[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. –…

[From The Vancouver Sun] Butting out in virtual reality may have real-life results By Linda Nguyen, Canwest News Service October 28, 2009 Our actions in virtual reality may subconsciously lead to changes to real-life addictive behaviours, according to a group of Quebec researchers. A recent study by the GRAP Occupational Psychology Clinic and University of Quebec in Gatineau found that smokers who destroyed cigarettes in a virtual-reality environment many times over a period of months reported having less of a tobacco addiction than those who were assigned another virtual-reality task. The theory behind the study, published in the current issue…

[From the Pixels and Policy blog (“Uncovering the ways virtual worlds change our politics, policy, and culture”)] 10/26/2009 The Curious Case of Racism in Second Life The standard techno-optimist argument in favor of expanding the Metaverse goes something like this: Virtual worlds hold the promise of commuication without regard for distance, physical ability, gender, or race. Every aspect of the avatar is flexible, rendering prejudice obsolete. It appears such wishful thinking might be snagged on the heated issue of race. Pixels and Policy reports on a little-noticed study that says our racial biases are carrying over into the Metaverse. Bringing Race…

[From The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Wired Campus blog; more information is available here and at the EchoDamp web site] October 27, 2009, 02:00 PM ET Software Helps Music Students Collaborate Online With Crystal Clarity By Jeff Young Music schools have a tradition of bringing in famous musicians to hold master classes with a handful of students, but many of those visits have been cut this year because of tight budgets. Free software developed at the University of Southern California promises to make videoconferencing clear enough to hold such classes remotely over high-speed Internet connections. The software is called EchoDamp,…

[From MIT’s Technology Review Editors blog; watch the 2:44 minute video demonstration here] Tuesday, October 27, 2009 Using Google’s Phone to Make Virtual Reality Goggles Tired of waiting for mass market VR goggles? Here’s an easy way to make your own. By Kristina Grifantini Both virtual reality and augmented reality have been gaining attention with the growing popularity of powerful smart phones. And, as the technology inside these devices becomes better and smaller, it seems only a matter of time before someone invents cool-enough looking VR/AR glasses or goggles. In the meantime however, the folks over at Recombu.com have demonstrated…

[From Newlaunches.com; the project is on display at the Digital Contents Expo in Tokyo] Media Vehicle simulates a cocoon by gary, posted October 26, 2009 – 9:07 AM This cool Media Vehicle is capable of nesting you safely into its safe confines that make it look like a cocoon. Once you´re sealed inside it, you can monitor everything that´s happening outside with the help of a large spherical screen. This screen displays grabs from a camera that is located outside it. The four wheels provide stability and fluidity of motion. The Media Vehicle is described as a `personal virtual reality…