Real-time action in a virtual world
Unlike the 3-D polygon models in video games or digitally animated films, this virtual environment records real-time actions. Below, the remote capabilities of the system allow multiple sites to...
View ArticleCan lookalike avatars help us shape up?
Researchers found that study participants who saw their own avatars running were more likely to exercise after they left the lab than participants who saw someone else’s avatar exercising or saw...
View ArticleDriving game maps brain’s version of GPS
Researchers asked patients undergoing an unrelated neurosurgical procedure to play a virtual-navigation video game called Yellow Cab. Patients used a handheld joystick to drive a taxi through a...
View ArticleVirtual appearance matters to men
INDIANA U. (US)—In a recent study, men’s decisions were strongly affected by certain appearance aspects of computer-generated women, such as jerky movements, while women’s decisions were not.Virtual...
View ArticleVirtual reality software packs real savings
U. LEEDS (US)—Virtual reality software that plans the safe decommissioning of nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities could save millions of pounds, according to its inventors.The software...
View ArticleHow virtual acts change attitudes
STANFORD (US) — A virtual reality environment can literally change behavior in the real world, according to a new study.People who were told to “cut down” a sequoia redwood in a 3-D forest were less...
View ArticleWould you kill 1 person to save 5 others?
MICHIGAN STATE (US) —A new study suggests a vast majority of people are willing to violate a moral rule if it means minimizing harm, in this case letting one person die to save five others.For the...
View ArticleBrain’s quick memories drive our choices
PRINCETON (US) — Researchers have used a virtual reality and brain imaging system to study how the brain forms short-term memories for decision-making. By following the brain activity of mice as they...
View ArticleBuff avatars may help us get healthy
U. MISSOURI (US) — Having a fit and healthy virtual avatar may encourage people to improve their own health and appearance, according to a recent study.“The creation of an avatar allows an individual...
View ArticleAfter injury, virtual reality tests real-world skills
U. TORONTO (CAN) — A new virtual reality test shows promise in predicting if a cognitive impairment will keep a person from functioning in the real world.The test developed by Konstantine Zakzanis,...
View ArticleVirtual superpowers prompt real kindness
STANFORD (US) — Given virtual superpowers, people respond with more altruism in the real world, a new experiment shows. While several studies have shown that playing violent videogames can encourage...
View ArticleBonding with avatar can shift perception
PENN STATE / U. MICHIGAN (US) — People who customized an avatar and saw it wearing a backpack overestimated the heights of virtual hills, just as people in real life tend to overestimate heights and...
View ArticleVirtual appearance matters to men
INDIANA U. (US)—In a recent study, men’s decisions were strongly affected by certain appearance aspects of computer-generated women, such as jerky movements, while women’s decisions were not. Virtual...
View ArticleVirtual reality software packs real savings
U. LEEDS (US)—Virtual reality software that plans the safe decommissioning of nuclear power plants and other nuclear facilities could save millions of pounds, according to its inventors. The software...
View ArticleVirtual reality trick shifts depth perception
Scientists manipulated the distance at which people accurately perceived depth, both through sight and touch, by tricking them into thinking they had a longer reach than they really do. The...
View ArticlePatients tell more secrets to virtual humans
Patients are more willing to disclose personal information to virtual humans than to actual ones, likely because computers don’t make judgments or look down on people the way another human might. The...
View ArticleVirtual nose keeps gamers from feeling sick
Simulator sickness—which often induces vertigo and even nausea—often afflicts players of virtual reality games, but inserting a “virtual nose” into the picture may be a way to lessen the queasiness....
View ArticleThese cheap gadgets use acoustics to control phones
Just as a simple slide whistle or flute can produce expressive music, a toolbox of devices called Acoustruments can add a wide range of functionality to a smartphone, including proximity and pressure...
View ArticleGaming glove puffs up to make virtual reality feel real
Engineering students have invented a glove that lets a user feel what they’re touching while gaming. The Hands Omni glove, developed at Rice University’s Oshman Engineering Design Kitchen, could...
View ArticleOur brains work like bats’ to navigate the dark
The brain maintains a sense of place and a basic ability to navigate that is independent of external clues from the eyes, ears, and other senses. You’ve probably experienced this by walking through...
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