Interactivity
Myo
The video for this almost looks too good to be true. Its a simple arm band that measures muscles tension and arm movements using accelerometers and other sensors. From this data a variety of interactions can be imagined. Users are seen controlling anything from computers to television to vehicles. I have always been interested in different forms of off-screen interaction. Something like this is particularly appealing for its broad usage spectrum and its non-intrusive nature.
Occulus Rift
Commercialized VR! This is really cool. I had heard about Occulus from a friend during CES where it became very popular. Basically this is a VR headset which claims to be non-laggy and provide a huge field of view. The non-laggyness is a huge part of it since it enables high-frame rate activities like video games to be realized. John Carmack, creator of Doom endorses this project, and if it pans out will have Doom released for the platform. This is super exiting for gamers like me who are always looking at the future of gaming.
Real World In Video Games
More gaming related news. This article talks about a designer who is adamant about recreating real-world areas into video game maps for Counter-Strike. Its very interesting and hacky since hae turns places people see every day like the subway into warzones. Areas that people might have neglected in real life, become well known in-game for different reasons (like good cover). Unfortunately this guy is getting a ton of flak from authorities for doing this, something I think is perfectly legal. How can anyone own the rights to how a place in this world looks?