insightArthroVR is a training tool, teaching surgeons the essential skills of triangulation, camera orientation, and hand-eye coordination for shoulder and/or knee arthroscopy. It consists of a haptic model knee or shoulder, on which they can perform operations while following training modules on an integrated screen. Using two Phantom Omni devices, the model reacts and "pushes back". At the same time, the system can generate realistic corresponding sounds and evaluate skills. In addition, GMV's team has applied SensAble's OpenHaptics toolkit to specify appropriate material properties and levels of force feedback, so that the the student can experience the precise feeling of bone, cartilage, labrum, ligaments or tendons.

These exercises are generally done on cadavers, which are costly and unavailable in some countries. insightArthroVR has for goal to propose surgeons an easier way to learn and exercise knee or shoulder arthroscopy without any risk for the patient. They can can train to perfection as they learn to distinguish the feeling of rough, damaged tissue compared to the smoothness of healthy tissue.

More information in the press release.

[ via medGadget ]

The ACT-UK Simulation Centre will enable construction managers to practice their people management skills and help them develop their potential. This will be done through a pioneering combination of virtual reality computer techniques and participation of real people.

On a 12-meter panoramic screen, the training facility will reproduce construction sites in detail, allowing the trainees to have a rich immersive experience based on real-life situations. The particularity of the concept is in that these situations will also involve professional actors, playing site personnel, colleagues, or members of the public. While "walking" through the construction site, the future managers will have to face laying off members of the stuff, conflicts with angry residents or subcontractors threatening to walk off the job. The realism of the scene is supposed to help them build mechanisms against all kinds of pressure they will be exposed to once in the real world.

Backed by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and leading construction companies, including Balfour Beatty, the project aims at having the success of it's Netherlands predecessor. The BMSC (Building Management Simulation Centre) at Leeuwarden has transformed the approach to training in this challenging sector, and is today used by more than 360 firms.

[ via 24dash.com ]

Officescape, a provider of office virtualization services, issued a press release putting in focus their experience in facing up H1N1 related absenteeism (yet to come, maybe). In the perspective of the growing fear people will succumb to in the upcoming phases of the influenza menace, absenteeism can lead businesses in a spiral of inefficiency and crippled revenues. To fight this eventuality - go virtual!

The company's Emergency Office solution offers the basic stuff : backup systems, conference rooms, real and virtual, data security, server virtualization and such. They claim they are capable of insuring the continuity of work in a critical situation, and cite the example of helping out Authentium during the 2004 hurricane Ivan passing over Florida.

Now here's the point : As the original post states, the real opportunity in this story is for the virtual reality office and telepresence solutions. Being the natural extension of what Officescape does, the VR could offer needing companies a real and realistic substitute for everyday office activities. For those depending on stability and employees' presence, this would be a substantial shift forward.

In the world of today, independently of the H1N1 outcome, there is no lack of threats. Why not make them a strong marketing argument?

[ via TMCnet ]

Tomorrow, May 7, at the City Theater of Vicenza, Italy, born from colaboration of The Orchestra del Teatro Olimpico, The Teatro Sociale di Rovigo and The Teatro del Giglio di Lucca, will take place the first representation of Verdi's Rigoletto featuring - virtual reality.

In this unique mise-en-scene, all the scenery for the opera is done in virtual 3D graphics and will be projected on the stage. According to Maestro Giancarlo De Lorenzo, artistic director at the theater of Vicenza, the motivation for such an artistic and innovational leap was offering the spectator something new. A new experience, which will, he says, be emotionally stronger, given the fact everything will perfectly adapt to the music.

More than pure static virtual scenery, already seen before, this spectacular creation under the direction of Dieter Kaegi from Austria will offer an animated and interactive 3D environment, rich with special effects and operated in real time. Video preview here.

What else do you need to revive the interest for the most complete of all the Arts?

[ via Il Giornale di Vicenza ]

• There are 400.000 people involved in gold farming/trading in a realistic estimate. This number can be as high as 1.000.000 people.
• There are around 60.000 brokerages all aroud the country.
• Brokers (those doing the actual trading) are generally localized within bigger cities, and recruit from the English speaking graduates. Farms tend to be spread in smaller towns - not too small, because they need a broadband connection. They employ workers with a high-school diploma or below.
• Some brokerages have started outsourcing in other countries, such as Vietnam or the Philipines. It might be because of the cost reduction, or because they attack markets/games more popular in these countries.
• The turnover for Chinese RMT (real money trading) operations is estimated to be $10bn per year.
• Some brokerages employ up to 250 people, organized in two shifts and in different sectors - IT, customer service, email spamming.
• Farmers are mainly youngsters, 18-20 years old, who take pleasure in playing games all day long (10 hour shifts) for $140 per month, food and accommodation provided. They stay at this kind of work 1-2 years before moving to something else. Customer service stuff earns around $350 per month.
• Typical purchases of virtual goods are around $25 worth. The highest reported purchase was for more than $3000)

With virtual economy gaining in importance, and with recent attempts to bring some order in it, this is becoming a subject to take into account.

Marcus Carter, a Welsh businessman, published in Second Life the first virtual market dedicated to farmers. He noticed that "nobody wants to drive for miles in a car or actually travel around calling at farm after farm, to meet the producers. However, consumers want local produce". The idea adapted to the times we are living was straightforward.

The principle is quite simple. The traders (reportedly, there are actually 34 of them paying £20 per week) are exposing their goods 24/7, and the clients can come visit 24/7. They can see and buy, if they like, but they obviously can't touch, smell or taste. The application was developed by Digital Presence, and has already attracted interest of several companies from the Welsh food industry (check the original post for details).

Is VR really spreadable to everything and everywhere? If this works, there can be no doubt about that.

[ via Wales Online ]

One of them, Virtual Ability (just for note, the second one was Studio Wikitecture), is a non profit corporation from Colorado, having for mission to "enable people with a wide range of disabilities by providing a supporting environment for them to enter and thrive in online virtual worlds" (mainly Second Life, at least for now).

Through a variety of activities, concentrated around Virtual Ability island in Second Life which provides the home for new resident orientation and training, the organization tends to teach disabled people the basic virtual world skills of movement, communication, inventory, orienting and appearance. These activities range from Cape Able, conceived for deaf and hard of hearing people, through Virtual Ability Research Group, promoting insertion of disabled people into virtual world research activities, to The Heron Sanctuary, which provides a community for the disabled once they have established their presence in the virtual world.

Problems of the disabled in virtual reality are no longer virtual, and so should shift the efforts to face them. The $10,000 that come with the Linden Prize to Virtual Ability can be a good practical step forward.

The first one announces that Sulake is thinking about porting it's newly released Bobba to the PC platform market. In an interview accorded to Gamasutra, the company's CCO and co-founder Sampo Karjalainen said that the virtual world, currently running only on Nokia's S60 mobile phones, might in the future even be available on consoles. He confirmed the iPhone version is due soon, probably this summer.

In the second article, we learn that Sulake is going in for a new partnership with FremantleMedia for the next edition of American Idol. The concept has already been tested with French "Nouvelle Star" version of the show, where Sulake created a dedicated room in Habbo (the french version too, of course), where people can get informed, play and meet eliminated singers who pay visits very often. With a fan base of 20,000 and the show not yet the end (the most exciting phases yet to come), the project is considered successful. In the Amercian version, the content promises to be richer, but with less participation from the current cast.

Sulake has previously been known for its youngster virtual world Habbo. Recently they published Bobba, which aims to touch somewhat older population. While in Habbo the idea was to concentrate around public spaces, Bobba promotes more user-centric approach.