[From The Los Angeles Times] [Image: An SPFXMasks employee, left, sprays a layer of paint on a mask called “The Player.” That model was used by a white man, right, in a string of robberies in Ohio. An innocent black man was held until the culprit was turned in. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times; Gary Landers / Associated Press)] Masks so realistic they’re arresting the wrong guy A white man who robbed Ohio banks looked so convincing in a black-male disguise that an innocent man was held. That’s not exactly how SPFXMasks of Van Nuys had intended its masks…

[From The Telegraph] Apple patent reveals plans for holographic display Television and cinema screens that produce holographic images without the need for special glasses are being developed by computer giant Apple. By Richard Gray, Science Correspondent 26 Dec 2010 A recently granted patent reveals that Apple, the company behind the iPod and iPhone, has been working on a new type of display screen that produces three dimensional and even holographic images without the need for glasses. The technology could be used to produce a new generation of televisions, computer monitors and cinema screens that would provide viewers with a more…

[From MIT’s Technology Review Editors blog]  Attending the Christmas Party as a Robot Office parties can be even more trying when you send an electronic avatar in your place. Tom Simonite 12/22/2010 My recollections of the Technology Review holiday party, which took place yesterday, are a whirl of awkward shouted conversations, blurred vision and an embarrassing incident where I ran into a wall. Fortunately that’s only because I was attending as a robot rather than in person. The party took place in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while I was sat safely in my office in San Francisco, California.…

[From AP via NPR, where the story features additional images] Robot Waiters In China Never Lose Patience by The Associated Press JINAN, China December 22, 2010 Service with a smile also comes with an electronic voice at the Dalu Robot restaurant, where the hotpot meals are not as famous yet as the staff who never lose their patience and never take tips. The restaurant, which opened this month in Jinan in northern Shandong province, is touted as China’s first robot hotpot eatery where robots resembling Star Wars droids circle the room carrying trays of food in a conveyor belt-like system.…

[From TG Daily; additional information from other sources follows below] Christmas Yule Log to air in 3D for first time Mark Raby | Thu 16th Dec 2010 To countless Americans, watching the perpetually burning Yule Log on TV is a Christmas tradition, and this year it’s getting a high-tech makeover. It’s been part of the holiday TV makeup since the 1960s and has remained relatively unchanged over the last 44 years. Hundreds of millions of viewers have tuned in to see the relaxing fireplace burning with classic Christmas music in the background. This year, though, you can make it feel…

[From MIT’s Technology Review, where the story includes a 1:26 minute video] [Image: More than real: The Wrap 920AR glasses provide immersive augmented reality for $1,995.] Computing Augmented Reality Goggles New video glasses can produce dazzling special effects, but who’ll wear them? Wednesday, November 10, 2010 By Kristina Grifantini I held a black-and-white square of cardboard in my hand and watched as a dragon the size of a puppy appeared on top of it and roared at me. I watched a tiny Earth orbit around a real soda can, saw virtual balls fall through a digital gap in a table,…

[From The Irish Times] [Image: Avatars on a computer-generated version of the Front Square of Trinity College Dublin] Thursday, December 9, 2010 Creating better digital denizens We are incredibly sensitive to human movement and appearance, which makes it a big challenge to create believable computerised crowds, but researchers at Trinity are working on improving that. As you settle down to watch the seasonal feast of movies on TV this Christmas – or maybe as you get stuck into computer games that found their way under the tree – take a closer look at any virtual humans that crop up. Are…

[A press release from NEVERDIE Studios via SourceWire] Virtual Worlds Pioneer Brings Fiancée Back From The Dead In Virtual Reality Monday, 20 December 2010 20th December 2010. Hollywood, CA – Virtual worlds pioneer, Jon NEVERDIE Jacobs, has revealed that he has brought his fiancée back from the dead as an avatar, and part of the launch of his latest virtual destination, the new Club NEVERDIE. The controversial entrepreneur believes that virtual reality will be the means by which humanity transcends death itself, and has taken the first step towards this with the inclusion of the avatar representing his late fiancée, Tina…

[From The Peninsula; more information about the Center is here] Hospital training, orientation go hi-tech at Sidra center Friday, 17 December 2010 By Sonya Schneider-Ghaddar, RN Qatar Health 2010, an annual Health Congress and Exhibition held earlier this week, presented exciting new ways of approaching healthcare, patient care and staff training. One presentation focused on the staff orientation project for the new Sidra Medical and Research Center, which is scheduled to open by the end of 2012. The presentation outlined the daunting and unique task of bringing onboard and orienting 5000 to 6000 new staff members for a facility that…

[From The Washington Post, where the story features a slideshow; additional details follow below] Taiwan flora show features high-tech displays By ANNIE HUANG The Associated Press Tuesday, December 14, 2010 Paper-thin speakers blare pop music. 3D films appear on elongated screens with no need for special viewing glasses. Viewers’ pulses turn cocoons into butterflies in an interactive display. Welcome to the Pavilion of Dreams, a high-tech enclave within the Taipei International Flora Exposition, where Taiwanese artists and engineers are using technology-generated flowers and plants to strut the island’s cutting edge know-how to onlookers from around the world.…

[From MIT’s Technology Review TechSpecs blog; a 1:08 minute video is available here] A Minority Report Interface for the Rest of Us You don’t have to be rich like Tom Cruise to rock a gestural interface. John Pavlus 11/16/2010 Gestural computing: ever since a be-gloved Tom Cruise blew everyone’s minds in Minority Report, interface dorks have been trying hard to bring it into the real world. But here’s the problem: who actually wants to spend their whole workday wildly waving their arms around? Well, musicians and dancers just might. That’s the idea behind Toscanini, a gestural computer interface named after…

[A press release from Digital Elite Inc. via PR Web] METAMORPHOSIS – A 360° Immersive Film Wins Hollywood Award Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December 10, 2010 Digital Elite Inc. Los Angeles in partnership with researchers at the Technical University of Budapest in Hungary have developed a fully interactive Panoramic Broadcasting technology, called PanoCAST, for producing 360° Immersive Films for parallel cinematic and on-line experiences. Using this technology they have produced an experimental short film, an authentic adaptation of THE METAMORPHOSIS, a film that has now won the Best Short Film Award at the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival. “You have…