[From The MIT Technology Review Editors blog] Monday, November 16, 2009 A Long-Distance Robot Relationship Telepresence robots could soon be available for remote workers. By Kristina Grifantini Last week, as I tapped a laptop keyboard in Massachusetts, a humanoid robot whirled around a lab in California. I tapped more slowly and the robot turned until I saw Trevor Blackwell, CEO and founder of telepresence company Anybots, which manufactures the robot, in the laptop window. “There’s a mirror over there,” Blackwell said, pointing, and I tapped the keys again until I was facing it. I saw a slender, wheeled robot with…

[From the UK’s Independent] Cyberpets: All creatures great and virtual They’re cleaner, tamer and more obedient than real animals – and the newest cyber-pets are more ‘life-like’ than ever, says Toby Green Wednesday, 4 November 2009 They don’t bite, they don’t make a mess on the carpet and they don’t cost anything to feed. The appeal of virtual animals is clear. Both cute and attentive, they treat you as if you are the centre of their world – without any vet’s fees. Video games involving animals are perfect family fun, and come in many forms.  Virtual pets have been particularly…

[From InformationWeek] Second Life Steps Into The Enterprise Companies can now run their own, private version of the virtual world in their data centers, for added security and control. By Mitch Wagner InformationWeek November 4, 2009 10:10 AM Second Life is attracting a cult following among businesses, who say the virtual world gives them richer collaboration than teleconference calls or video conferences. But Second Life still has limitations that pose barriers to enterprise adoption. One of the major limitations is that Linden Lab, which developed and operates Second Life, runs the service on its own server farms. This software-as-a-service model…

[From The Orlando Sentinel via PostStar.com] Birthing mannequins help students prepare By Fernando Quintero The Orlando Sentinel | Posted: Sunday, November 15, 2009 ORLANDO, Fla. — The group of University of Central Florida nursing students stood at a laboring mother’s bedside, their eyes glued to laptop screens that monitored both her and her baby’s heartbeats. “I feel really strange. There’s something pulsating between my legs,” she said, her chest rising and falling. Then, she screamed. “The baby’s coming!” Moments later, a baby boy cried and kicked, his umbilical cord still pulsating. The day’s lesson was on mother and child pre-…

[From The Lubbock (Texas) Avalanche-Journal] Columnists Duff: Augmented Reality may be next big thing, but it’s still science fiction Lubbock Avalanche-Journal Friday, November 13, 2009 Story last updated at 11/13/2009 Today’s buzzword is Augmented Reality. The technical definition is, “a display in which simulated imagery, graphics, or symbology is superimposed on a view of the surrounding environment.” In plain English, Augmented Reality allows you to view things in the real world with computer graphics and text added to it. There are already a variety of AR applications in development. iPhone application developers are working on apps that can help you…

[From the Spring 2009 issue of Brain Matters on the web site of the UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth] Face Reality in the Virtual World T. Boone Pickens stood in front of a large computer monitor and smiled. On the screen, a 3D model of a character (called an avatar) that extraordinarily resembled him returned the identical smile, down to the slight tilt of the head, in real time. Then the renowned entrepreneur, philanthropist, and generous supporter of the UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth frowned. His computerized doppelganger flashed him the exact scowl in return. The prescient businessman with the…

[From the News & Events section of the web site of The University of Warwick] Virtual reality games could help bullying victims Monday November 9, 2009 Virtual reality games could help children to escape victimisation and bullying at school, according to researchers at the University of Warwick. Children who took part in a three-week anti-bullying virtual learning intervention in schools in the UK and Germany showed a 26% decrease in victimisation. In the study, published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, Maria Sapouna and Professor Dieter Wolke from Warwick Medical School and the Department of Psychology at the…

[From The Financial Times] Playing Stravinsky with a full orchestra By Hannah Nepil Published: November 6 2009 22:50 I brandish a stick and wallop a bass-drum 11 times in quick succession. “Very good,” remarks David Corkhill, principal percussionist of the Philharmonia. This would be encouraging, were my mentor not merely a recorded image on a flat screen. Re-Rite: Be the Orchestra, an installation-cum-exhibition that opened last Tuesday, offers the chance, according to its creator Esa-Pekka Salonen, “to understand the physical reality of being inside an orchestra”. Since becoming principal conductor of the Philharmonia in September 2008, the Finnish maestro has…

[From Delmarva Now; more information about the Fourmation project is available here] Web designer’s college work wins award By Brian Shane, Staff Writer, November 5, 2009 OCEAN CITY — A local graphic designer was part of a design team that won an international award recognizing an innovative project completed using Wii video game controllers. Nick Deimler, 22, and four of his fellow Drexel University digital media majors created a video game for their senior project. It uses infrared technology inherent in the Nintendo Wii video game system to create a new game that immerses the player in a 3-D virtual…

[From Gizmag (“invention, innovation and emerging technologies in all fields of human endeavour”); the web version of this story contains video segments] GOOD THINKING Take a stroll through virtual reality on the CyberWalk omni-directional treadmill By Darren Quick November 4, 2009 PST Jogging on the spot has gone high tech thanks to an omni-directional treadmill that allows you to walk in any direction while staying centered on the treadmill. When coupled with virtual reality (VR) technology it offers the potential for truly natural walking and immersion in virtual environments.…

[From the web site of Zest Audio; more information about Lightstep Technologies follows below] Community Simulates Disaster for Life Safety Zest Audio has recently completed the installation of a high power Community sound system for the demonstration facilities of Lightstep Technologies at their Belfast headquarters. Lightstep produce innovative products to help people escape from life threatening situations. Following many well publicised disasters in recent years, involving major loss of life in high rise buildings, nightclubs, underground stations and at sea, Lightstep has developed systems that represent a significant step forward in Life Safety systems. Much has been done to improve…

[A press release from Media-Newswire] Video Game to Help Urban Teens Avoid HIV Infection Focus of Nearly $4 Million Grant To Yale New Haven, Conn. – Creating a video game to help teens avoid sex, drugs and alcohol use-behaviors that could lead to HIV infection-is the aim of a five-year, $3.9 million research grant to Yale from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. The grant, to be paid out over five years, will fund work by Lynn Fiellin, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine. (Media-Newswire.com) – New Haven, Conn. –…