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Swimming like a penguin is a different kind of virtual reality
This week in "People Looking Awkward in VR tech" features me in a headset and giant, fluffy, penguin wings. Part of a VR showcase touching on the potential applications of what everyone's talking about, this is an elaborate penguin robot controller. A penguin bot, located miles away, floating in an aquarium tank, will flap its fins when you do, so once you get the rhythm down, you can swim like a penguin. (And make a robot do the same -- if connectivity holds.)
Telesar V robot brings new meaning to escapism (video)
The esoteric art of telepresence is all about that sweetest of dreams: being somewhere you'd rather be. So far, though, it's hardly teleported much beyond our head movements and kisses. What we really need is a fully-fledged avatar that can also feed sensory information back to us -- and that's exactly what the Telesar V claims to be. The user dons a pair of VR goggles that control the robot's head and see through its eyes. A pair of gloves not only control the Telesar's hands, but also transmit force and temperature data back from its sensors. Drag yourself away from that violent BF3 simulator and check out the smoochiness after the break. (And yes, the inventor's surname is just about perfect.)
