3D Display Could Bring Touch to the Digital World

Imagine an iPad with a surface that can morph and deform, allowing you to draw 3D designs, create haiku poems that jump out from the screen, and even hold your partner’s hand from an ocean away. Such is the vision of a team from the University of Colorado Boulder.

Modified EEG Measures Brain's Electrical Activity During Immersive VR Interactions

Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have modified a commercial virtual reality (VR) headset, giving it the ability to measure brain activity and examine how we react to hints, stressors, and other outside forces.

Mind-Controlling Machines

Researchers from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) have developed biosensor technology that will allow you to operate devices, such as robots and machines, solely through thought-control.

Turning Old Maps into 3D Digital Models of Lost Neighborhoods

Researchers have developed machine learning tools that can extract details about individual buildings from maps to make 3D digital models.

3D-Printed Mars Habitat Simulated on Earth

CHAPEA is a series of analog missions that will simulate year-long stays on the surface of Mars. Insights from these missions will help NASA make informed decisions to design and plan for a successful human mission to Mars.

Videos of the Month

Watch the videos of the month, including one on the DARPA RACER program, one on a NASA supercomputer's theory on the Moon's formation, and more.

Augmented Reality Headset Provides X-Ray Vision

MIT researchers have built an AR headset that gives the wearer X-ray vision. The headset combines computer vision and wireless perception to automatically locate a specific item that is hidden from view.

Artificial Skin Provides Haptic Feedback

The skin could help rehabilitation and enhance virtual reality by instantaneously adapting to a wearer's movements.

How Risky is AI?

When AI is used for making health decisions, hiring decisions, financial credit decisions, or automobile-driving decisions, riskiness is a big deal — some people are working to reduce the risks.

Why 2023 Will Be the Year of the ‘Platform’

This year's CES provided a glimpse at whiz-bang technology and gadgets, as well as what might be the first in a whole new generation of premium VR headsets.

Simulated Terrible Drivers Cut the Time and Cost of AV Testing by a Factor of One Thousand

A new virtual testing environment breaks the ‘curse of rarity’ for autonomous vehicle emergency decision-making.

Test Your Knowledge of AR/VR

AR/VR is being used by engineers through the product development process. Test how much you really know about these two technologies with this quiz.

AI Image Analysis, Li-Fi and Quantum Processor Among 2023 PRISM Awards Winners

Photonics West 2023 featured the 15th annual gathering of the Prism Awards, a ceremony hosted by SPIE that honors and recognizes industrial innovation in...

10 VR/AR Technologies from CES 2023

See 10 AR/VR technologies from CES 2023.

10 Holiday Gift Ideas for Engineers

Gift giving always induces anxiety. It’s never easy to pick a present that someone will enjoy, especially if the recipient is an engineer.

Efficiently and Precisely Decoding Low Redundancy Codes

Digital data is subjected to errors when stored or transmitted due to the effects of noise on the medium or communication channel.

How Virtual, Cloud-Based Technologies Are Powering the Next Industrial Revolution

Companies in many industries are completely revamping the way in which their manufacturing arms are designing, building, producing, and servicing their goods.

Bringing Touch to Virtual Reality

The system aims to add the sense of touch to the metaverse for use in virtual-reality shopping and gaming, and potentially facilitate the work of astronauts and other professions that require the use of thick gloves.

Artificial Intelligence Tech Set to Transform Heart Imaging

The team compared its AI approach, known as virtual native enhancement, with contrast-enhanced CMR scans now used to monitor hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the most common genetic heart condition.

Eyes on Self-Driving Cars Reduce Accidents

Robotic eyes on autonomous vehicles could improve pedestrian safety, according to a new study at the University of Tokyo. Participants played out scenarios in virtual reality (VR) and had to...

Artificial Skin Gives Robots a Sense of Touch

We tend to take our sense of touch for granted in everyday settings, but it is vital for our ability to interact with our surroundings. Imagine reaching into the fridge to grab an egg for...

Metalens for Virtual and Augmented Reality

The millimeter-sized flat lens can be used in wearable displays for virtual reality, which requires compact, lightweight, and cost-effective components.

Where is Sensor Technology Headed? Look in the Mirror

Sensor technology design and manufacturing demands continue to rise to the needs of our continuously connected world.

Breakthrough Lightweight AR Eyeglasses

With AR eyeglasses, the screen of a mobile device can be transitioned to the lens of a pair of eyeglasses. The problem with that is that even though the technology has been around for a while, the...

Applying Friction Principles to Finger-Device Interaction Mechanics

High-fidelity touch has the potential to significantly expand the scope of what we expect from computing devices, making new remote sensory experiences possible. The...

Bimodal “Electronic Skin”

Through the use of magnetic fields, scientists have developed an electronic sensor that can simultaneously process both touchless and tactile stimuli. Prior attempts have so far failed to combine these functions...

New Optical Component Used to Create AR/VR Headsets and Eyewear

Consumers are looking for augmented reality/virtual reality (AR/VR) glasses that are compact and easy to wear, delivering high-quality imagery with socially acceptable optics...