Holographic Video conferencing is here: Hello Obi Wan!

Paul Debevec, a research associate professor at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies, has helped develop a holographic videoconferencing system. We all remember the special effects in the Star Wars  films. He demonstrated the science-fiction inspired system at the Army Science Conference in early December 2008.

The neat thing is, it uses uses off-the-shelf video projectors and a fast-spinning mirror to create the illusion of a 3-D image. View videos here.  

Some discussion about the merits of learning already surrounds virtual learning tools such as on-line instruction and video-conferencing, but are we willing to accept it more now that the instructor is closer to a 3 dimensional shape than a flat 2D moving image?

 

Professor pioneers glasses using liquid

In this article from The Guardian UK Josh Silver, a professor of physics at Oxford University, finally took his dream 20 years to fruition as he created a remarkably simple pair of eye glasses. His goal is to provide 100 million pairs to the poorest people a year, reaching 1 billion in need. The mechanics are very simple, and easy to use.

 

“Silver has devised a pair of glasses which rely on the principle that the fatter a lens the more powerful it becomes. Inside the device’s tough plastic lenses are two clear circular sacs filled with fluid, each of which is connected to a small syringe attached to either arm of the spectacles.

The wearer adjusts a dial on the syringe to add or reduce amount of fluid in the membrane, thus changing the power of the lens. When the wearer is happy with the strength of each lens the membrane is sealed by twisting a small screw, and the syringes removed. The principle is so simple, the team has discovered, that with very little guidance people are perfectly capable of creating glasses to their own prescription.”