health

More Than Just Cool? — from insidehighered.com by Nick Roll
Virtual and augmented realities make headway in courses on health care, art history and social work.

Excerpt:

When Glenn Gunhouse visits the Pantheon, you would think that the professor, who teaches art and architecture history, wouldn’t be able to keep his eyes off the Roman temple’s columns, statues or dome. But there’s something else that always catches his eye: the jaws of the tourists visiting the building, and the way they all inevitably drop.

“Wow.”

There’s only one other way that Gunhouse has been able to replicate that feeling of awe for his students short of booking expensive plane tickets to Italy. Photos, videos and even three-dimensional walk-throughs on a computer screen don’t do it: It’s when his students put on virtual reality headsets loaded with images of the Pantheon.

…nursing schools are using virtual reality or augmented reality to bring three-dimensional anatomy illustrations off of two-dimensional textbook pages.

Also see:

Oculus reportedly planning $200 standalone wireless VR headset for 2018 — from techcrunch.com by Darrell Etherington

Excerpt:

Facebook is set to reveal a standalone Oculus virtual reality headset sometime later this year, Bloomberg reports, with a ship date of sometime in 2018. The headset will work without requiring a tethered PC or smartphone, according to the report, and will be branded with the Oculus name around the world, except in China, where it’ll carry Xiaomi trade dress and run some Xiaomi software as part of a partnership that extends to manufacturing plans for the device.

Facebook Inc. is taking another stab at turning its Oculus Rift virtual reality headset into a mass-market phenomenon. Later this year, the company plans to unveil a cheaper, wireless device that the company is betting will popularize VR the way Apple did the smartphone.

Source

Everyday Life in the Future [Bolwell]

On 07/05/2017, in 21st century, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, business, economics, emerging technologies, entrepreneurship, future, global / globalization, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, pace of change, society, trends, by Daniel Christian

Everyday Life in the Future — from hpmegatrends.com by Andrew Bolwell

Technology will play an increasingly vital role in our lives as we move into the future. Four major Megatrends — Rapid Urbanization, Changing Demographics, Hyper Globalization, and Accelerated Innovation — will have a sustained and transformative impact on businesses, societies, economies, cultures, and our personal lives.

Day in The Life | 2025 from Andrew Bolwell

Four futurists weigh in on the jobs of the future — from impactlab.com by Thomas Frey

In today’s tech world, often it’s a “winner takes all” situation

On 06/27/2017, in Amazon, analytics, Apple, Artificial Intelligence/Agents/LLMs/and Related, Asia, Augmented Reality (AR), Australia, Blockchain, bots, Canada, change, changing business models, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, collaboration, communications, computer science, corporate / business world, data related items, disruption, education, education technology, emerging technologies, engineering, entrepreneurship, Europe, Facebook / Meta Platforms, global / globalization, Google, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, India, innovation, machine-to-machine communications, Microsoft, music, Natural Language Processing (NLP), platforms, reinvent, robotics, social media, staying relevant, surviving, technology (general), trends, United States, vendors, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, voice recognition / voice enabled interfaces, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

Winner takes all — from by Michael Moe, Luben Pampoulov, Li Jiang, Nick Franco, & Suzee Han

We did a lot of things that seemed crazy at the time. Many of those crazy things now have over a billion users, like Google Maps, YouTube, Chrome, and Android.

— Larry Page, CEO, Alphabet

Excerpt:

An alphabet is a collection of letters that represent language. Alphabet, accordingly, is a collection of companies that represent the many bets Larry Page is making to ensure his platform is built to not only survive, but to thrive in a future defined by accelerating digital disruption. It’s an “Alpha” bet on a diversified platform of assets.

If you look closely, the world’s top technology companies are making similar bets.

Technology in general and the Internet in particular is all about a disproportionate gains to the leader in a category. Accordingly, as technology leaders like Facebook, Alphabet, and Amazon survey the competitive landscape, they have increasingly aimed to develop and acquire emerging technology capabilities across a broad range of complementary categories.

Some applications of VR from vrxone.com

Education
Virtual Reality to teach the skills needed for the future by enabling learners to explore, play, work as a team, compete, and be rewarded for their achievements through interactive lessons.

Virtual Field Trips
Immersive VRXOne Lab
VR for Arts & Design
Safe Laboratory Practicals through VR
Game based Learning
Geography, Marine Life VR Exploration
Astronomy & Space Research through VR
Architecture & Interiors
VR for Sports & Games
VR to improve Public Speech

Corporate Training
Virtual reality (VR) enhances traditional training methods through a new, practical and interactive approach. Improve Knowledge Retention by doing things in an immersive Environment.

* VR based Induction/ Onboarding
* Improving Health & Safety through VR
* Increase Knowledge Retention
* Hands-on VR Training Simulations
* Customer interactivity through VR
* VR to improve Marketing Strategy
* Special purpose training in VR
* High Risk Environment VR Simulation
* Critical National Infrastructure brief on VR
* VR for Business Planning

Healthcare
Virtual Reality has proven great results with 34% of Physical Health and 47% of Mental Health Improvements through various applications and learning programs.

* 360° Live streaming of Surgical Procedure
* Medical & Nursing Simulation
* Emergency Drill Scenario
* VR for pain & anxiety relief
* Assistive Technology for Special Education.
* Interactive Anatomy Lessons
* Yoga, Meditation and Recreational Therapy
* Virtual Medical Consultation
* Motivational Therapy for Aged Citizens
* VR for Medical Tourism

2017 Internet Trends Report — from kpcb.com by Mary Meeker

Mary Meeker’s 2017 internet trends report: All the slides, plus analysis — from recode.net by Rani Molla
The most anticipated slide deck of the year is here.

Excerpt:

Here are some of our takeaways:

Global smartphone growth is slowing: Smartphone shipments grew 3 percent year over year last year, versus 10 percent the year before. This is in addition to continued slowing internet growth, which Meeker discussed last year.
Voice is beginning to replace typing in online queries. Twenty percent of mobile queries were made via voice in 2016, while accuracy is now about 95 percent.
In 10 years, Netflix went from 0 to more than 30 percent of home entertainment revenue in the U.S. This is happening while TV viewership continues to decline.
China remains a fascinating market, with huge growth in mobile services and payments and services like on-demand bike sharing. (More here: The highlights of Meeker’s China slides.)

Read Mary Meeker’s essential 2017 Internet Trends report — from techcrunch.com by Josh Constine

Excerpt:

This is the best way to get up to speed on everything going on in tech. Kleiner Perkins venture partner Mary Meeker’s annual Internet Trends report is essentially the state of the union for the technology industry. The widely anticipated slide deck compiles the most informative research on what’s getting funded, how Internet adoption is progressing, which interfaces are resonating, and what will be big next.

You can check out the 2017 report embedded below, and here’s last year’s report for reference.

Ed Dept. Names Finalists for Virtual & Augmented Reality Competition [Ravipati]

On 05/16/2017, in A/V -- audio/visual, attention, Augmented Reality (AR), biology, chemistry, digital learning, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), immersion, psychology, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

Ed Dept. Names Finalists for Virtual and Augmented Reality Competition — from campustechnology.com by Sri Ravipati

Excerpt:

The finalists are:

Case Western Reserve University, which developed “Holographic Anatomy to Transform Healthcare,” a simulation that provides an alternative to using cadavers to teach medical anatomy. Combining the Microsoft HoloLens and the VR experience, medical students can practice dissection techniques in a virtual environment.
Embodied Labs for a series of VR patient experiences called “The Alfred Lab,” designed to teach students how to take better care of elderly populations.
Octothorpe, the creator behind “The Irregular: Sherlock Holmes,” which challenges students to work together on chemistry and psychology problems.
Osso VR, for its realistic, hands-on orthopaedic surgical training platform; and
Smart Sparrow, an education company that created “LifeCraft,” which explores life on Earth through various archaeology, biology and astronomy expeditions.

From DSC:
I appreciate the innovative work of Dr. Susan Aldridge and Marci Powell; check the Virtually Inspired site out for some examples of what I’m talking about.

Incredible work with VR at Stanford — The Stanford Virtual Heart

On 04/13/2017, in 21st century, emerging technologies, future, game-changing environment, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, by Daniel Christian

The Stanford Virtual Heart – Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford

Published on Mar 28, 2017
Pediatric cardiologists are using immersive virtual reality (VR) technology to explain complex congenital heart defects, which are some of the most difficult medical conditions to teach and understand.

From DSC:
Surgeons could also use this type of application to better explain — and help visualize — problems for their patients.

As our population gets older, providing these types of devices to employees would create WIN-WIN situations!

On 04/11/2017, in A/V -- audio/visual, health, ideas, innovation, parents/guardians, society, videoconferencing, web-based collaboration, workplace, by Daniel Christian

From DSC:
As our population gets older, providing the types of devices (as listed below) to employees would create WIN-WIN situations for all involved — employees, employers, and the aging parents or loved ones. Doing so could:

Reduce time away from work — i.e., less travel, less overnights, etc.
Reduce stress and ease the employees’ minds — i.e., have the peace of mind that one’s parent(s) is (are) doing ok
Allow some mobility around the apartment, home, or nursing home to see that everything is ok
Allow for some limited conversations with employees and their parents if the parents needed something

http://www.doublerobotics.com/

http://anybots.com/

http://www.mantarobot.com/

http://www.vgocom.com/

https://www.suitabletech.com/beam/

2 items re: Lifeliqe and Mixed Reality (MR) in the classroom

On 04/08/2017, in 21st century, A/V -- audio/visual, attention, education technology, emerging technologies, engagement / engaging students, health, K-12 related, learning, learning ecosystem, Microsoft, Mixed Reality (MR), science, student-related, teachers, teaching & learning, youth, by Daniel Christian

Lifeliqe Piloting Mixed Reality on Microsoft HoloLens for Grade 6-12 Classrooms — from thejournal.com by Richard Chang

Excerpt:

Using interactive 3D models and lesson plans from its app, Lifeliqe (pronounced “life like”) is now delivering educational content on two major immersive hardware platforms (Microsoft HoloLens and HTC Vive) as well as software platforms (Windows and iOS).

Students and teachers at Renton Prep Christian School in Washington state and Castro Valley Unified College in California participated in the pilot and were the first ever to try out Lifeliqe’s educational content on HoloLens during a science lesson (see video).

“The excitement we witnessed during the pilot shows us the great potential mixed reality has in sparking lightbulb moments.”

Lifeliqe is introducing pilots of mixed reality applications on Microsoft HoloLens — from lifeliqe.com

Excerpt:

Lifeliqe is thrilled to start piloting mixed reality educational scenarios for Microsoft HoloLens in grade 6-12 classrooms! The first two schools we are working with are Renton Prep in Seattle, WA and Castro Valley Unified College, CA. The students and teachers there were the first ever to try out Lifeliqe’s educational content on HoloLens during a Science lesson.

10 free VR apps for education | DC: Really like the idea of a VR-based app for public speaking!

On 03/30/2017, in 21st century, chemistry, education technology, emerging technologies, health, history, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, immersion, innovation, K-12 related, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning, by Daniel Christian

59 impressive things artificial intelligence can do today — from businessinsider.com by Ed Newton-Rex

Excerpt:

But what can AI do today? How close are we to that all-powerful machine intelligence? I wanted to know, but couldn’t find a list of AI’s achievements to date. So I decided to write one. What follows is an attempt at that list. It’s not comprehensive, but it contains links to some of the most impressive feats of machine intelligence around. Here’s what AI can do…

Recorded Saturday, February 25th, 2017 and published on Mar 16, 2017

Description:
Will progress in Artificial Intelligence provide humanity with a boost of unprecedented strength to realize a better future, or could it present a threat to the very basis of human civilization? The future of artificial intelligence is up for debate, and the Origins Project is bringing together a distinguished panel of experts, intellectuals and public figures to discuss who’s in control. Eric Horvitz, Jaan Tallinn, Kathleen Fisher and Subbarao Kambhampati join Origins Project director Lawrence Krauss.

Description:
Elon Musk, Stuart Russell, Ray Kurzweil, Demis Hassabis, Sam Harris, Nick Bostrom, David Chalmers, Bart Selman, and Jaan Tallinn discuss with Max Tegmark (moderator) what likely outcomes might be if we succeed in building human-level AGI, and also what we would like to happen. The Beneficial AI 2017 Conference: In our sequel to the 2015 Puerto Rico AI conference, we brought together an amazing group of AI researchers from academia and industry, and thought leaders in economics, law, ethics, and philosophy for five days dedicated to beneficial AI. We hosted a two-day workshop for our grant recipients and followed that with a 2.5-day conference, in which people from various AI-related fields hashed out opportunities and challenges related to the future of AI and steps we can take to ensure that the technology is beneficial.

(Below emphasis via DSC)

IBM and Ricoh have partnered for a cognitive-enabled interactive whiteboard which uses IBM’s Watson intelligence and voice technologies to support voice commands, taking notes and actions and even translating into other languages.

The Intelligent Workplace Solution leverages IBM Watson and Ricoh’s interactive whiteboards to allow to access features via using voice. It makes sure that Watson doesn’t just listen, but is an active meeting participant, using real-time analytics to help guide discussions.

Features of the new cognitive-enabled whiteboard solution include:

Global voice control of meetings: Once a meeting begins, any employee, whether in-person or located remotely in another country, can easily control what’s on the screen, including advancing slides, all through simple voice commands using Watson’s Natural Language API.
Translation of the meeting into another language: The Intelligent Workplace Solution can translate speakers’ words into several other languages and display them on screen or in transcript.
Easy-to-join meetings: With the swipe of a badge the Intelligent Workplace Solution can log attendance and track key agenda items to ensure all key topics are discussed.
Ability to capture side discussions: During a meeting, team members can also hold side conversations that are displayed on the same whiteboard.

From DSC:

Holy smokes!

If you combine the technologies that Ricoh and IBM are using with their new cognitive-enabled interactive whiteboard with what Bluescape is doing — by providing 160 acres of digital workspace that’s used to foster collaboration (and to do so whether you are working remoting or working with others in the same physical space) — and you have one incredibly powerful platform!

AI Market to Grow 47.5% Over Next Four Years — from campustechnology.com by Richard Chang

Excerpt:

The artificial intelligence (AI) market in the United States education sector is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 47.5 percent during the period 2017-2021, according to a new report by market research firm Research and Markets.

Amazon deepens university ties in artificial intelligence race — from by Jeffrey Dastin

Excerpt:

Amazon.com Inc has launched a new program to help students build capabilities into its voice-controlled assistant Alexa, the company told Reuters, the latest move by a technology firm to nurture ideas and talent in artificial intelligence research.
…
Amazon, Alphabet Inc’s Google and others are locked in a race to develop and monetize artificial intelligence. Unlike some rivals, Amazon has made it easy for third-party developers to create skills for Alexa so it can get better faster – a tactic it now is extending to the classroom.

The WebMD skill for Amazon’s Alexa can answer all your medical questions — from digitaltrends.com by Kyle Wiggers
WebMD is bringing its wealth of medical knowledge to a new form factor: Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant.

Excerpt:

Alexa, Amazon’s brilliant voice-activated smart assistant, is a capable little companion. It can order a pizza, summon a car, dictate a text message, and flick on your downstairs living room’s smart bulb. But what it couldn’t do until today was tell you whether that throbbing lump on your forearm was something that required medical attention. Fortunately, that changed on Tuesday with the introduction of a WebMD skill that puts the service’s medical knowledge at your fingertips.

Addendum:

How artificial intelligence is taking Asia by storm — from techwireasia.com by Samantha Cheh
Excerpt:
Lately it seems as if everyone is jumping onto the artificial intelligence bandwagon. Everyone, from ride-sharing service Uber to Amazon’s logistics branch, is banking on AI being the next frontier in technological innovation, and are investing heavily in the industry.

That’s likely truest in Asia, where the manufacturing engine which drove China’s growth is now turning its focus to plumbing the AI mine for gold.

Despite Asia’s relatively low overall investment in AI, the industry is set to grow. Fifty percent of respondents in KPMG’s AI report said their companies had plans to invest in AI or robotic technology.

Investment in AI is set to drive venture capital investment in China in 2017. Tak Lo, of Hong Kong’s Zeroth, notes there are more mentions of AI in Chinese research papers than there are in the US.

China, Korea and Japan collectively account for nearly half the planet’s shipments of articulated robots in the world.

Artificial Intelligence – Research Areas

SXSW Announces Winners for 2017 Accelerator Pitch Event [prnewswire.com]

On 03/14/2017, in data related items, entrepreneurship, global / globalization, health, human-computer interaction (HCI), ideas, innovation, technology (general), wearables, by Daniel Christian

SXSW Announces Winners for 2017 Accelerator Pitch Event — from prnewswire.com
Pitch competition showcased global startups featuring cutting-edge innovation in 10 technology categories

Excerpt:

The winners of the 2017 SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event are:

“Augmented & Virtual Reality”: Lampix
“Enterprise & Smart Data”: Deep 6 Analytics
“Entertainment & Content”: Laugh.ly
“Health & Wearables”: Sound Scouts
“Innovative World”: Thimble.io
“Payment & FinTech”: CNote
“Security & Privacy”: UnifyID
“Social & Culture”: Lily
“Sports”: Brizi
“Transportation”: SPLT

Learning Ecosystems

VR & AR make headway in courses on health care, art history, and social work [Roll] Plus…a $200 wireless VR headset from Oculus in 2018?

Ed Dept. Names Finalists for Virtual & Augmented Reality Competition [Ravipati]

Incredible work with VR at Stanford — The Stanford Virtual Heart

As our population gets older, providing these types of devices to employees would create WIN-WIN situations!

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