Researchers are investigating how to build virtual environments in which hundreds or thousands of participants can log in and interact with each other. The applications go beyond gaming. Simulations are used for meetings, organizational operations and even product branding. Scientists are discovering how to meet the challenges of creating 3D spaces for many users to […]

Advances in interactive molecular graphics enable not only creative research, but an increasingly collaborative and mobile research community to interact. In the “VIsualization Vault,” at the University of California, San Francisco, Professor Tom Ferrin and his team created Chimera, a visualization system for exploratory research. Ferrin, one of the pioneers of visualization, leads UCSF’s computer […]

While context-aware devices of the near future might recommend restaurants, monitor a user’s health, or screen phone calls, they may also save human lives by keeping drivers safe and aware of their surroundings. Future Lab spoke with researchers about the problem of drowsy or distracted driving, the ability of the human mind to process information […]

The world’s population is aging. It’s estimated that by the year 2050 more than half the people on Earth will be over the age of 50. But while people are living longer, they still have to live with the diseases that come with old age. The European community has been working with technology companies to […]

As computing power increases and we all rely increasingly on cloud computing and storage, the environmental demands of information technology are growing significantly. Earth Day 2011 marks a moment when, by some estimates, the carbon footprint of data centers exceeds that of the airline industry (an Environmental Protection Agency estimate suggests this will happen by […]

One of the next frontiers of computing is to create systems that understand the user. Context aware devices of the near future might recommend restaurants, monitor a user’s health, or screen phone calls—all based on information collected from device sensors and casual input data. Two of the most profound sensors are already on our devices: […]

Every year, finalists in the Intel Science Talent Search gather in Washington, DC, to share their research. This year, finalists Ryan Lee and Laurie Rumker, and winner Evan O’Dorney, spoke with Future Lab radio about their work, and what it could mean for the world. Ryan Lee is a student at the North Carolina School […]

Gaming fans are eagerly awaiting the arrival of “cloud gaming,” with its promise of mobile, low-end devices running intense, realistic graphics at amazing speeds. Technological developments from leading scientists, combined with newsmaking marketplace competition (well-covered by Dean Takahashi), are bringing intense graphics and computationally demanding games to devices like Apple’s iPad. Games like “Assassin’s Creed […]

Researchers around the world are searching for ways to help seniors remain healthier and live independently in their homes for longer. Intel is working on new sensing devices that can feed data to a central hub that infers whether a person is getting enough sleep, taking their meds on time and feeding themselves properly. The […]

Intel’s new visual computing lab is researching how to create immersive experiences with computers. Parallel processing is opening the doors to the ability to synthesize images and audio which look and sound real. Here is Intel’s announcement of the new visual computing lab and the new Science and Technology Centers. Interviewees: Doug James, Associate Professor, […]