[From The Boston Globe; the web story includes a 1:04 minute video] You, robot Nashua start-up hopes to revolutionize meetings at work by untethering video equipment from the conference room By Scott Kirsner, Globe Columnist Sitting in his cubicle in Nashua, Tim Root clicks his mouse a few times to steer a tall, white robot around a corner and through the doorway of a conference room. Root’s face is visible on a small screen where you’d expect the robot’s head to be. He says hello, and joins a meeting in progress. Both Root’s cubicle and the conference room are inside…

[From ReadWriteWeb’s Guest Author blog] [Image: “Future computers” – Natalie, Age 10] The Future of Tech According to Kids: Immersive, Intuitive and Surprisingly Down-to-Earth Written by Kim Gaskins / July 7, 2010 If we were to ask you to name one thing you wish your computer (or another Web-enabled device) could do, but doesn’t now, what would you say? How about the ability to “touch the things that are in the screen, to feel and move them.” That’s what 7-year-old Daniela* wants. Matthew, 6, wishes he could play 3D games on his computer, and Jenna, 7, would like a solar-powered laptop.…

[From MSNBC’s Cosmic Log blog] 3-D pictures writ in water “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope.” It’s been 33 years since Princess Leia’s tiny hologram made that 3-D plea in the “Star Wars” saga – and ever since, researchers have been working on image projection systems that could turn that science-fiction special effect into reality. Today, Carnegie Mellon University is highlighting a projection system called AquaLux 3D that takes one more small step toward that virtual-reality dream – but the system is just one of many approaches that’s being tried.…

[From The Telegraph; the article is available here] Virtual reality food could be used in therapy for eating disorders Sufferers of anorexia and bulimia could reduce their fear and anxieties around food by visiting a computer generated restaurant and pretending to dine, a study shows. By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent Published: 02 Jul 2010 Researchers believe that the technique could reverse their unhealthy relationship with food to the point where they can eventually be reintroduced to the real thing. The novel approach could be developed after scientists found that food presented in a virtual reality environment causes the same emotional responses…

[From PhysOrg.com]   Virtual reality you can reach out and touch A team of European researchers has “virtually” teleported real objects through cyberspace, touched things in virtual reality and even felt the movements of a virtual dance partner July 1, 2010 It sounds like science fiction, but advances in haptic technology and a new approach to generating virtual reality (VR) content are helping to create virtual experiences that are far more realistic and immersive than anything achieved before. Not only do users see and hear their virtual surroundings, objects and avatars, but they can touch them as well, paving the…

[From the UK Metro] Lisa Scott – 29th June, 2010 Glastonbury Festival in the future Forget the usual mud and queues, the generations to come will be enjoying a whole different type of event As we speak, thousands of people are waking up in a smelly tent in a Somerset field. They’ll wander down to the mobile loos, consider eating some form of breakfast and then head straight to a stage or tent to commence the drinking all over again. Our passion for music will never change but our interactive experiences at festivals will. In celebration of Glastonbury Festival’s 40th…

[From Entertainment Weekly] Jun 17 2010 Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Forbidden Journey reviews are in by Manti Bierly The Wizarding World of Harry Potter celebrated its grand opening last night, and while Daniel Radcliffe has already dubbed the Dragon Challenge rollercoaster his favorite ride, most eyes will be on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, a ride which Universal Orlando promised would cause guests to “feel things no one has ever felt inside a theme park attraction, move in ways no one has ever moved.” Before we check out early reviews, let’s all just look at the photo Barbara Nefer…

[From VentureBeat (“Interpreting Innovation”); a 4:31 minute video demonstration/interview is here] VenueGen lowers pricing to take virtual meetings to the masses June 23, 2010 | Anthony Ha VenueGen said today that it’s taking its 3D virtual meeting tools to a new audience, with a version aimed at freelancers, small businesses, bloggers, and do-good organizations. Company president Jeff Crown said that most of the existing virtual world products for businesses, such as those offered by Inxpo and Unisfair, are out of reach for smaller organizations, because they cost tens of thousands of dollars per year. And VenueGen’s initial service, which it launched at…

[From The Chicago Sun-Times]   [Image: Jason Leigh (left) and Andy Johnson, associate professors of computer science at UIC, with the university’s virtual reality environment CAVE.] Medicine’s next frontier 3-D imaging can be a giant leap for health care June 26, 2010 BY SANDRA GUY Sun-Times Columnist Dr. Pier Cristoforo Giulianotti, a pioneer in performing surgery with robots, envisions the day when he will see a patient’s MRI and discuss surgery with experts worldwide on an interactive screen inside his operating room. “The possibility of having high-quality imaging and interactive communication on the walls is a concept that’s very close…

[A press release from Full Swing Golf via MarketWire]   Jun 17, 2010 Golf Simulators Unite to Form Worldwide Indoor U.S. Open SAN DIEGO, CA–(Marketwire – June 17, 2010) – Wicked winds, tight greens and scary tee shots — those are just a few of the elements that Full Swing Golf participants from around the world will face this week when they tee off in a virtual golf simulation of the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach at the same time the world’s best golfers are battling for the year’s second major. While those unpredictable winds blowing off the Pacific Ocean…

From Popular Science] Human-Sized Hamster Ball Lets You Play in Virtual Worlds Jump into the next generation of arcade gaming in the Virtusphere By Jill Duffy Posted 06.23.2010 Get ready to lose yourself in videogames—literally. In May, the Excalibur Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas installed the first public Virtusphere, a human-sized hamster ball that lets you move through virtual worlds by walking, running, or crawling inside it. Until now, the sphere has been used primarily for military and police training. Now, wearing a virtual-reality visor, anyone inside can play a first-person-shooter game or tour historic Russian architecture. The 10-foot…

[From New Scientist via Revelations Radio Network] Immortal avatars: Back up your brain, never die Jun 09, 2010 Zoe Graystone is a girl with two brains. Only one of them is human: the other is an exact digital copy that has become conscious in its own right. When the human Zoe dies, her digital brain is implanted into a humanoid robot, effectively bringing her back from the grave. Such ideas have littered science fiction for decades. Indeed, Graystone is a character in the American TV drama Caprica. But could such a tale ever become reality?…