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Category: virtual reality

New 3D headset uses holograms and AI to create lifelike mixed reality visuals

Using 3D holograms polished by artificial intelligence, researchers introduce a lean, eyeglass-like 3D headset that they say is a significant step toward passing the “Visual Turing Test.”

“In the future, most virtual reality displays will be holographic,” said Gordon Wetzstein, a professor of electrical engineering at Stanford University, holding his lab’s latest project: a virtual reality display that is not much larger than a pair of regular eyeglasses. “Holography offers capabilities that we can’t get with any other type of display in a package that is much smaller than anything on the market today.”

Holography is a Nobel Prize-winning 3D display technique that uses both the reflecting from an object, as with a traditional photograph, and the phase of the light (the way the waves synchronize), to produce a hologram, a highly realistic three-dimensional image of the original object.

Synthetic aperture waveguide holography for compact mixed-reality displays with large étendue

An ultra-thin mixed-reality (MR) display design that is based on a unique combination of waveguide holography and artificial intelligence-driven holography algorithms is demonstrated, creating visually comfortable and perceptually realistic 3D VR experiences in a compact wearable device.

New haptic technology adds the sense of touch to virtual reality

USC scientists have developed a wearable system that enables more natural and emotionally engaging interactions in shared digital spaces, opening new possibilities for remote work, education, health care and beyond.

Touch plays a vital role in how humans communicate and bond. From infancy through adulthood, physical contact helps foster emotional bonds, build trust and regulate stress. Yet in today’s increasingly digital world, where screens mediate many of our relationships, it is often missing.

To bridge the gap, researchers at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering have developed a wearable haptic system that lets users exchange physical gestures in and feel them in real time, even when they’re miles apart. Their paper is published on the arXiv preprint server.

Virtual reality nature scenes ease pain sensitivity, especially with strong sense of presence

Immersing in virtual reality (VR) nature scenes helped relieve symptoms that are often seen in people living with long-term pain, with those who felt more present experiencing the strongest effects.

A new study led by the University of Exeter, published in the journal Pain, tested the impact of immersive 360-degree nature films delivered using VR compared with 2D video images in reducing the experience of pain, finding VR almost twice as effective.

The paper is titled “Immersion in nature through attenuates the development and spread of mechanical secondary hyperalgesia: a role for insulo-thalamic effective connectivity.”

Virtual reality therapy reduces voice hallucinations in schizophrenia trial

Copenhagen University Hospital’s VIRTU Research Group reports that an immersive virtual reality-assisted therapy called Challenge-VRT yielded a statistically significant, short-term reduction in auditory verbal hallucination severity among Danish adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Auditory verbal hallucinations rank among the most frequent and distressing features of schizophrenia, affecting roughly 75% of patients and resisting medication in about one-third. Approximately 13% of patients experience worsening hallucinations during their first decade of illness.

Current cognitive behavioral and relational psychotherapies show modest effects, leaving a clear unmet need for innovative treatment approaches.

Next-gen rod LEDs could transform smartphones and TVs with ultra-bright and color-rich displays

Researchers at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) School of Engineering have cracked a major challenge in display technology by inventing the world’s brightest and most energy efficient quantum rod LEDs (QRLEDs). These next-generation QRLEDs feature optimized deep green emission at the top of the color triangle, enabling displays with unprecedented color purity and a maximized color gamut.

Boasting a longer lifespan and triple the brightness of previous models, these cutting-edge light sources deliver energy-efficient, ultra-vivid visuals for smartphones, televisions, and AR/VR devices while further enhancing color performance.

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been widely used in electronic products for decades. Recent advancements in have given rise to quantum dot LEDs (QLEDs) and QRLEDs. Both offer narrow emission bandwidths and high color purity, surpassing traditional LEDs. Among these, QRLEDs excel with higher light outcoupling efficiency.

India’s richest man wants to turn every TV into a PC

Jio Platforms, the digital arm of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, has launched a virtual desktop service for set-top box users. This means that India’s richest man, Reliance’s chairman Mukesh Ambani, hopes to turn millions of TVs in the world’s most populous country into PCs.

Called JioPC, the service offers a cloud-based PC experience through Jio’s set-top box, which comes bundled for free with the telco’s home broadband service or can be purchased separately for ₹5,499 ($64). Currently in free trial and available via waitlist, users can access the virtual desktop on their TV by plugging in a keyboard and mouse once they receive an invite and set up their account.

At present, the service has some limitations, including no support for external peripherals, such as cameras and printers. Similarly, it supports open source LibreOffice, which is pre-installed. To use Microsoft Office apps, users need to access them via the available browser.

Low-power, nonvolatile RF switch promises energy-efficient 6G and autonomous vehicle communications

A research team affiliated with UNIST has unveiled a new semiconductor device optimized for the next-generation 6G era and autonomous driving, offering low power consumption and nonvolatile operation. This innovative device can also be integrated into variable filter circuits capable of tuning the central frequency band, paving the way for more compact and energy-efficient communication equipment.

Jointly led by Professor Myungsoo Kim of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Professor Tae-Sik Yoon of the Graduate School of Semiconductor Materials and Devices Engineering at UNIST, the team announced the development of nonvolatile radio-frequency (RF) based on vanadium oxide (VOx) for next-generation wireless communication systems. The paper is published in Advanced Science.

RF switches are essential semiconductor components in modern wireless communication systems, such as autonomous systems, smartphones, VR, and AR. They control the flow of high-frequency signals within circuits by connecting or disconnecting specific pathways, enabling reliable signal routing.

Virtual reality software uncovers new details in pediatric heart tumors

New cutting-edge software developed in Melbourne can help uncover how the most common heart tumor in children forms and changes. And the technology has the potential to further our understanding of other childhood diseases, according to a new study.

The research, led by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) and published in Genome Biology, found the software, VR-Omics, can identify previously undetected cell activities of cardiac rhabdomyoma, a type of benign heart tumor.

Developed by MCRI’s Professor Mirana Ramialison, VR-Omics is the first tool capable of analyzing and visualizing data in both 2D and 3D virtual reality environments. The innovative technology aims to analyze the spatial genetic makeup of to better understand a specific disease.