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« February 2007 | Main | April 2007 »
Volker Blanz and Thomas Vetter in Germany have developed software for facial morphing. They are able to take a 3-D model of their generic face and map it onto a still photograph. In effect, the 3-D model absorbs the facial features of the photo so that it can be rotated and otherwise processed. The images here are from a demo movie that you'll no doubt find interesting. The good stuff is in the second half, so hold tight. [More]
Using new techniques that merge the Internet 2 with traditional stage theater, the University of Central Florida, Bradley University in Illinois and the University of Waterloo in Canada performed a play that put actors from Florida 
and Canada on the stage in Illinois without them ever leaving their respective campuses. The super speeds of Internet2 make possible virtual collaborations.
As creator James Oliverio says: “We are now dealing with a 4D experience, where time is the fourth dimension. The innovation is that the virtual world is woven so tightly into the live, onstage physical performance that it forms a holistic whole for the audience.”
Next year the partners plan to take the virtual stage to the next level - simultaneous performance of actors on three live stages. In that play, “Alice Experiments in Wonderland,” actors from each school will be beamed onto the stages of the three communities and interact together. They are already working on logistics, including some technical challenges. [More]
From the BBC: “Retinal implants are able to partially restore the vision of people with particular forms of blindness caused by diseases such as macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa.
1: Camera on glasses views image
2: Signals are sent to hand-held device
3: Processed information is sent back to glasses and wirelessly transmitted to receiver under surface of eye
4: Receiver sends information to electrodes in retinal implant
5: Electrodes stimulate retina to send information to brain
The Argus II system uses a spectacle-mounted camera to feed visual information to electrodes in the eye. Patients who tested less-advanced versions of the retinal implant were able to see light, shapes and movement. The new devices work by implanting an array of tiny electrodes into the back of the retina. A camera is used to capture pictures, and a processing unit, about the size of a small handheld computer and worn on a belt, converts the visual information into electrical signals.
These are then sent back to the glasses and wirelessly on to a receiver just under the surface of the front of the eye, which in turn feeds them to the electrodes at the rear. The whole process happens in real time. It is also a lot smaller, about one square millimetre, which reduces the amount of surgery that needs to be done to implant the device. The technology has now been given the go-ahead by the US Food and Drug Administration to be used in an exploratory patient trial.” [BBC]
