268395
submission
foobarx writes:
The New York Times is reporting on "Virtual Iraq," a virtual reality simulator which is being used to treat post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans of the Iraq war. The simulation, which also uses specific smells released in four second puffs, is based on the 2004 XBox game Full Spectrum Warrior. Virtually Better, the Decatur, Georgia based company that produces Virtual Iraq, also produces Virtual Vietnam, for veterans of that war.
202093
submission
hkfczrqj writes:
Researchers at the University of Illinois are studying systems in which virtual and real physical systems interact (first story). Using a real and a simulated pendulum to create a "mixed reality" system, the authors hope to understand the conditions under which emergent, more complex phenomena such as the interaction between real and virtual economies in MMORPGs arise.
201981
submission
Vicissidude writes:
As if the debate over immigration and guest worker programs wasn't complicated enough, now a couple of robots are rolling into the middle of it.
Vision Robotics, a San Diego company, is working on a pair of robots that would trundle through orchards plucking oranges, apples or other fruit from the trees. In a few years, troops of these machines could perform the tedious and labor-intensive task of fruit picking that currently employs thousands of migrant workers each season.
The robotic work has been funded entirely by agricultural associations, and pushed forward by the uncertainty surrounding the migrant labor force. Farmers are "very, very nervous about the availability and cost of labor in the near future," says Vision Robotics CEO Derek Morikawa.
136121
submission
Henry V .009 writes:
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Federal authorities have just charged Rebecca Wulf for allowing her 3-year-old daughter to starve to death, surrounded by "cat feces, moldy food and unwashed dishes" while Rebecca played World of Warcraft. I thought Slashdoters might want an early heads up on what is likely to become a big news story. Having worked with abused children in the past, I can say that the stories I hear of WoW addiction cases are on the level of hard drug addiction stories — in my opinion at least, this can no longer be dismissed as a 'you can be addicted to anything' issue anymore.
