Virtual Reality - Science Daily

Old or young, beautiful or sinister - the choices are endless when designing an avatar or a virtual alter ego. In the end, do people choose one that is really different from themselves? Usually not, according to new research that shows in most cases, avatars reflect the personality of their creators. The study has implications for real-life companies who would like to reach both the virtual and real-world markets.

To understand a protein, it helps to get inside of it, and a professor has now figured out a way to do so. A new computer software program and projection system lets a person look at larger-than-life, 3-D structures of proteins in virtual reality. This allows scientists to walk inside, through or around the protein of interest for investigating its structure and function.

A new study analyzing interactions between players in a virtual universe game has for the first time provided large-scale evidence to prove an 80-year-old psychological theory called Structural Balance Theory. The research shows that individuals tend to avoid stress-causing relationships when they develop a society, resulting in more stable social networks.

A new research project is set to play a vital role in continuing research into viable alternatives to invasive autopsies, which many families find to be unpleasant.

It is predicted that 80 percent of active Internet consumers and Fortune 500 companies will have an avatar or presence in a virtual community, including social networks, by the end of 2011. A new article investigates the role avatars play in the virtual and consumer environment, how well avatars reflect the personality of their creators, the psychology behind self-representation, and how these virtually made identities are perceived by other members of the virtual community.

Food presented in a virtual reality environment causes the same emotional responses as real food. Researchers compared the responses of people with anorexia and bulimia, and a control group, to the virtual and real-life snacks, suggesting that virtual food can be used for the evaluation and treatment of eating disorders.

As recession-weary consumers learn to make do with less in this, the real world, there is one area where they're still willing to spend freely: in online, "virtual" ones. A Florida researcher is studying the growing market for virtual products, particularly in Internet virtual worlds, and has identified several factors that appear to increase the likelihood that people will make these types of purchases.

Personal computers in enterprise environments save energy and money by "sleep-working," thanks to new software called SleepServer. Sleep-working enterprise PCs are accessible via remote connections and maintain their presence on voice over IP, instant messaging, and peer-to-peer networks even though the PCs are in low-power sleep mode. SleepServer can reduce energy consumption on enterprise PCs previously running 24/7 by an average of 60 percent.

Montreal researchers' innovative use of virtual reality to tap into the power of brain plasticity is emerging as a major technique in brain recovery for stroke patients.

Two robotics events were designed to prove the viability of advanced technologies for robotic automation of manufacturing and microrobotics.

Researchers in Spain have developed a new therapy based on the use of mobile devices and virtual reality for the psychological treatment of patients suffering from fibromyalgia.

Virtual humans are increasingly taking on roles that were once reserved for real humans. A study found that the decisions of men were strongly affected by presentational aspects of the simulated woman, while women's decisions were not.

In disaster emergencies, such as the recent West Virginia mine explosion or the earthquake in Haiti, it is often unsafe for responders to enter the scene, prolonging the rescue of potential survivors. Now, researchers have developed software for a robot with a laser sensor that can enter dangerous structures to assess the structure's stability and locate any remaining people. This technology could lead to safer and more efficient rescue missions.

Researchers in Spain have developed a model for 3-D virtual learning environments based on an autonomous virtual tutor that detects collaboration.

Virtualization and cloud computing allow computer users access to powerful computers and software applications hosted by remote groups of servers, but security concerns related to data privacy are limiting public confidence -- and slowing adoption of the new technology. Now researchers have developed new techniques and software that may be the key to resolving those security concerns and boosting confidence in the sector.

A researcher is using a "virtual tabletop" to "move" kids with disabilities and provide home-based treatments using virtual reality tools. Combining new three-dimensional exercises with two-dimensional graphical movement games already programmed into the tabletop (which resembles an early video game), she reports not only success but also enthusiasm among her young patients.

From the Italy of Visconti to the Spain of Almodovar, many people’s first encounter with a foreign country is in the cinema. Imagine if images from the silver screen could be conjured up anew when they do visit, for real?

Industrial design modelling, used to make prototypes of home appliances or mock-ups of car parts, could soon make the leap from the world of plaster, plastic and sticky tape into the digital domain thanks to an augmented reality design system developed in Europe.

In the technology adoption cycle, a chasm separates powerful new technologies from the SMEs that could most benefit from them. Now, thanks to European researchers, architects and engineers are building a bridge to cross that chasm.

An early ancestor of the cockroach that lived around 300 million years ago is unveiled in unprecedented detail in a new three-dimensional "virtual fossil" model.