XR Bus Shows Climate Change

An iconic red shuttle bus ferries commuters and visitors along the winding streets of New York City’s Roosevelt Island. Passengers wear virtual reality headsets for an eye-opening experience – a cutting-edge blend of the physical and digital worlds, designed to engage communities in new ways through the Communal eXtended-Reality (CXR) system. Passengers were transported into a realm where virtual environments seamlessly merged with their real surroundings. Guided by audio narration, they encountered nine striking scenes depicting the escalating impacts of climate change, with a particular focus on rising floodwaters. Projections suggest that a 100-year flood could submerge most of Roosevelt Island. Despite these alarming forecasts, research indicates that such a catastrophe doesn’t feel real to many in the public.

This disconnect between knowledge and urgency is precisely what the CXR system aims to address. The technology provides a fully immersive, shared extended reality (XR) experience designed to foster a unified understanding of pressing challenges, such as climate change. This integration allows participants to experience a shared reality while physically traveling through their environment, making the experience both communal and deeply rooted in place. The deployment of the CXR system on Roosevelt Island proved to be more than just an educational exercise. After seeing “worst-case” flooding scenarios, scenes of Superstorm Sandy, and future sea-level rise forecasts, participants reported strong emotional responses, with many expressing increased concern about climate change and a desire to act.

More information:

https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2024/09/mixing-physical-virtual-worlds-drive-home-climate-urgency

Magnet-Controlled Prosthetic Hand

Researchers have created the first prosthetic hand controlled by magnets, enabling amputees to move it by thought. The project, from a research team at the BioRobotics Institute of the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Pisa, allows precise control of grip strength and is useful for handling fragile objects. The prosthetic hand operates without wires or electrical connections, relying solely on magnets and muscles to control finger movements. This allows users to perform everyday tasks like opening jars, using screwdrivers, and picking up coins.

Experimental tests on the robotic prosthesis featured a patient successfully grasping a plastic cup. The study team mapped the movements to direct the robotic hand’s fingers and converted them into signals. The magnets have an inherent magnetic field that is easily localized in space. A unique algorithm converts the movement of the magnet - which occurs when a muscle contracts—into a particular command for the robotic hand. According to researchers, the experiment’s outcomes considerably exceeded even the most optimistic predictions.

More information:

https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/first-magnet-controlled-prosthetic-hand