[From Gizmag] First advanced prototype revealed for the Australian bionic eye By Loz Blain March 31, 2010 Researchers at Bionic Vision Australia (BVA) have produced a prototype version of a bionic eye implant that could be ready to start restoring rudimentary vision to blind people as soon as 2013. The system consists of a pair of glasses with a camera built in, a processor that fits in your pocket, and an ocular implant that sits against the retina at the back of the eye and electronically stimulates the retinal neurons that send visual information to the brain. The resulting visual…

[From the Pink Tentacle blog; watch a :42 minute video here] [Pictured: Geminoid F and her human counterpart, wearing outfits by fashion designer Junko Koshino] Geminoid F: Remote-control female android 05 Apr 2010 Researchers from the Intelligent Robotics Laboratory at Osaka University have teamed up with robot maker Kokoro Co., Ltd. to create a realistic-looking remote-control female android that mimics the facial expressions and speech of a human operator. Modeled after a woman in her twenties, the android — called Geminoid F (the “F” stands for female) — has long black hair, soft silicone skin, and a set of lifelike teeth that…

[From The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Tweed blog] April 2, 2010 Our Math Class Was Never Like This Matthew Weathers, the Biola University faculty member whose Halloween stunt made us smile last fall, has done it again for April Fools’ [watch the 2:13 long video here]…

[From Jaunted (“The Pop Culture Travel Guide”)] Tour Pennsylvania’s Civil War Trails From Inside Google Earth April 2, 2010 at 5:05 PM | by Omri If you’ve ever wanted to tour Pennsylvania’s historic Civil War sites but can’t imagine navigating the perennially-unfinished death trap that is the Turnpike, we’ve got good news! A new project spearheaded by the Pennsylvania Tourism Office aims to deliver the state’s Civil War Trails right to your desktop, blending Google Earth technology, historical information, and incredible high-def GigaPan panoramic photos. The images are so detailed that you can literally zoom in on gravestone inscriptions, to…

There are now three ways to receive ISPR Presence News via email: Individual items (NEW): Each item is sent in a separate e-mail message, with the topic identified in the subject line. Daily digest: A single digest of News items each weekday (at 10 am EST) (the current format of ISPR Presence News) Weekly digest (NEW): A single digest of News items each Saturday (at 10 am EST) containing a list of links to the previous week’s News items To subscribe to any of these services, click here (to unsubscribe to any of them, follow the link at the bottom of…

[From Pocket-lint (“the largest independent gadget news and reviews site in the UK”)] The touchy feely future of the user-interface FUTURE WEEK: How the machines will come out and meet us in 2015 31 March 2010 12:00 GMT / By Dan Sung The user interface is big business right now. In truth, it always was, but it’s taken the mass popularisation of the iPhone to bring it the public agenda. Until then, a good interface was one which you didn’t notice. If no one mentioned it, then it was doing its job. It was allowing the user to perform the…

[From Beet.TV (“The root to the media revolution”); the story features a 2 minute interview segment] Thursday, March 25, 2010 Cisco “Live” on MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” in Broadcast Debut NEW YORK — Cisco Systems, which has a big* video teleconference business with a product called TelePresence, is entering the broadcast world with the MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, who is using the system to conduct remote interviews. Unlike most conventional remote interview set-ups where a guest listens to questions in a an earphone, the TelePresence system displays both participants on large screens without latency between speakers, creating a virtual face-to-face conversation…

[From NJ.com; more information is here] Dancers trick the eye in virtual reality By Robert Johnson/The Star-Ledger March 26, 2010 NEW YORK — Cult status surely awaits choreographers Myrna Packer and Art Bridgman, a playful couple of dance artists who have parlayed their familiarity with video technology into a reputation for dazzling illusionism. “Under the Skin,” their wildly imaginative piece from 2005, returned on Wednesday at the Baryshnikov Arts Center, joined by the premiere of “Double Expose,” an even more elaborate adventure into virtual reality that is sure to delight their fans. With the help of videographers Peter Bobrow and…

[From CNET’s Rafe’s Radar blog; a 5 minute video from DEMO 2010 is here] March 21, 2010 Don’t laugh, Venuegen’s virtual meetings can work by Rafe Needleman My co-workers will attest to the fact that when I started reading the materials about Venuegen‘s virtual-meeting-room service, I audibly groaned. I’ve had enough of companies trying to make meetings work in Second Life-ish virtual worlds. It’s too cute an idea for too serious a need. Or so I’ve always thought. A demo of the service, which is being unveiled at the Demo conference Monday, opened my eyes a bit. Built on a…

[From InformationWeek] Down To Business: Cisco Talks Telepresence Direction Cisco coined the term and raised market awareness. Now it’s looking to drive adoption into wholly new areas. By Rob Preston InformationWeek March 24, 2010 Cisco coined “telepresence” five years ago to describe its vision for super-high-quality videoconferencing, and as a mark of its success the term is now the industry norm. Rivals Hewlett-Packard, Polycom, LifeSize Communications, Teliris, Huawei Technologies, and even lower-end providers like Vidyo have adopted the Cisco label. I sat down yesterday with Chuck Stucki, VP and general manager of Cisco’s TelePresence Systems unit, to discuss the present…

[From Singularity Hub (“The Future Is Here Today…Robots, Genetics, AI, Longevity, Singularity”)]   Willow Garage Shares Specs for TeleRobot, Takes It To Show and Tell at School March 14th, 2010 by Aaron Saenz Wouldn’t you have loved to be the kid who brought a real life working robot to school for show and tell? Willow Garage delighted students at a Cupertino, California elementary school for their “Discovery Day” – an opportunity for children to learn about local careers – by sending one of their new telepresence robots (the Texai) to make a presentation. Among the firefighters, doctors, and business executives…

[From PC World’s Game On blog] 3D Nintendo DS Rumble, Motion Control Specs Emerge Matt Peckham Mar 23, 2010 6:30 pm Nintendo says it’ll release a 3D version of its DS handheld gaming portable. We learned that much from Nintendo’s official press teaser this morning. But according to Japanese newshound Adriansang, several mainstream Japanese sources are weighing in with claims of tantalizing supplemental specs.…