ScienceDaily: Computer Graphics News

Human-like opponents lead to more aggression in video game players

Mon, 20 May 2013 16:39:39 EDT

Video games that pit players against human-looking characters may be more likely to provoke violent thoughts and words than games where monstrous creatures are the enemy, according to a new study.

Common myths about digital piracy busted

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:14:14 EDT

The results of a large-scale, analysis of BitTorrent file-sharing of computer games, focusing on using open methodologies, bust some of the common myths about digital piracy.

Data storage: Synchronized at the 'write time'

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:49:49 EDT

Numerical simulations show how to avoid imperfections in the next generation of high-density data storage.

Benefit vs. risk of facial recognition technology

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:32:32 EDT

Law enforcement agencies are using facial recognition software as a crime-fighting tool. Now businesses are looking to use the technology to reach customers. But a professor questions whether customers are ready for it.

More than a good eye: Robot uses arms, location and more to discover objects

Mon, 06 May 2013 11:40:40 EDT

A robot can struggle to discover objects in its surroundings when it relies on computer vision alone. But by taking advantage of all of the information available to it -- an object's location, size, shape and even whether it can be lifted -- a robot can continually discover and refine its understanding of objects, say researchers.

Cyberbullying rampant among high school students: Nearly one-third of youths also report playing video/computer games for more than 3 hours a day

Sun, 05 May 2013 07:37:37 EDT

Step into a class of 30 high school students and look around. Five of them have been victims of electronic bullying in the past year. What's more, 10 of those students spend three or more hours on an average school day playing video games or using a computer for something other than school work, according to a new study.

Violent video games have lower effects on highly-exposed teens

Fri, 03 May 2013 10:50:50 EDT

Teenagers who are highly exposed to violent video games —- three or more hours per day -— show blunted physical and psychological responses to playing a violent game, reports a new study.

Bonding with your virtual self may alter your actual perceptions

Thu, 02 May 2013 08:22:22 EDT

When people create and modify their virtual reality avatars, the hardships faced by their alter egos can influence how they perceive virtual environments, according to researchers.

Gamers recognize college football players in video games

Wed, 01 May 2013 19:29:29 EDT

Paying college athletes is a contentious issue and the subject of a lawsuit challenging the use of their likenesses in video games. A new study found that many video gamers recognize athletes in the video games.

Revolutionary shape-changing phone curls when called

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 13:36:36 EDT

Researchers at Queen's University's Human Media Lab have developed a new smartphone -- called MorePhone -- which can morph its shape to give users a silent yet visual cue of an incoming phone call, text message or email.

Shape-shifting mobile devices

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 23:04:04 EDT

Prototype mobile devices that can change shape on-demand could lay down the foundation for creating high shape resolution devices of the future.

'Taxels' convert mechanical motion to electronic signals

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 14:22:22 EDT

Using bundles of vertical zinc oxide nanowires, researchers have fabricated arrays of piezotronic transistors capable of converting mechanical motion directly into electronic controlling signals. The arrays could help give robots a more adaptive sense of touch, provide better security in handwritten signatures and offer new ways for humans to interact with electronic devices.

With wave of the hand, researchers create touch-based interfaces

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:28:28 EDT

Researchers previously have shown that a depth camera system, such as Kinect, can be combined with a projector to turn almost any surface into a touchscreen. Now researchers have demonstrated how these touch-based interfaces can be created almost at will, with the wave of a hand. For instance, the new system enables someone to rub the arm of a sofa to "paint" a remote control for her TV.

Computer game could improve sight of visually impaired children

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 08:13:13 EDT

Visually impaired children could benefit from a revolutionary new computer game being developed by a team of neuroscientists and game designers.

Virtual, squishy creatures evolve to run using evolutionary algorithms

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 13:58:58 EDT

Scientists have created a computer algorithm that can be used to witness virtual creatures evolving their squishy, muscle-like features in order to teach themselves to walk.

Lazy eye disorder treated with video game Tetris

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 12:29:29 EDT

Scientists have used the popular puzzle video game Tetris in an innovative approach to treat adult amblyopia, commonly known as "lazy eye." By distributing information between the two eyes in a complementary fashion, the video game trains both eyes to work together, which is counter to previous treatments for the disorder (e.g., patching).

'Big data’ algorithm used to customize video game difficulty

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 10:42:42 EDT

Researchers have developed a computational model that can predict video game players’ in-game performance and provide a corresponding challenge they can beat, leading to quicker mastery of new skills. The advance not only could help improve user experiences with video games but also applications beyond the gaming world.

Video games: Bad or good for your memory?

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:47:47 EDT

After the horrific shooting sprees at Columbine High School in 1999 and Virginia Tech in 2007, players of violent video games, such as First Person Shooter (FPS) games, have often been accused in the media of being impulsive, antisocial, or aggressive.

Computer scientists develop video game that teaches how to program in Java

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:26:26 EDT

Computer scientists have developed an immersive, first-person player video game designed to teach students in elementary to high school how to program in Java, one of the most common programming languages in use today. The researchers tested the game on a group of girls who had never been exposed to programming before.

New software identifies and stratifies risk posed by lung nodules

Mon, 08 Apr 2013 13:30:30 EDT

Scientists have developed a new software tool to noninvasively characterize pulmonary adenocarcinoma, a common type of cancerous nodule in the lungs.

New camera system creates high-resolution 3-D images from up to a kilometer away

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 12:22:22 EDT

A new camera system provides high-resolution, 3-D information about objects that are typically difficult to image, from up to a kilometer away. The photo-counting depth imaging system is likely to be used for scanning static, human-made targets from afar, such as vehicles. It could also determine their speed and direction, or be used for remote examination of vegetation and the movement of rock faces, to assess potential hazards from as far as 10 km away.

Don't call it vaporware: Scientists use cloud of atoms as optical memory device

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:28:28 EDT

Talk about storing data in the cloud. Scientists have taken this to a whole new level by demonstrating that they can store visual images within quite an ethereal memory device -- a thin vapor of rubidium atoms. The effort may prove helpful in creating memory for quantum computers.

Virtual games help the blind navigate unknown territory

Wed, 27 Mar 2013 10:26:26 EDT

Scientists have developed a virtual gaming environment to help blind individuals improve navigation skills and develop a cognitive spatial map of unfamiliar buildings and public locations.

Face of the future rears its head: Digital talking head expresses human emotions on demand

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 16:00:00 EDT

Meet Zoe: a digital talking head which can express human emotions on demand with "unprecedented realism" and could herald a new era of human-computer interaction.

Playing action videogames improves visual search

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:13:13 EDT

Researchers have shown that playing shooting or driving videogames, even for a relatively short time, improves the ability to search for a target hidden among irrelevant distractions in complex scenes.

Video game 'exercise' for an hour a day may enhance certain cognitive skills

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:21:21 EDT

Playing video games for an hour each day can improve subsequent performance on cognitive tasks that use similar mental processes to those involved in the game, according to new research.

Plasmonics: Model makes light work of nanocircuits

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:17:17 EDT

A numerical simulation predicts the behavior of a component that controls light for faster computing.

Signal processing: Look-up tables to shoulder the processing load

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 11:16:16 EDT

Computing tasks for signal processing could be performed more quickly with less power by using look-up tables.

High-resolution endoscope as thin as a human hair

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 10:04:04 EDT

Engineers have developed a prototype single-fiber endoscope that improves the resolution of these much-sought-after instruments fourfold over existing designs. The advance could lead to an era of needle-thin, minimally invasive endoscopes able to view features out of reach of today's instruments.

Bank card identifies cardholder

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:39:39 EST

From the gas station to the department store – paying for something without cash is commonplace. Now such payments become more secure: Scientists have engineered a solution for inspecting the handwritten signatures directly on the bank card. The biometric “on-card comparison” additionally makes payment transactions more convenient, and it works with any ordinary commercial credit card.

Students develop secure new procedure for online banking

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:39:39 EST

Researchers have developed a new process to make online banking more secure.

Seniors who play video games report better sense of emotional well-being

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 13:12:12 EST

New research finds that older adults who play video games report higher levels of emotional well-being.

Action video games boost reading skills, study of children with dyslexia suggests

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:41:41 EST

Much to the chagrin of parents who think their kids should spend less time playing video games and more time studying, time spent playing action video games can actually make dyslexic children read better, new research suggests. In fact, 12 hours of video game play did more for reading skills than is normally achieved with a year of spontaneous reading development or demanding traditional reading treatments.

Creating your own animated 3-D characters and scenes for the web

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 08:03:03 EST

To show spatial animations on websites, developers so far have had only two options: to use special software or to implement it from scratch. Computer scientists have developed a declarative markup language which facilitates the creation of distinct spatial animations and ensures their smooth replay in the web browser.

Authors: Develop digital games to improve brain function and well-being

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:43:43 EST

Neuroscientists should help to develop compelling digital games that boost brain function and improve well-being, say two professors specializing in the field.

New technology for animation film experts

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 10:19:19 EST

Hollywood devotes great effort to chasing monsters through realistic-looking environments. Researchers have now developed a technology that greatly simplifies the production of such scenes. Actors' movements are captured with a few cameras in a real scene and then transferred extremely realistically to virtual characters. This will not only simplify the work of cartoon makers, but also assist doctors and sportsmen with motion analysis.

Researchers test holographic technique for restoring vision

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 13:42:42 EST

Researchers are testing the power of holography to artificially stimulate cells in the eye, with hopes of developing a new strategy for bionic vision restoration. Computer-generated holography, they say, could be used in conjunction with a technique called optogenetics, which uses gene therapy to deliver light-sensitive proteins to damaged retinal nerve cells. In conditions such as retinitis pigmentosa (RP), these light-sensing cells degenerate and lead to blindness.

Macroweather is what you expect: Should there be a distinct category between weather and climate?

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 13:16:16 EST

While short-term weather is notoriously volatile, climate is thought to represent a kind of average weather pattern over a long period. This dichotomy provides the analytical framework for scientific thinking about atmospheric variability, including climate change. But the weather-climate dichotomy paints an incomplete picture, according to a physics professor. He argues that statistical analysis shows there is a period between short-term weather and long-term climate that should be recognized as distinct.

Insects inspiring new technology: Autonomous navigation of mobile robots based on locust vision

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:46:46 EST

The way in which the locust's distinctive visual system could be transferred into technology for state of the art vehicle collision sensors, surveillance technology and video games has been detailed as part of robotics research.

Ultrahigh-definition TV: New Quad HD TV chip developed

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 12:34:34 EST

It took only a few years for high-definition televisions to make the transition from high-priced novelty to ubiquitous commodity -- and they now seem to be heading for obsolescence just as quickly. Several manufacturers have recently debuted new ultrahigh-definition, or UHD, models (also known as 4K or Quad HD) with four times the resolution of today's HD TVs.

New imaging device is flexible, flat, and transparent

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:39:39 EST

Digital cameras, medical scanners, and other imaging technologies have advanced considerably during the past decade. Continuing this pace of innovation, an Austrian research team has developed an entirely new way of capturing images based on a flat, flexible, transparent, and potentially disposable polymer sheet.

Quick, efficient chip cleans up common flaws in amateur photographs

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 12:12:12 EST

Smartphone snapshots could be instantly converted into professional-looking photographs with just the touch of a button, thanks to a new processor chip.

New material interface improves functioning of non-silicon-based electronic devices

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 09:10:10 EST

For the first time, researchers have designed a special material interface that has been shown to add to and to improve the functioning of non-silicon-based electronic devices, such as those used in certain kinds of random access memory. The new method could be used to design improved, more-efficient, multilevel and multifunctional devices, as well as enhanced nanoelectronic components -- such as non-volatile information storage and processing; and spintronic components -- an emerging technology that uses the natural spin of the electron to power devices.

Despite reported dislike, older readers put in less effort when using e-readers

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:58:58 EST

Reading text on digital devices like tablet computers requires less effort from older adults than reading on paper.

New technology gives doctors an important diagnostic tool

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 14:15:15 EST

When cocaine producers began using an inexpensive medication, levamisole, to dilute the cocaine to boost their profits, their customers were showing up in hospital emergency rooms with serious skin injuries caused by cocaine-levamisole toxicity. A dermatologist has provided photographs of the skin condition to VisualDx -- a new technology that was created with more than 100,000 medical images to help doctors visually diagnose disease.

Digital games contribute to HIV education in Uganda

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:38:38 EST

Computer games, virtual classroom with a discussion forum and video drama can be integrated in a common learning environment for teaching teenage children. This pedagogical approach has demonstrated the significance of using a variety of learning objects to achieve a common educational goal.

Pushing boundaries of virtual reality

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:33:33 EST

Devices that detect and convey sense of touch may have applications in telemedicine.

Faster video streaming in a mobile era

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 12:35:35 EST

In the smartphones and tablet era, more and more users are watching videos on the move -- with a resulting strain on mobile networks. The combination of the HEVC video compression standard with LTE brings networks welcome relief.

Microchip moves information around in 3-D: From left to right, back to front, and up and down

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 13:24:24 EST

Scientists have created, for the first time, a new type of microchip which allows information to travel in three dimensions. Currently, microchips can only pass digital information in a very limited way -- from either left to right or front to back.

Satellite visualization tool for high-resolution observation review (thor) accessible from any location with internet access

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 08:02:02 EST

With minimal coding effort an Earth-observing satellite tool can be converted into a practical web-based application. In addition, a 3-D visualization technique has been developed.

Streaming video over temporary networks

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 07:56:56 EST

There are extra challenges when accidents occur in hard-to-reach locations such as in a tunnel or impassable mountain terrain where no stable computer networks are found. For the past ten years, however, technology for mobile ad hoc networks that enable rescue workers to communicate with one another or with a command control centre has been available. These networks configure themselves automatically among mobile devices located within a given geographic area.

Toward 2-D devices: Single-atom-thick patterns combine conductor and insulator

Sun, 27 Jan 2013 13:42:42 EST

Scientists have created a process to make patterns in atom-thick layers that combine a conductor -- graphene -- and an insulator -- hexagonal boron nitride. The process may lead to new possibilities for two-dimensional electronics.

Video game controllers affect hostility during game play

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 10:39:39 EST

When selecting a video game to play, opting to turn on your Wii may provide a different experience than playing your Xbox, according to a new study.

Researchers make DNA data storage a reality: Every film and TV program ever created -- in a teacup

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 13:34:34 EST

Researchers have created a way to store data in the form of DNA – a material that lasts for tens of thousands of years. The new method makes it possible to store at least 100 million hours of high-definition video in about a cup of DNA.

Software package for all types of imaging

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 09:41:41 EST

Signal reconstruction algorithms can now be developed more elegantly because scientists have released a new software package for data analysis and imaging, NIFTY is useful for mapping in any number of dimensions or spherical projections without encoding the dimensional information in the algorithm itself. The advantage is that once a special method for image reconstruction has been programmed with NIFTY it can easily be applied to many other applications.

Keeping to your New Year resolutions with PiFace

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 08:41:41 EST

After a festive period of excess, a January diet is one of the most common New Year resolutions for many people. Sticking to it, however, is harder, with temptation around every corner and inside every cupboard. Now scientists have come up with a unique deterrent -- a talking, tweeting chicken guarding your cupboards to shame hungry dieters into abstaining. The chicken, which not only barks out orders to sneaky snackers, but even tweets that person's Twitter account to publicly shame them if they stray, uses a Raspberry Pi -- a tiny, single-board computer.

Smart search engines for news videos

Mon, 07 Jan 2013 09:57:57 EST

Searching for video recordings regularly pushes search engines to their limit. The truth of the matter is that purely automatic algorithms are not enough; user knowledge has to be harnessed, too. Now, researchers are making automated engines smarter.

Video analysis: Detecting text every which way

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 07:30:30 EST

Software that detects and extracts text from within video frames, making it searchable, is set to make a vast resource even more valuable.

On-demand synaptic electronics: Circuits that learn and forget

Thu, 20 Dec 2012 16:14:14 EST

Researchers in Japan and the US propose a nanoionic device with a range of neuromorphic and electrical multifunctions that may allow the fabrication of on-demand configurable circuits, analog memories and digital–neural fused networks in one device architecture.

TV and the internet: a marriage made in entertainment heaven

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 11:16:16 EST

If you have bought a new television lately, the chances are it is a lot smarter than your old one. Smart TVs, also known as connected or hybrid televisions, featuring integrated internet connectivity, currently account for around a third of TV sales in Europe. They are the end point in a huge and rapidly expanding value chain driven by the intensifying convergence of television and the internet.