing technologies for millions of people For Immediate Release July 27, 2011 Contacts: Lee Tune, 301 405 4679 or ltune@umd.edu College Park, Md. – “Brain cap” technology being developed at the University of Maryland allows users to turn their thoughts…

[From BBC News, where the story includes a 3:00 minute video] When the home help is a robot By Mark Ward Technology correspondent, BBC News, Istanbul 3 July 2011 In the future, we will have robots in our homes. They will do all the dirty and boring jobs that we don’t want to do because we’ve got better things to do such as sip cocktails or play with our children. Or at least that’s what many films, novels and media articles have promised. Reality is taking some time to catch up. So far, the only domestic robots enjoying significant success…

[From Fast Company‘s Co.Design site, where the article includes more images and two videos] HyperReality Helmet Uses Kinect To Create An Out-Of-Body Experience Maxence Parache’s experimental augmented-reality system lets you detach your point of view from your body. July 28, 2011 We take our first-person visual perspective for granted every second of the day — we have to, because our eyeballs are attached to our heads. But what if you could detach your personal “camera angle” at any moment and float away from your own body while still inhabiting it, like an on-demand out-of-body experience? Designer Maxence Paranche has created…

[From MoMA (pdf)] MoMA EXHIBITION INVESTIGATES THE COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PEOPLE AND OBJECTS THROUGH DESIGN Installation Provides Visitors with Greater Access to Information by Incorporating the Use of Technology, Including QR Codes and Twitter Hashtags for Each Object Talk to Me: Design and the Communication between People and Objects July 24–November 7, 2011 Special Exhibitions Gallery, third floor NEW YORK, July 19, 2011—The Museum of Modern Art presents Talk to Me: Design and the Communication between People and Objects from July 24 to November 7, 2011. With nearly 200 projects ranging from the microscopic to the cosmic and all designed in…

[From redOrbit] [Image1: The Justin mobile robotic system, developed at the German Aerospace Center, DLR, with its compliant controlled lightweight arms and its two four-fingered hands, is an ideal experimental platform [for the use of teleoperation in space exploration]. The mobile platform allows the long-range autonomous operation of the system. The independent wheels respond to the requirements of Justin’s upper body during manipulation tasks. Sensors and cameras allow the 3D reconstruction of the robot’s environment, enabling Justin to perform his work autonomously. Credits: DLR] Driving A Robot From The Space Station Posted on: Thursday, 30 June 2011 Meet Justin, an…