Lug 6, 2015 | News on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality
Muoversi dentro un appartamento in fiamme senza correre rischi perché immersi in una simulazione. Ora è possibile grazie alla realtà virtuale che entra in classe per rivoluzionare l’apprendimento delle principali tecniche di sicurezza aziendale: l’antincendio e il primo soccorso. La Scuola edile delle province del Nord Sardegna ha inaugurato il 29 giugno il primo corso basato sull’uso delle tecnologia digitali.
Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.sardegnadies.it
I corsisti saranno attivamente coinvolti in situazioni formative, test, sperimentazioni. Soprattutto potranno sperimentare le tecniche di intervento con un livello di coinvolgimento personale mai visto prima.
In alcuni casi l’esperienza sarà molto simile a quella di un videogioco, solo che questa volta avverrà in classe e servirà a ottenere un attestato fondamentale per lavorare in tanti settori. Il mobile sarà l’oggetto principale con il quale si realizza questa rivoluzione perché permette di costruire e di fruire della formazione in qualsiasi luogo e orario.
Con l’uso di queste forme di apprendimento la Scuola edile di Sassari e Olbia taglia un nuovo traguardo. «Il nostro ente affianca le aziende nel difficile percorso verso l’innovazione – spiegano la presidente Cristina Costa e il vicepresidente Salvatore Frulio – ed è necessario sperimentare diverse forme di didattica. In questo caso abbiamo compiuto una lunga ricerca a livello nazionale per individuare i partner più adatti.
Grazie a questi strumenti è possibile formare competenze ancora più qualificate: lavorare sulla sicurezza vuol dire essere pronti ad affrontare situazioni imprevedibili sapendo qual è il comportamento più corretto. Ci teniamo poi a sottolineare che la Scuola edile si rivolge a un’utenza sempre più vasta, che interessa tutti i settori merceologici, dai cassaintegrati ai lavoratori in mobilità, dai professionisti ai disoccupati e così via».
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Lug 6, 2015 | News on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality
Last week VRFocus reported on the news that YouTube, the ever-popular online video platform, now supports virtual reality (VR) in its app on the Android operating system (OS). Fans are able to use the Google Cardboard mobile head-mounted display (HMD) to watch 360 degree footage in VR. This is hopefully just the first step in YouTube’s planned support of the technology, though it’s not clear if and when this feature might arrive on other HMDs such as the Oculus Rift. For those tired of waiting, a workaround of sorts is now available.
Sourced through Scoop.it from: vrfocus.com
Guy Godin, the developer behind popular VR app, Virtual Desktop, has revealed that it is now possible to watch YouTube 360 degree videos using the Oculus Rift with the help of his software.
The developer recently explained how this was possible in a new thread on Reddit. With the software installed, users need simply copy the link from the desired 360 degree footage and then paste it into the app’s video player tab.
From there Virtual Desktop will download the video as the best possible quality, which will then be saved in the ‘My Videos\360 Videos’ folder.
Virtual Desktop is a free app for Windows that allows for far more than 360 degree video viewing. The experience essentially presents the user’s own desktop on a huge virtual screen, meaning they can browse the web in VR.
It’s even possible to play videogames in-app. While not in VR itself, this is similar to the Xbox One’s upcoming support for the Oculus Rift, while will allow players to stream their titles through the upcoming Windows 10 OS and into a virtual cinema of sorts.
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Lug 6, 2015 | News on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality
According to the National Parkinson Foundation, Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s, affecting about 1 million Americans and an estimated 4 million people around the world.
Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.fastcocreate.com
In 2002, New York-based Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG) launched its Dance for Parkinson’s Disease program, based on the concept that the movement and training used by professional dancers to build balance, power and coordination could also help Parkinson’s sufferers.
Last year, seeing the potential of wearable technology, program director David Leventhal applied for and was awarded one of Google’s five Explorer grants for non-profit organizations to develop applications for the Glass platform.
The group teamed up with ad agency ad SS+K to help design, develop, and launch Moving Through Glass, an augmented reality app created to provide 24/7 aid for people with Parkinson’s that’s now available to the public.
Kevin Skobac, SVP, digital strategy and innovation at SS+K says people living with Parkinson’s were invited to review and test the project at various development stages, while researchers from New York Presbyterian/Weill-Cornell Medical Center, and Stanford University’s Movement Disorders Center are advising on, and testing the app.
Parkinson’s Disease is a movement disorder affecting nerve cells and one of the most common symptoms is having difficulty initiating movement. The app features warm-up routines to get people get moving.
A walking guide uses video and music to set a pace, to help with the tremors and jerky movements common with Parkinson’s that can make walking difficult. Parkinson’s sufferers can also become "stuck" in the middle of a movement and have difficulty re-initiating movement, so the app provides standing routines that gradually get users out of a freeze and back to walking.
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Lug 6, 2015 | News on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality
The researchers say it is possible to use holographic projections to provide extra information on objects in a person’s visual field in real time.
Scientists have developed a method of projecting 3D holographic images into the field of view of an observer in an “augmented reality” breakthrough that could one day allow the likes of surgeons and firefighters to benefit from seeing the world through technology similar to that used by comic-book superhero Iron Man.
Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.independent.co.uk
The researchers said it would be possible to use the holographic projections to provide extra information on objects in a person’s visual field in real time in order to supplement their normal sense of vision using augmented-reality headsets – just like Iron Man’s suit.
Details of the research will be released at this week’s summer science exhibition at the Royal Society, which highlights the best of British scientific research and technical innovation – from the latest studies into the origins of life to robots with human-like hearing.
Augmented-reality headsets rely on a British device similar to a microscopic slide, which converts light from a computer or camera into a hologram that can be displayed in front of a person’s eye and focused within their field of vision.
“This optical technology is a game-changer for the development of augmented-reality devices. The applications for devices that allow people to view the world around them overlaid with data relevant to what they are seeing are endless,” said Simon Hall, the lead scientist in adaptive optics at the National Physical Laboratory.
“There are many things you can do with augmented reality that can assist people in various professions, for example a firefighter trying to get an infra red view of a smoke-filled room; or you may think of the surgeon wanting to get more information about the operation that he’s doing from a colleague across the Atlantic – or simply helping the blind to see,” Dr Hall said.
“We’ve all seen Tony Stark’s view of the world when he wears his Iron Man suit – information about his world projected in his line of sight. Now we’ll be able to experience it for ourselves. We’ll be working with the developers of augmented-reality devices on a wide range of applications,” Dr Hall said.
Other scientists displaying at the summer science exhibition have worked out a way of giving robots super-human hearing using a microphone that can zoom in on conversations within a noisy room.
Patrick Naylor of Imperial College said the technology would allow machines to understand human conversations in noisy places, by focusing on individual voices.
“At the moment, robots, phones and other devices using speech recognition don’t work well when you’re not close to the microphone or [not] in a quiet space because there’s just too much noise,” Dr Naylor said.
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Lug 6, 2015 | News on Augmented, Mixed and Virtual Reality
Three hundred or so visually challenged people are getting assistance in seeing the world around them, thanks to augmented reality goggles developed at the University of Oxford in England. Smart Specs by Va-ST use 3D mapping and depth sensing to provide object and facial recognition assistance.
Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.eetimes.com
Many people who are blind actually have a bit of vision capability, said Stephen Hicks, a research fellow in neuroscience at Oxford University.
People that are visually challenge could benefit from augmented reality, much like a deaf person can benefit from a hearing aid, amplifying the ability to distinguish shapes or distance.
In 2014, Hicks and his colleagues, won a £500,000 Google Impact Challenge to expand their research and create 100 pairs of the glasses to test on people with sight loss in their homes. VA-ST hopes to bring smart glasses to market at the end of 2016.
VA-ST’s augmented reality goggles use a color camera and an infrared structured light depth camera in tandem, then exaggerate the images those cameras capture with software.
The color camera detects surface features such as shadows and textures, while the depth camera isolates nearby objects to make them easier to see against the background. To a fully sighted person, Smart Specs create a colorless version of the world where close objects are very bright.
Smart Specs pair commodity hardware such as Intel Realsense and the Kinect 3D motion sensor to do image mapping and recognition. An Epson Moverio BT-200 display projects images in black and white with various levels on distinction to show nearby and far away objects, as well as outlines and shades. The goggles are designed primarily for low-light vision or use indoors, with a 22 degree field of view – equivalent to watching a TV about 6.5 feet away.
VA-ST has developed a see-through display to encourage eye contact and also allows users to adjust the Specs from a daytime magnifier, for observing nearby objects or faces, into a low light navigator for detecting obstacles. A pause button holds an image still so users can zoom in and explore details.
The goggles are currently wired to a large battery pack, which Hicks hopes to shrink for mass production, and the shoulder-bag sized has an 8 hour battery life. Smart Specs must be wired for power and connectivity because low-latency vision requires speeds beyond Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capabilities.
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