Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Smelling in VR environment possible with new gaming technology      (via sciencedaily.com) 

An odor machine, so-called olfactometer, makes it possible to smell in VR environments. First up is a 'wine tasting game' where the user smells wine in a virtual wine cellar and gets points if the guess on aromas in each wine is correct. The new technology can be printed on 3D printers.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Electronic gaming can trigger potentially lethal heart rhythm problems in susceptible children      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Electronic gaming can precipitate life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias in susceptible children whose predisposition may have been previously unrecognized, according to a new report. The investigators documented an uncommon, but distinct pattern among children who lose consciousness while playing electronic (video) games.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Video games offer the potential of 'experiential medicine'      (via sciencedaily.com) 

After a decade of work, scientists have developed a suite of video game interventions that improve key aspects of cognition in aging adults.

Mathematics: General Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

As few as 1 in 5 COVID cases may have been counted worldwide, mathematical models suggest      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Mathematical models indicate that as few as one in five cases of COVID-19 which occurred during the first 29 months of the pandemic are accounted for in the half billion cases officially reported.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

An AI message decoder based on bacterial growth patterns      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Depending on the initial conditions used, such as nutrient levels and space constraints, bacteria tend to grow in specific ways. Researchers have created a new type of encryption scheme based on how a virtual bacterial colony grows with specific initial conditions.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Can eyes on self-driving cars reduce accidents?      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Robotic eyes on autonomous vehicles could improve pedestrian safety, according to a new study. Participants played out scenarios in virtual reality (VR) and had to decide whether to cross a road in front of a moving vehicle or not. When that vehicle was fitted with robotic eyes, which either looked at the pedestrian (registering their presence) or away (not registering them), the participants were able to make safer or more efficient choices.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

New method for comparing neural networks exposes how artificial intelligence works      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A team has developed a novel approach for comparing neural networks that looks within the 'black box' of artificial intelligence to help researchers understand neural network behavior. Neural networks recognize patterns in datasets; they are used everywhere in society, in applications such as virtual assistants, facial recognition systems and self-driving cars.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Optical rule was made to be broken      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Engineers find a way to identify nanophotonic materials with the potential to improve screens for virtual reality and 3D displays along with optical technologies in general.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Gamers can have their cake and eat it too      (via sciencedaily.com) 

New research from Japan shows that multiple cognitive abilities may be empirically measured from a complex game experience depending on the game's design.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

City digital twins help train deep learning models to separate building facades      (via sciencedaily.com) 

To automatically generate data for training deep convolutional neural network models to segment building facades, researchers used a three-dimensional model and game engine to generate digital city twin synthetic training data. They found that a model trained on these data mixed with some real data was competitive with a model trained on real data alone, revealing the potential of digital twin data to improve accuracy and replace costly manually annotated real data.

Mathematics: General Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

The way you talk to your child about math matters      (via sciencedaily.com) 

'You're so smart!' -- This encouraging response may actually do more harm than good to children's math performance, according to a new study. The study found that encouraging children with responses related to their personal traits or innate abilities may dampen their math motivation and achievement over time.

Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

Reasons behind gamer rage in children are complex -- and children are good at naming them      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Children's outbursts of rage while playing digital games are causing both concern and public debate around the topic. Taking a novel approach to gamer rage, a new study examines the topic from a child's perspective, finding complex reasons for gamer rage in children.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

New chip-based beam steering device lays groundwork for smaller, cheaper lidar      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Researchers have developed a new chip-based beam steering technology that provides a promising route to small, cost-effective and high-performance lidar systems. Lidar, which uses laser pulses to acquire 3D information about a scene or object, is used in a wide range of applications such as autonomous driving, free-space optical communications, 3D holography, biomedical sensing and virtual reality. Researchers describe their new chip-based optical phased array (OPA) that solves many of the problems that have plagued previous OPA designs.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Augmented reality could be the future of paper books, according to new research      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Augmented reality might allow printed books to make a comeback against the e-book trend, according to researchers.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Engineers repurpose 19th-century photography technique to make stretchy, color-changing films      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A new technique opens a door to manufacturing of pressure-monitoring bandages, shade-shifting fabrics, or touch-sensing robots

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Fiddler crab eye view inspires researchers to develop novel artificial vision      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Artificial vision systems are implemented in motion sensing, object detection, and self-driving vehicles. However, they are not suitable for changing external environments and are limited to a hemispherical field-of-view (FOV). Addressing this issue, researchers have now developed a novel artificial vision with 360-degree FOV that can image both terrestrial and aquatic environments. The system, modeled after the eye structure of the fiddler crab, could help realize the all-weather vision and panoramic object detection.

Computer Science: Encryption Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

A key role for quantum entanglement      (via sciencedaily.com) 

A method known as quantum key distribution has long held the promise of communication security unattainable in conventional cryptography. An international team of scientists has now demonstrated experimentally, for the first time, an approach to quantum key distribution that is based on high-quality quantum entanglement -- offering much broader security guarantees than previous schemes.

Computer Science: Encryption Mathematics: Puzzles
Published

'Pulling back the curtain' to reveal a molecular key to The Wizard of Oz      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Many people and companies worry about sensitive data getting hacked, so encrypting files with digital keys has become more commonplace. Now, researchers have developed a durable molecular encryption key from sequence-defined polymers that are built and deconstructed in a sequential way. They hid their molecular key in the ink of a letter, which was mailed and then used to decrypt a file with text from a classic story.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Robot dog learns to walk in one hour      (via sciencedaily.com) 

Like a newborn animal, a four-legged robot stumbles around during its first walking attempts. But while a foal or a giraffe needs much longer to master walking, the robot learns to move forward fluently in just one hour. A computer program acts as the artificial presentation of the animal's spinal cord, and learns to optimize the robot's movement in a short time. The artificial neural network is not yet ideally adjusted at the beginning, but rapidly self-adjusts.

Computer Science: Virtual Reality (VR)
Published

Virtual reality app trial shown to reduce common phobias      (via sciencedaily.com) 

The trial studied phobia patients using a headset and a smartphone app treatment programme -- a combination of Virtual Reality (VR) 360-degree video exposure therapy and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).