Carnegie Mellon research aims to combine touch with useability in VR: A winning approach?

Virtual reality (VR) is able to create stunning immersive visual experiences - yet they remain an alternative dimension, with the user experience somewhat obtrusive. Research into haptics - the area of interaction between virtual and physical forms - is ongoing. Yet new research from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has aimed to unlock the challenge of simulating touch in VR.

The device uses multiple strings attached to the hand and fingers to simulate the feel of obstacles and...

7 May 2020 | Devices

VR is helping doctors see coronavirus-infected lung tissue in simulation

Doctors at the George Washington University Hospital came across their first Covid-19 patient, who is now the subject of their experiment wherein his lungs are being diagnosed to see severity of the disease.

The doctors used VR technology simulation in which they are able to see healthy as well as virus-infected tissue, as can be seen in this YouTube video explainer.

Dr. Keith Mortman, chief of thoracic surgery at GW Hospital, said in an interview for HealthCast, the...

30 March 2020 | Healthcare

HTC holds Virtual VIVE Ecosystem Conference in full VR

HTC recently held its fifth annual XR industry conference in virtual reality (VR), with the company noting it could pave the way to ‘breaking through physical limitations.’

The conference, which is now renamed as the Virtual VIVE Ecosystem Conference (V²EC), is said to be the first major physical industry event that has been replaced completely by an interactive VR digital medium, which was attended by nearly 2000 registered participants from more than 55...

25 March 2020 | Ecosystems

AR and VR headsets to see short-term Covid-19 decline – but IDC notes positive long-term outlook

IDC has forecast a decrease in augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) device shipments in the first half of 2020 due to supply chain disruptions caused by the recent Covid-19 outbreak – but says the long-term landscape is strong.

According to IDC, a decline of 10.5% is expected on a year-over-year basis in the first quarter, followed by a 24.1% decrease in the second quarter. However, a bounce back is expected in the second half of 2020, considering gradual production increase...

24 March 2020 | AR

VR assists doctors to detect balance issues in multiple sclerosis patients

A team of researchers have established a test using virtual reality (VR) to detect the risk of falling in patients with multiple sclerosis, despite them not knowing about any walking deficiencies in themselves.

The idea behind the use of VR, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University, is that patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) may be compensating for walking deficiencies by depending on their visual abilities. Such patients may...

20 March 2020 | Healthcare