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?…

[From The New York Times, where the story includes several images, videos and interactive features] Smarter Than You Think What Is I.B.M.’s Watson? By CLIVE THOMPSON Published: June 14, 2010 “Toured the Burj in this U.A.E. city. They say it’s the tallest tower in the world; looked over the ledge and lost my lunch.” This is the quintessential sort of clue you hear on the TV game show “Jeopardy!” It’s witty (the clue’s category is “Postcards From the Edge”), demands a large store of trivia and requires contestants to make confident, split-second decisions. This particular clue appeared in a mock…

[From CNN, where the story includes several videos] New tech moves beyond the mouse, keyboard and screen By John D. Sutter, CNN June 18, 2010 (CNN) — Goodbye computer mouse, keyboard and monitor. Say hello to a new, simpler era of human-computer interaction — this time, with no clunky hardware standing between you and digital information. In this new world, there are options aplenty. Instead of sliding a mouse across your desk, you could just point at whatever you’d like to select. Instead of pecking away at a keyboard, you could just say what you’re thinking. And instead of glaring…

[From Scientific American] June 8, 2010 Can People Become Experts without the Experience? A geologic field study explores whether expertise can be taught to novices By Charles Q. Choi Editor’s note: This is an extended version of the News Scan story “Expert Education,” from the June 2010 Scientific American. DEATH VALLEY, CALIF. —The dozen students and scientists spread over an area called Furnace Creek looked like cyborgs in floppy hats scrabbling over the boulders. Before hammering chips off rocks, they inspected them with magnifying lenses held up next to eyeglasses sporting miniature cameras and infrared lights. A seasoned geologist could…

[From GreenMuze (“Green Ideas and Innovations!“)] Virtual Reality Veneer Monday, 14 June 2010 Michael Jantzen For over forty years I have been working as an experimental artist and designer. In all of that time I have become very aware of how important aesthetics are in dictating the amount of the Earth’s resources that are consumed by the human population. Most things, including building, have to look a certain way in order for people to feel good about using them, and most often a lot of resources are consumed just to make these things look a particular way. Much of the…

[From TechNewsDaily via MSNBC; a 0:57 minute video is here]   ‘Imaginary’ interface could replace real thing Screen, even keyboard, for mobile devices might be supported by gestures By Adam Hadhazy, TechNewsDaily Staff Writer June 8, 2010 Researchers are experimenting with a new interface system for mobile devices that could replace the screen and even the keyboard with gestures supported by our visual memory. Called Imaginary Interfaces, the German project uses a small, chest-mounted computer and camera to detect hand movements. Unlike Tony Stark in “Iron Man,” who manipulates holographic elements in his lab with his hands, users conjure up…

[From Fox News]   Octavia the Android, a Real-Life Rosie the Robot By John R. Quain Published May 26, 2010 She has an expressive, alabaster face, a delicate touch — and two wheels where her feet should be. She is Octavia, a brand new robot designed to improve interactions with humans. And at the annual Fleet Week in New York City, the Navy is bringing its débutante out of the lab.…

[From CNN] Kids experiment with ‘video playdates’ By John D. Sutter, CNN June 11, 2010 (CNN) — At first, Ella didn’t really understand Skype. Don’t get all tech-elitist on her, though. She was only 1. Back then, Ella would do silly things like try to hand her grandmother stickers through the computer screen during video chats, says her mother, Robin Riggs. But now, at age 2, Ella has come a long way. She understands now that her grandparents are five hours away, looking at her through a webcam, Riggs said. “She knows the noise the computer makes when Mimi and…

[From TechNewsDaily; a 0:49 video is here; the Wearable Absence web site is here] ‘Smart’ Clothing Responds to Wearer’s Emotions By Michelle Bryner, TechNewsDaily Contributor 08 June 2010 High-tech clothing with embedded biosensors and an Internet connection could respond to your mood and help you get through the day. The new “smart” clothing contains wireless biosensors that measure heart rate and temperature (among other physiological indicators), small speakers, and other electronics that wirelessly connect to a handheld smartphone or PDA. Data from the sensors is sent to the handheld where it is converted into one of 16 emotional states, which…

[From The Associated Press via National Public Radio; the Kokoro web site is here] Eyes Flashing, Robot Conducts Wedding In Tokyo by The Associated Press TOKYO May 16, 2010 Almost everyone stood when the bride walked down the aisle in her white gown, but not the wedding conductor, because she was bolted to her chair. The nuptials at this ceremony were led by “I-Fairy,” a 4-foot (1.5-meter) tall seated robot with flashing eyes and plastic pigtails. Sunday’s wedding was the first time a marriage had been led by a robot, according to manufacturer Kokoro Co.…

[From The Guardian] Extraordinary Measures Belsay Hall, Northumberland Laura Cumming The Observer, Sunday 2 May 2010 The beautiful room is empty. The atmosphere is tense and cold, even though the sun glows beyond the high windows. You open the door to leave, only to find another door before you – and through it a further surprise. In the next room sits a naked man, flinching and clutching at his wooden stool as if terrified by your sudden arrival. This is what strikes first: the sense that he was waiting there in fear, perhaps even listening out for your footsteps. Which…