Vitual Reality

22:37 March 16, 2008 PDT

March 17, 2008 High flying, deal-making business and the leisurely sport of golf have gone hand in hand for decades, the high-class country club being an exclusive refuge for the wealthy and powerful. With so much money behind it, golf is one of the few sports that can support blue-sky, no-expense-spared technology like the Full Swing Golf simulator. Built into a wall in your home, office or place of business, this immensely popular boys' toy allows you to play over 50 of the world's most famous courses, from the Old Course at St. Andrew's to Pebble Beach, using your own clubs and never losing a ball. A new online mode allows you to play over the Web against your buddies... Provided they have the US$50,000 to $80,000 you need to set yourself up with a system! Read More

GAMES

Second lease of life: researchers develop online character with reasoning abilities

By Emily Clark

18:10 March 11, 2008 PDT

March 12, 2008 Users worldwide have relished the opportunity to live out parallel existences in virtual worlds such as ‘Second Life’, but the characters within those worlds have traditionally been mindless avatars only performing tasks as directed by their human puppet masters. Now, a team of researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is working to engineer characters with reasoning abilities similar to that of a child. Read More

SPORTS

FIRST unveils high-tech virtual home training system

By Emily Clark

15:54 March 5, 2008 PST

March 6, 2008 Planning to climb Everest? You may want to do some training first and this prototype Fitness@home virtual training system is just the ticket. New technology developed by researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Architecture and Software Technology (FIRST) in Berlin transports the mountain training ground - or any other outdoor training scenario - straight into your lounge room. Read More

MILITARY

Laser Shot announces Personal Weapon Simulator partnership

By Kyle Sherer

01:03 October 29, 2007 PDT

VBS2 used with Laser Shot's Military Skills Engagement Trainer

October 29, 2007 Firearms and training systems specialist Laser Shot Incorporated has collaborated with Bohemia Interactive to deliver a Personal Weapon Simulation version of Virtual Battlespace Two (VBS2) software, which includes precise laser and live-fire hit detection, multiple shooter hit detection, camera field-of-view vehicle attachments and After Action Review integration. Read More

CHILDSPLAY

Real-world toys enter virtual reality

By Emily Clark

01:22 September 13, 2007 PDT

September 13, 2007 In days gone by the only virtual reality was the one we created in our heads. Before Atari and Space Invaders, and certainly before Tamagochi and Wii, kids had to rely on their imagination to generate fanciful worlds in which to play. Nowadays the imagination gets a kick-start from electronic gadgets, gizmos and games based on emerging technologies that are transforming the world of "playtime". Bratz dolls and MyPets are among the latest to embrace this idea with the launch of websites based on their respective toys that act as virtual worlds for kids to explore. Read More