[From The Guardian] [Image: It’s OK to touch … a fan gets close to the Johnny Depp waxwork at Madame Tussauds. Photograph: Susan Swindells (work experience) for the guardian] What makes Madame Tussauds’ wax work? It’s been pulling in visitors since 1835, but why does Madame Tussauds remain so popular, even in the CGI age? Patrick Barkham joined the crowds – plus Brad, Jacko, the Queen and all – to find out Patrick Barkham The Guardian, Saturday 26 February 2011 Johnny Depp is getting a peck on the cheek. A bloke peers up Marilyn’s billowing skirt. Teenagers jostle a wobbly…

[From ABI Research] Telepresence Market Gains Momentum; Diversifying Applications Will Drive Growth NEW YORK – February 16, 2011 Latest global telepresence and videoconferencing equipment market forecasts from ABI Research show that the value of the telepresence, video infrastructure and endpoints market is set to reach $5.5 billion by 2016. In 2010, the market registered greater than 15% year-on-year growth to reach $2.3 billion. During the year, the spotlight shifted to emerging applications such as desktop video, personal telepresence, video integrated within unified communications environments, mobile videoconferencing, and video-over-virtual-desktop infrastructure (VDI). At the higher end of the telepresence spectrum, the telepresence…

[From BldgBlog] [Image: Giovanni Fontana’s 15th-century “castle of shadows,” from a paper by Philippe Codognet] Castle of Shadows Posted Monday, February 21, 2011 In a book published nearly 600 years ago, in the year 1420, Venetian engineer Giovanni Fontana proposed a mechanical construction called the Castellum Umbrarum, or “castle of shadows.” Philippe Codognet describes the 15th-century machine as “a room with walls made of folded translucent parchments lighted from behind, creating therefore an environment of moving images. Fontana also designed some kind of magic lantern to project on walls life-size images of devils or beasts.” Codognet goes on to suggest…

[From The Official Microsoft Blog; more information is available in a second post here] [Larger image available here] Microsoft is Imagining a NUI future Microsoft blog editor 26 Jan 2011 You don’t have to look very far to realize that technology is becoming more natural and intuitive. In a typical day, many people use touch or speech to interact with technology—on their phones, at the ATM, at the grocery store and in their cars. The learning curve for working with computers is becoming less and less of a barrier thanks to more natural ways to interact. As Craig Mundie has…

[From Automotive Discovery; more information and a 2:24 minute video are available here] Toyota Announced New Virtual Reality Simulator at the Daytona 500 Written on February 21, 2011 by Lynn Beverly Toyota has announced the debut of a multi-sensory experience virtual reality simulator at the Daytona 500.  Developed by Digital Tech Frontier, LLC. (DTF), Toyota’s Baja simulator incorporates actual motion, 3D sight and sound as it delivers experiences and a message about distracted driving as you are behind the wheel of the 2011 Toyota 4Runner. Premiering at the Daytona 500 Toyota Pit Pass event, Toyota’s Baja simulator is the result…

[From The Hollywood Reporter] Details of Dramatic Changes for Oscars Telecast Oscar producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer explain to The Hollywood Reporter that they are taking a radical departure from past shows. 2/18/2011 by Gregg Kilday The Oscars are entering the world of virtual reality. This year’s Academy Awards telecast is taking a radical departure from past years. Producers of the Feb. 27 show are abandoning the concept of a traditional set. Instead, they will rely on a series of “projections” to give the show a constantly changing look. “Our design this year is actually going to reflect more…

[From The Guardian; more information is available in an article in The Financial Times, which includes a 2:37 minute long video, and at the web site of EPFL Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience] [Image: Olaf Blanke conducts experiment to understand the way the brain represents the body by combining VR induced illusions and brain signal readings to better understand the cognitive basis for spatial representation.] Researchers use virtual-reality avatars to create ‘out-of-body’ experience Volunteers experienced the virtual bodies as if they were their own, with possible applications in computer games or to transport people digitally to other locations Alok Jha, science…

[From The Daily Titan, student newspaper of California State University, Fullerton; the New York Times story mentioned is available here] Opinion Webcast funerals are dehumanizing By Amy Leadbetter Published: February 16, 2011 The progression of technology and its dehumanizing effects has hit an all-time low. An article published last week in The New York Times titled, “For Funerals Too Far, Mourners Gather on the Web” by Laura Holson, addressed the recent popularity of funerals broadcast online. Holson’s article informs the reader that this is seen as a blessing for those who live too far or who are unable to make it…

[From Gizmodo] $US500 iRobot Hack Lets You Be Two Places At Once By Kit Eaton – FastCo on February 12, 2011 A hacker has put together a viable home-brew telepresence robot using easily available components that’s good enough (if not pretty enough) to rival much more expensive peers like Anybot’s QB. More than anything this suggests telepresence virtual working is an imminent phenomenon. The enterprising chap in question is Johnny Chung Lee. Temporarily separated from his partner after a work-driven relocation, he wanted to create a simple way to maintain a presence in their previous home. Telepresence droids would be…

[From The Scavenger] [Large image available here] Transmedia: The experience of the future? With the former glory of old, linear media fading, Melody Ayres-Griffiths examines just what the new media artform known as ‘transmedia’ is, and how it will engage an increasingly discerning yet time-starved populace in an immersive and interactive way. 13 February 2011 Late in January, 2011, I attended a conference regarding just what exactly ‘transmedia’ is, and perhaps where it’s going. Although the meaning of the phrase changed somewhat depending upon who you talked to, the core of the explanations I received was simply this: transmedia engages…

[From Bit Rebels, which features more images and a 1:22 minute video also available here] The World’s Largest Touchscreen 02/12/2011 By Diana Adams Holy batman, now that’s a touchscreen! I’m going to tell you the size of this thing immediately because I know that’s what you really want to know, right? It is 10 meters (32.8 feet) by 2.8 meters (9.2 feet). The screen uses 1,000 LEDs and 6 Optitrack cameras. The resolution is 4900 by 1700 pixels. Its shape is curved, and it can track 100 people touching it at once. The University of Groningen in the Netherlands created…

[From PhysOrg.com] [Image: An avatar with large belly size representing the participant. Credit: Jean-Marie Normand, Elias Giannopoulos, Bernhard Spanlang & Mel Slater] Virtually feeling fat February 1, 2011 By Charles Q. Choi Greasy food and a lack of exercise aren’t the only things that can make you feel fat — now you can add virtual reality and being poked by a stick to the list. By having people wear head-mounted displays that make them see pot-bellied computer-generated versions of their bodies and by having them poke their tummies with sticks at the same time, scientists found they could make people…