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A Virtual Reality Field Trip Through South Florida’s Everglades
Before cities there were swamps. Wetlands and swamps globally have been sacrificed to pave the way for housing, agriculture and industry. Urban developers and dwellers have largely overlooked the vital role that swamps play in buffering storms, capturing carbon, fostering life and filtering water. One of the biggest threats to swamps today is a lack… Read More
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Virtual Reality Adds to Tourism Through Touch, Smell and Real People’s Experiences
Back in 2001, an acquaintance who worked for Lonely Planet told me about a surprise discovery. The travel guide business had an audience of people who would buy their travel books, but never travel. Lonely Planet dubbed them “virtual tourists”. Now Lonely Planet, and others, have become excited by tourism powered by virtual reality (VR)… Read More
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How We’re Designing Musical Instruments with the Help of Disabled Musicians and VR
Most new digital technologies tend to be designed with an able-bodied user in mind. The first desktop computers required fine motor skills to navigate software menus using a mouse, and mobile phones need users to press buttons, swipe screens, and so on. To use such technology a person needs to be fairly dexterous. In our… Read More
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Holographic Teachers Were Supposed to Be Part of Our Future. What Happened?
Cast your mind back to the turn of last century. Experts predicted that by now classrooms would no longer feature human teachers, and holographic virtual entities would deliver lessons instead. This certainly hasn’t happened. The closest we have come is group video chat via apps like FaceTime, Zoom or Google Hangouts. But this doesn’t mean… Read More
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Virtual Reality Tours Give Rural Students a Glimpse of College Life
The first time that Nyah visited the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for a campus tour, there wasn’t much of a chance to see what takes place inside the classrooms. “We just walked by buildings and the guide talked about what goes on inside,” Nyah recalls of the campus tour this past spring. But… Read More
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Lightweight VR Gloves Let People Feel, Grab Virtual Objects
Researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL) and ETH Zurich have jointly developed a lightweight haptic glove that allows users to touch, feel and manipulate objects in virtual reality as if they were actually there. The glove, named DextrES by the researchers, recreates a highly realistic sensation of touch, and can… Read More
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Why Food Can Taste Different Through VR
Our five senses come into play when we taste food. The ambience is important too. Most of us would agree that grabbing a quick burger at the local diner is not quite the same as enjoying steak frites at an upscale French restaurant. That our environment influences our food taste is driven home by a… Read More
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VR Helps Designers Magically Sketch 3D Models
“Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” — as Cinderella’s fairy godmother sang these three words and motioned the tip of her magic wand, everything turned into what she imagined them to be. Yes, it’s magic in a film. The exact thing can’t happen in real life. But what about something like it? With virtual reality, researchers at the Korean Advanced… Read More
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Virtual Reality Can Help You Remember Better
People can remember information better when it is presented through an immersive, virtual reality (VR) experience rather than a two-dimensional platform, a new study suggests. Researchers at the University of Maryland conducted one of the first in-depth studies on the effects of learning through a virtual environment, pointing to the prospect of using VR technology… Read More
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3D Virtual Tour Through Rock Unlocks Fossil Mystery
A team of geoscientists at Princeton University has developed a method to create three-dimensional digital images of deconstructed rock samples that can be viewed from any angle. Algorithms, developed by the team, allow the computer to segment the images without human bias. Close to five years ago Adam Maloof, an associate professor of geoscience, collaborated… Read More
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Princess Leia of ‘Star Wars’ Inspires 3D Images That Float in Air
A team of researchers from Brigham Young University (BYU) has developed a revolutionary method to produce 3D image projections similar to the Princess Leia 3D message used in the original “Star Wars” movie. The method could lead to real-life applications of volumetric images seen in science fiction movies, such as “Avatar,” “Iron Man,” and… Read More
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New Form of Journalism Uses Virtual Reality to Tell Story
Inspired by the progression of immersive storytelling, a professor at University of Southern California (USC) in Annenberg is using cutting-edge technology to prepare a new generation of journalists. With The New York Times (NYT), National Public Radio (NPR) and other media giants beginning to use Virtual Reality (VR) and 360 degree video, it is apparent… Read More
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UB’s Virtual Reality Method for Teacher Training Acts as ‘Flight Simulator for Teachers’
Generally, teachers learn to cope with real classroom dynamics through experience, which leaves new, inexperienced teachers at a disadvantage. But that won’t be the case for those with access to the virtual reality training method developed by two University at Buffalo education researchers, which simulates a real classroom setting showcasing difficult student behaviors. Virtual reality… Read More
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Stanford and UC San Diego Researchers Develop 4D Camera That Could Enhance Robotic Vision and Augmented and Virtual Reality
A team of researchers from Stanford University and University of California, San Diego have developed a brand new kind of camera with robotics in mind. This new camera will remove a key challenge robotics engineers face today in terms of capturing images. Digital cameras, even the top-of-the-line models, are not well-suited for capturing the wide… Read More
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University of Birmingham’s Virtual Reality Beach Reduces Stress and Helps with Rehabilitation
A long walk on the beach is emotionally and physically healing. The warm white sand, beaming sunlight, and calming tones of crashing waves lower stress levels and help to relieve anxiety. Now, trips to the beach via virtual reality have been proven to provide similar healing and stress-relieving attributes. In 2013, the University of Birmingham’s… Read More
