Experience Crime Through VR

In a watershed moment for the American legal system, a court judge used VR in a criminal proceeding. The judge experienced a defense expert's recreation of the defendant’s perspective in the case of a wedding venue owner charged with aggravated assault. While groundbreaking, this approach raises questions about the reliability of VR evidence and concerns about accessibility, fairness, and cost barriers. VR reconstructions can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, potentially creating inequality in access to justice.

Researchers at the University of South Australia conducted a study where participants viewed a crime scene either through photographs or via a VR simulation. The findings revealed that those who experienced the VR simulation had a significantly better recall of evidence placement and reached more consistent verdicts compared to those who viewed photographs. While this research is promising, the introduction of new methods or technologies in the courtroom always comes with complex challenges.

More information:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/larsdaniel/2025/01/06/historic-first-judge-dons-oculus-vr-headset-to-experience-crime/

Smart Ring Controls Home Devices

University of Washington researchers have developed IRIS, a smart ring that allows users to control smart devices by aiming the ring’s small camera at the device and clicking a built-in button. The prototype Bluetooth ring sends an image of the selected device to the user’s phone, which controls the device.

The user can adjust the device with the button and for devices with gradient controls, such as a speaker’s volume by rotating their hand. IRIS, or Interactive Ring for Interfacing with Smart home devices, operates off a charge for 16-24 hours. However, IRIS is not currently available to the public.

More information:

https://www.washington.edu/news/2025/01/08/smart-ring-camera-iris/

Baby Helped AI Understand How Kids Learn Language

A team of researchers at New York University wondered if AI could learn like a baby. The AI model managed to match words to the objects they represent.  Researchers relied on 61 hours of video from a helmet camera worn by a child in Australia. That child wore the camera off and on for one and a half years, from the time he was six months old until a little after his second birthday.

The camera captured the things Sam looked at and paid attention to during about 1% of his waking hours. To train the model, researchers used 600,000 video frames paired with the phrases that were spoken by the child’s parents or other people in the room when the image was captured 37,500 utterances in all.

More information:

https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/02/01/1087527/baby-ai-language-camera/