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Kinect paired with Vuzix VR920 shades, creates zany virtual reality game (video)
It was only a matter of time before Microsoft's continually-hacked Kinect became embroiled in a VR simulation of some sort, and while we're not riding light cycles quite yet, enterprising developer Nao_u has managed to put himself in the shoes (and short skirt) of a Japanese virtual pop icon. Mapping his every move onto the virtual skeleton of Vocaloid's Miku Hatsune probably won't impress you much at this stage of the game, but there's the little matter of what Nao_u did next: he hooked up a pair of Vuzix VR920 LCD glasses to see through the digital diva's eyes, too. Find the terribly cutesy video after the break, and fast-forward to 4:30 to watch Nao attempt to walk a narrow beam set atop a virtual skyscraper.
Vuzix Wrap 920AR dev bundle available 'nowish' with clear AR glasses 18 months away
When we got our hands on the Vuzix Wrap 920AR at CES we saw a promising piece of gear without too many practical applications. And where do things stand, nearly a year later? Available now (aside from a "30 to 45 day delay" on all orders) the headset is strictly developers only. According to Pocket-lint, the company is only eighteen months away from clear AR glasses with heads-up displays -- and, believe us, we'd love to see that -- but in the meantime, your hard earned $2,000 will get you the glasses, a Vuzix VR Manager license, and access to the Vuzix SDK. So, who's going to be the first to pitch us a system for Augmented Reality comment moderation? We'd love to some new and novel ways to "downrank" a few of our favorite commenters, if you get our drift.
UC San Diego researchers repurpose 3D HDTV for heads-up VR system
Off the shelf 3D HDTVs may still be a bit expensive from a consumer's point of view, but they're a downright bargain compared to the usual high-end virtual reality gear. This gave some researchers at UC San Diego a bright idea: they've paired a $2,300 Samsung 3D TV with a half-silvered mirror and a touch-feedback controller for a haptic-enabled heads-up virtual reality system (or HUVR) that costs just $7,000 (without head tracking). What's more, they say their system actually outperforms the PARIS HUVR system developed twelve years ago (and still in use), which cost a full $100,000. Head on past the break for a quick video of the rig in action. [Thanks, Chase]
Inhabitat's Week in Green: salad spinners, diapers, and solutions to the Deepwater catastrophe
The Week in Green is a new item from our friends at Inhabitat, recapping the week's most interesting green developments and clean tech news for us. This week renewable energy received a giant jolt forward as Google unveiled plans to invest $40 million in North Dakota wind farms. Solar power is also having a moment in the sun as MIT unveiled the world's first solar cells printed on paper - we can't wait to see a post-it version that we can stick to our walls! Meanwhile a team of Swiss researchers are harnessing rays of light for an entirely different purpose -- they've figured out a way to create rain clouds by shooting laser beams into the sky. With the Deepwater Horizon oil spill still saturating the sea weeks after the leak sprung, we also looked at an array of innovative solutions for cleaning up the catastrophe. The first step to stemming the spill's damage is predicting its spread, which is why scientists are harnessing advanced virtual reality models to aid in cleanup efforts. We also took a look at the BP's first massive oil containment dome, which the company plans to lower 5,000 feet below the sea to plug up the leak. This week we also looked at several ingenious inventions that find incredible new uses for everyday items. Two students at Rice University have transformed a simple salad spinner into a centrifuge that can save lives by diagnosing diseases, and a Japanese company called Super Faith has invented a machine that can transform used adult diapers into an energy source. Finally, we were dazzled by two high-tech garments that harness LEDs to light up the night. Katy Perry recently took to the red carpet wearing a shimmering gown studded with thousands of blinking rainbow lights, and we were impressed by this LED-laden coat that keeps bicyclists safe when they hit the streets at night.
DIY VR rig makes neck pain an un-virtual reality
Sure, there's plenty of practical VR options available these days (DIY and otherwise), but there's also something to be said for rigs that stick to virtual reality's cumbersome, unwieldy roots. Sharing that sentiment is DIYer Gavan Woolery, who combined an Acer GD235HZ 3D monitor, a pair of shutter glasses, and a TrackIR 5 head-tracking system to build this rig that manages to make the helmet from Videodrome look comfortable. Of course, Woolery is completely up front that the rig is "not in any way designed to be practical," but it does seem to work remarkably well, and it's reasonably inexpensive to build yourself if you're so inclined -- at least compared to other dedicated VR rigs. Head on past the break to check it out in action, and hit up the source link below for the complete details.
Virtusphere's virtual reality hamster ball put to the test
For eons we've wondered what it would be like to walk around in a bona fide Virtusphere, and at GDC last week we finally got our chance. The large plastic cage can turn and roll in any direction, and once replete with a wireless head-mounted display and fake gun, we were ready to take on some polygonal alien baddies. Getting into the cage is surprisingly easy, but unfortunately once we had a screen strapped to our head our well-honed sense of balance was right out the window, and we found ourselves staggering around a bit as we got used to the motion of the cage. The real military versions have a motion sensing gun controller, but we had to do all our aiming with our head, which didn't help. After a minute or so we got used to the "momentum" involved in moving the cage, which felt pretty great, but we'd say our favorite part about the experience was just being able to turn in place to confront baddies -- there's something about a few well placed steps that really blows away a left or right tug on our 360 controller's analog stick. At the end of the day the sheer size, cost, and ultra-dated graphics has us hardly pining for one of these in our living rooms, but with a bit more work on the gaming end (and a working gun pointer) we could see this as the arcade experience to beat. Check out a video of our harrowing experience (from outside and inside) after the break. %Gallery-88598%
Apple applies for head tracking patent, Johnny Chung Lee says 'you're welcome'
Pablo Picasso is quoted as saying, "good artists copy and great artists steal." Good thing the quoter was Steve Jobs then, because the latest Apple patent application to go public looks very much like something Johnny Chung Lee pieced together with a Wiimote way back in 2007. Filed for in June 2008, the new patent is for a system tracking the location of the user's head and responding to his movements in a fashion that should generate a realistic three-dimensional viewing experience sans those pesky glasses. We've got video of Johnny's setup after the break, and as he himself describes it, the idea behind a "desktop VR" is to unbound imagery from the screen surface and to make your monitor or TV act like a window unto whatever is being displayed. That means Apple will need a new branding scheme should this application turn into a real product -- iWindow just might be the least likely product name in the history of consumer electronics.
DIYer concocts homegrown View-Master, relies on HTC Magic and Google Street View (video)
It's been far, far too long since we broke out the View-Master from the admittedly dusty toy chest, but now we're guessing it'll be at least a score before we get the urge again. Why, you ask? The View-Master 2009. These homegrown virtual reality goggles are surprisingly impressive despite their ragged look, and by utilizing some form of cardboard enclosure, an HTC Magic and Google Street View, the designer was able to mimic that "immersive" environment we've grown to know and never forget. Don't believe us? Have a look at the vid just past the break, and hang in there 'til the end if you're scouting a how-to guide.
Mice run through Quake, Princeton neuroscientists scan their brains for traces of evil (video)
Want to know just how prevalent technology has become in our lives? Now even lab mice get Quake-derived virtual reality playgrounds to navigate instead of their old school wooden mazes. In all honesty, this appears a significant and praiseworthy advancement, as the Princeton team have succeeded in mapping brain activity right down to the cellular level, with real-time tracking of single neurons now possible. The Orwellian-looking setup above is necessary in order to keep the mouse's head immobile, and thus capable of being studied, while the animal moves around and its brain performs motion-related tasks. Go past the break to see a schematic of the scanner and a quite unmissable video of it in action.[Via Switched]
$500 Acceleglove promises to finally bring Rad Racer to life
Data gloves may have come a long way since the days of the Power Glove, but they've also tended to get pretty expensive as more and more tech found their way into 'em. The folks at AnthroTronix look to be doing their small part to change that with their new Acceleglove, however, which packs a not too crazy price tag of $500 and, according to the company, all the features you'd expect to find on a $5,000 glove. Chief among those features are accelerometers on each finger, which can track precise gestures like pinching and, as you can see in the video after the break, are more than up to all-important the task of controlling a robotic arm. Best of all, the glove comes complete with an open source SDK to let you get as much out of the glove as you're willing to put into it.[Via OhGizmo!]
Nokia interface patent fits like an AR-enhancing glove
Okay, you know the drill by now: just because it's in a patent doesn't mean it's happening anytime soon, if ever. With that said, we'd love to see what Nokia had in mind when they concocted this one. As Unwired View recently unearthed, the Finnish phone maker has drawn up a design doc / patent application for comfortable, stretchable material that fits over your skin and is used for device interaction. Gestures and stretches are computed and signaled into nearby computers, phones, or interestingly enough "near-eye displays" -- sounds like we're getting into a bit of virtual / augmented reality territory here -- and they are also tailored to provide feedback via vibration. Again, don't hold your breath on seeing this come to fruition any point in the near (or even long) future, but still, we know what you're thinking: Nokia's gonna have to think of a ton of kooky color descriptions to accentuate any future lineup of input wristbands / fingerbands.[Via Pocket-lint]
Mulleted mystery man invents PC VR Game Gun
It's an indisputable fact that magical things can come in mullet-clad packages. The collected works of Billy Ray Cyrus, the 1994 hit Beastie Boys track "Mullet Head" -- and now, from yet another unlikely, mulleted source: The PC VR Game Gun. If you'd like to cast off the veil of time and peer into the unthinkable future of video gaming, the YouTube video posted after the break should serve as an adequate portal into the world of things yet to come.By merging a toy gun, a PC gamepad, a LCD screen and a Gyration Air Mouse, the nameless modder created a pretty clever (and relatively inexpensive) head tracking system that's just perfect for first-person shooters -- especially F.E.A.R. on the highest difficulty setting. Sorry -- you can't play it on easy. The gun runs on extreme high octane action.[Via Engadget]
Video: Researchers learning to make VR more realistic, uncomfortable
Researcher Mel Slater (a computer scientist who divides his time between ICREA in Barcelona and University College, London) and his stalwart band of cybernauts are currently studying people when immersed in virtual environments, hoping to gain insight into why we respond to fake stimuli as if it's real. In one experiment, test subjects enter a "virtual bar" in which patrons schmooze, booze, and do the Frug. At a point during the virtual carousing, a fire breaks out. "We have had people literally run out of the VR room, even though they know that what they are witnessing is not real," says Slater. "They take their cues from the other characters." Other studies include a recreation of the classic Milgram Experiment of the 1960s (where the subject is ordered to give an electric shock to a "student" when they answer a question incorrectly) and a phobia study that introduces subjects to virtual heights. The researchers hope to gain insight into how the brain functions, eventually creating more intense and realistic virtual experiences, with applications in healthcare, training, social research and entertainment. What's next? According to Slater, the group is currently developing a project that is designed to help shy men overcome their fear of women (at the very least, it'll help you meet that Second Life avatar of your dreams). If this is your kinda thing, check out the video after the break. [Warning: the first several seconds of the video are audio only.]
Canon gets all 'Steve Zissou' with its Mixed Reality Aquarium
In some ways, augmented reality is an elegant solution to the main problem with VR: while there are some areas where insane levels of immersion are required, this stuff ain't cheap -- relegating solutions like CirculaFloor to academics, the military, and the extremely well-heeled. But how about those who just want to see wild graphics while they, you know, "party?" Canon's Mixed Reality Aquarium headset transforms any area you inhabit into a giant fishbowl. Not the sort of thing that you'll want to do more than once, probably -- although, to the company's credit, this is more of a research project than an actual product. How about an option to swim with Daryl Hannah from Splash? That would be pure gadget gold. That said, this does make for a fun video -- which we've graciously provided for you, after the break.[Via Oh Gizmo!]
Marco Tempest's Augmented Reality card trick makes David Copperfield look positively ludditic
Illusionist and augmented reality artiste Marco Tempest has put together a video preview of his newest act, called (aptly enough) "Augmented Reality Magic 1.0," and has been kind enough to share it with us. In the video, Tempest uses AR to demonstrate what's going on in his fertile imagination as he performs a card trick -- cards levitate, Jokers dance, and the birthday cake? Well, you'll just have to see for yourself. The most impressive part is that the whole thing goes down in real time, and utilizes C++ with OpenFrameworks, OpenCV, ARToolkitPlus, MacCam, "and other Open Source goodies." Nothing's done in post-production. Are you prepared to have your mind blown? Video after the break.[Via Make]
AlloSphere three story virtual environment not available for birthday parties, Bat Mitzvahs
Researchers at UC Santa Barbara are developing an immense, wholly immersive VR environment that would allow groups of researchers the opportunity to explore their data aurally and visually on a scale never before seen. The AlloSphere is a three story metal sphere housed in an echo-free chamber, large enough that twenty researchers can stand on a bridge and take a walk through an atom, for instance, or a human brain. The project relies on a supercomputer for generating real-time, high-res 3D video and audio streams from a mountain of scientific data, and currently the team is hard at work building the bad boy's computing platform and interactive display. The project leader JoAnn Kuchera-Morin has yet to state whether or not the sense of smell would be incorporated into the finished product, but we sure hope not -- that would be rather distracting, don't you think? Check it out on video after the break.[Via TED]
Cyberpunk MMO Otherland launches game preview site
It was only a few months ago when we first got word of a new cyberpunk/VR-themed MMO in development. Otherland is based on the the sci-fi novels of Tad Williams, which deal heavily with the interplay of the virtual and the real. Otherland is being built on the Unreal 3 engine by Singapore-based development studio Real U, a wholly-owned subsidiary of dtp entertainment AG in Germany.The Otherland information page states the game will release in 2011 for PC, and it could potentially offer some interesting dimensions to MMO gameplay. The site states: "MMO fans can expect a fascinating gameplay experience. Based on the globally successful novels, the Otherland gameplay is distinguished by a unique narrative structure. Rather than retelling the story, players will experience their own individual stories within the Otherland universe and will encounter many of the familiar characters from the books. The game world will change dynamically around them during the course of the game."
VR headset offers the sights, sounds, and smells of cyberspace - and tastes, and hot air
In an effort to bring the other three senses up to par with sight and sound in the virtual landscape, researchers in the UK have developed a headset that not only offers a stereoscopic display and four speaker surround sound, but throws in smells, tastes, and a fan for heating your grill up (or cooling it down) for good measure. The Virtual Cocoon doesn't look too terribly comfortable (this thing would be burdensome without the required tubes for the user's mouth and nose), but Professor Alan Chalmers of Warwick University doesn't seem to think this is a problem. If anything, the team is betting that you're going to welcome the opportunity to smell your co-workers when telecommuting, or your fellow cybernauts when running around Second Life. The device, which will have an estimated cost of £1,500 (around $2,100), should be ready for production within five years. More pics after the break.
CirculaFloor robot floor tiles keep you moving in virtual reality
One of the big problems facing VR is the issue of mobility -- how do you allow users unrestricted movement in virtual reality, while keeping them relatively static in real reality? Omni-directional treadmills have been tried in the past, and now researchers at the University of Tsukuba in Japan have developed something called CirculaFloor. The system uses four robotic tiles that constantly shift position, ensuring that there's always a tile in the direction you're headed. Additionally, the entire assembly moves slowly backwards, giving one the impression of movement while they're actually standing relatively still. The tiles also incorporate lifts, for simulating staircases and the like. While this research is promising, there's still plenty of work to be done -- for instance, the tiles still move awful slowly, and while they seem sturdy enough for a leisurely stroll, a Left 4 Dead implementation is not likely to happen any time soon. Video after the break.[Via Tech Digest]
MITRE develops hemispheric camera for visual telepresence
You have no idea how many times we've caught ourselves piloting prototype unmanned weapons platforms through hostile urban environments and thought, "this route is too complex, and this vision system too cumbersome to use -- there has got to be a better way." Well, it looks like the folks at MITRE have heard our call and replied with something called the Immersive Vision System. Currently in development, the heart of the thing is a hemispherical camera -- actually a number of stationary cameras that creates a video image that covers all 360 degrees horizontally and a none-too-shabby 270 degrees vertically. Placed on a robot, unmanned vehicle or armored troop carrier, the pilot wears a head mounted display with a tracking sensor that allows him to move his head naturally, adjusting the point of view accordingly -- no need for periscopes, joysticks, or any other non-intuitive control interfaces. Of course, we've merely scratched the surface of this whole "visual telepresence" jazz here -- for some action footage, be sure you check out the video after the break.
