Barco has a knack for stopping shows, and while Tokyo's Industrial Virtual Reality expo didn't exactly shut down, we can only imagine how many folks took the time to check out the CADWall concept. Hailed as a "multi-channel display system with a high pixel density that consists completely of Barco technology," said system utilizes a pair of LX-5 projectors, a superflat high-contrast screen and just two-channels to create a 10-megapixel 3D stereo image. Sure beats six or eight to make the third-dimension come to life, huh?

[Via AboutProjectors]

Though not the first omni-directional treadmill we've ever seen, this version crafted for the EU-funded CyberWalk Project is entirely more interesting. The 6- x 6-meter device features an active walking area of 4.5- x 4.5-meters, and later this month, individuals anxious to prance through a virtual city will be able to strap on a head-mounted display, lace up their LA Lights and indulge in escapism. Aside from giving curious persons the ability to walk through a recreated version of ancient Pompeii, the device could also be used to meander through buildings not yet created or give firefighters a way to train without placing them in harm's way. Now, if only there was an option to dissolve into pixels and teleport to locales you find particularly intriguing, we'd be sold.

[Via Slashdot]

Considering how much impact our gadgets already have on our day-to-day lives, we not sure we don't already live in a mixed reality environment, but researchers at the University of Illinois have created what they say is the first true mixed reality system based on a pendulum and its virtual counterpart. Both the real pendulum and the simulation mimic each others' movements exactly -- adjusting the motor affects the simulation and adjusting the parameters of the simulation affects the motor -- blurring the line between the real and the virtual. That sounds simple, sure, but it's the first successful system of its kind -- as researcher Alfred Hubler put it, "[The pendulums] suddenly noticed each other, synchronized their motions, and danced together indefinitely." Seeing as simply creating a mixed-reality pendulum took super-fast processors, we doubt we're any closer to the Matrix -- unless it's a Matrix inside another Matrix. We need to go lie down.

It's been a tick since we've heard any news on the 3D drawing front, but a number of computer scientists from Brown University are putting the art back in the proverbial foreground with its Drawing on Air installation. Put simply, users can slip on a virtual reality mask, grab a stylus and tracking device, and go to town. The system uses "drawing guidelines, force feedback, and two-handed interaction" to assist artists in drawing more precisely, and once movements are made, the patterns are transferred to a computer for use in 3D modeling and design programs. Unfortunately, such a system can't currently be priced at points which John and / or Jane Doe would be happy with, but the researchers did state that commercialization wasn't "too far away" and that prices should decrease from "thousands of dollars to hundreds of dollars in the next few years."

Using virtual reality technology coupled with sensors, scientists at Technion, Israel's Institute of Technology have developed a system to enable people suffering from Multiple Sclerosis to walk more effectively. The virtual reality tech takes the form of a small screen attached to glasses which projects a moving, virtual ground computed using sensors that measure the user's eye and body movements. This "virtual floor" apparently improves the walking ability of MS sufferers, and helps them to remain stable. The device even improves walking performance after it has been taken off, so patients won't have to look completely awesome with their goggles on 24/7.

[Via TFOT]

Sure, ASCII art is cool for making lewd gestures and the unicorn that you use for your e-mail signature, but couldn't we be doing more with it? Well, some Russian artists / DIY'ers certainly think so, and as a result they've created an immersive system which allows you to view the world through the lens of real-time ASCII art (amongst other effects). The designers of this VR headset / live video-effects-unit were hoping to modify "real" reality for the user, thus creating a "virtual reality" experience via video effects (similar to Photoshop filters) in a binocular viewer. The creators used a pair of goggles with a camera attached, a proprietary "black box" consisting of a CPU, battery, and radio transmitter, and custom-coded video processing modes (we assume, considering the box has no "operating system"). The result? Well, besides ASCII -- which looks a bit like the Matrix numbers -- you can do an effect akin to the Predator's POV... though we're pretty sure it won't make you invisible, or a lethal, alien killer. Check the video after the break to see the psychedelic magic unfold.

[Via Slashdot]

Yeah, we've seen bizarre apparatuses that bring about otherworldly feelings, but new studies have reportedly been able to induce out-of-body experiences with just a set of "virtual reality goggles, a camera, and a stick." Apparently, the "research reveals that the sense of having a body, of being in a bodily self, is actually constructed from multiple sensory streams," and when the newfangled system forces individuals to peer at "an illusory image of themselves" while the stick prods them "in a certain way," the guinea pigs said they felt as if they had been removed from their bodies. Of course, it seems the real purpose here circles more around the science of the brain rather than hashing out a DIY guide to accomplish this on your own, and no, so far as we can tell, it (unfortunately) does not play Doom.

Sure, you get a pretty good workout on that regular treadmill, but don't you think you could burn more calories if you had a little directional freedom? Well, thanks to the ridiculously clever people at Virtual Space Devices, you're one step closer to breaking free of your staid workout -- and one step closer to fully immersive virtual environments. The Michigan-based company has been developing an omni-directional treadmill since 1996, and they appear to have come up with a real solution -- a self-contained unit which allows you to walk (or run) in any direction you choose, without actually covering any ground. Next up the company plans to manufacture a device called the iPlane, which will not only allow you to walk and run wherever you want, but fly as well, which should make future iterations of Doom really, really interesting. Watch the video after the break and be stunned and amazed.

[Via Digg]

Regardless of general consensus, it looks like 3D display technology is making a run for our wallets (and to a lesser extent, our hearts), and just days after getting wind of Philips' latest iteration, NTT is hitting back with a newfangled approach of its own. Based around an improved version of the company's original 3D display, this prototype system relies on a sophisticated array of cameras and an actuator-stuffed glove that can allow the wearer to "feel the image" that shows up on the LCD. As the object changes, the glove moves along in real-time to give the user a lifelike idea of what the on-screen matter actually feels like, but unfortunately, it doesn't allow the individual to react. Thankfully, a two-way system that will enable tactile transmissions to be channeled in both directions is in the works, but those parked in Japan can check out the current system at the Industrial Virtual Reality Expo later next week.

[Via Slashgear image courtesy of Mainichi]

If you couldn't quite make it to the last Wii marriage counseling session, there's still good news coming from Georgia Tech. Thanks to a group of engineering minds at the university, a new augmented reality game (dubbed AR Facade) is placing you in the center of a marital spat with nearly limitless options. The program apparently runs on a back-worn laptop and utilizes an oh-so-tacky head mountable display, and developers suggest that being placed in the midst of an "interactive drama" allows you to choose sides, attempt to mediate, and basically "define your own way to win" as you try to talk some sense into the flustered couple. Interestingly, there's even talk of bringing such games "onto mobile phones" and into the workplace, but it looks like they've got a bit of hardware trimming to do first.

[Via The Raw Feed]

California State University multimedia student Tommy Lothian has come up with quite the master's thesis: a virtual flythrough of an imaginative Aztec world wherein players don 3D goggles and strap themselves into a harness that suspends them horizontally, enabling them to interact with objects and complete tasks, including stabbing a monster with a jade stone, scaling an active volcano, and, uh, not hallucinating over too much fermented agave juice. No word on what Tommy plans to do with the tech, but we bet that agave juice simulation would be a huge hit at parties.

The 1,500 Trek-obssesed citizens of Vulcan, Alberta are spicing up their annual Galaxyfest this year with the launch of the "Vulcan Space Adventure," an immersive VR game that takes place inside a recreation of the Enterprise. The CA$250,000 game, built by VR firm GestureTek, allows up to three players cast as Starfleet trainees to simulataneously interact with a virtual environment created by multple cameras and holographic screens. After being led into the simulation chamber -- built to look like the bridge of the Enterprise -- by "Captain Krok," visitors take orders from Starfleet Command and then use GestureTek's "point-and-click" VR system to complete their mission. The system, which doesn't require the player to wear any cumbersome VR gear, is one of only two GestureTek installations in Canada. We just hope the game doesn't get too real: what happened to that poor redshirt in these photos? A couple more after the jump...

Although the mere mention of "virtual reality" typically conjures thoughts of gaudy headwear and a fairly good time, Stanford researchers are taking the technology to a much more serious front. A newfangled $25,000 helmet can be used to take victims back to the crime scene, and moreover, can adjust 3D digital busts to give individuals a more accurate look at what the attacker may have looked like at the time of the incident. The virtual police lineup, as it's so aptly titled, enables a virtual world to be opened up in hopes of giving traumatized victims a chance at truly remembering what someone looked like. The weight, height, and basically any other physical attribute of the digital criminal can be altered to give folks a better view, and the wearer can actually approach the busts, inspect their figures, and check out the scar on John Doe's left arm as if the suspects were actually before them. Looks like ski mask robbery just came back into style.

[Via Primidi]

SIGGRAPH has certainly been the home of many virtual reality demonstrations, and this year yet another contraption that (partially) removes us from the world we know will be on display. Similar to the Powered Shoes and Virtusphere seen in years past, the String Walker is a "locomotion interface that uses eight strings actuated by motor-pulley mechanisms mounted on a turntable" in order to let users walk through virtual landscapes. Proprioceptive feedback allows the VR system to translate actual footsteps into the digital world, giving participants a reason to stroll around rather than just twiddling their thumbs. Reportedly, the biggest challenge was mastering the floor, which enables omni-directional walking that simple "treadmill-like" surfaces don't offer and in a simpler fashion than the "complicated" CirculaFloor. Next-generation DDR, here we come.

[Via Gizmag]

An upstart organization calling itself the International Association of Virtual Reality Technologies (IAVRT) looks to be out to bring back the VR glory days, recently announcing that it's planning nothing short of an entirely new network that'll be all VR all the time, existing alongside the plain-old, apparently not-suitable-for-VR Internet. According to the organization, this new network, called the "Neuronet," is possible as a result of the "massive overcapacity of fiber optic cable left over from the dot-com era," which makes it "feasible with minimal investment." To cover some of those other costs, IAVRT says it'll soon begin accepting pre-registrations for .vr and .cin ("cinematic virtual reality neurosites") domains, with the organization also planning on operating as an ICANN-like governing body. Not surprisingly, the announcement has been met with a fair bit of skepticism (to put it kindly), due in no small part to the complete lack of details on anyone involved with the organization, not to mention the little matter of practicality. The reBang weblog in particular has been doing lots of digging into the legitimacy of the group, and while not turning up anything conclusive, it has led to a wide range of speculation, even including remote possilibility that it's all an elaborate Alternate Reality Game (ARG). It looks we should know soon enough, however, with IAVRT reportedly set to announce "several major partnership announcements" in the coming weeks.

Read - International Association of Virtual Reality Technologies
Read - reBang, "Is Neuronet a Scam?"
Read - CNET, "Virtual reality to get its own network?"

[Via Slashdot]