[From ScienceDaily; the article in PLoS ONE is here] Talk to the Virtual Hands: Body Language of Both Speaker and Listener Affects Success in Virtual Reality Communication Game ScienceDaily (Oct. 13, 2011) — Modern technology allows us to communicate in more ways than ever before, but this virtual communication usually lacks the body gestures so common in face-to-face interactions. New research, published Oct. 12 in the online journal PLoS ONE, finds that the lack of gestural information from both speaker and listener limits successful communication in virtual environments.…

[A press release from Nanyang Technological University] [Image: A robotic avatar with mobile video conferencing capabilities developed by NTU researchers. Photo by Ernest Chua] Enter the virtual world of avatars, dolphins and fashionistas at NTU NTU’s centre of new media research showcases discoveries that can be applied to improve everyday life Published on : 11-Oct-2011 In a room resembling an IMAX theatrette on Nanyang Technological University’s (NTU) campus lies a new virtual world with practical applications that the public can immerse in and interact with – and go wow! Called the Immersive Room, it is the latest star attraction at…

[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…