Blogs / Discoblog

Trying to pack everything into a European vacation can leave you with little time to do activities you actually enjoy. European researchers involved in the iTacitus project are working to solve this problem by tapping into augmented reality, a technology that blends real world information with stored digital data.

The researchers want to create a virtual time machine for tourists who like to snap pictures. The program would use these photos to search for historical information based on the location, and create a “smart itinerary” so travelers could navigate from place to place.

First, you’d have to snap a photo with a smart phone or camera. Then the image would be downloaded to software stored on a central server, and you’d instantly have access to cultural and historical information about the place you’re visiting. Science Daily reports:

“[Tourists] can look at a historic site and, by taking a photo or viewing it through the camera on their mobile device, be able to access much more information about it,” explains Luke Speller, a senior researcher at BMT in the United Kingdom who oversaw development of the technology.

“They are even able to visualize, in real time, how it looked at different stages in history,” he adds.

Along with museums and tourist boards, the researchers hope that tourists will also contribute their travel experiences so they can build up a database of user-generated content.

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Image: flickr/ Ben

Imagine what it would be like if you could instantly feel the heat of the Aruban sun, smell the ocean, and hear the sound of waves on the sand as you sip a Caribbean cocktail—all without leaving your living room. U.K. researchers from the University of York and the University of Warwick are hoping their new virtual reality gadget will allow people to do just that, essentially becoming “virtual tourists.”

While virtual reality has been used in video games, helped soldiers cope with war trauma, and  even allowed a women to commit “virtual murder,” the experience has been limited to two senses (sight and sound). But the new Virtual Cocoon helmet can mimic all five senses, so that people can truly experience the trip.

The Daily Mail illustrated how the machine actually works:

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How easy would it be for terrorists to pack a mosquito in their luggage? At present, there’s no airport security device that would stop them. And at least one bug expert—Jeffrey Lockwood, a professor of entomology at Wyoming University—thinks there is reason to worry.

Lockwood told DISCOVER that insects can be used to cause disease, impact agriculture, and inflict pain (fire ants being a prime example). He also notes that yellow fever can potentially spread in the U.S. just like West Nile Virus did after an infected individual traveled to New York and was bitten.

Bugs have been used in warfare before. In World War II, Lockwood says, the Japanese army injected fleas with the bubonic plague and coated flies in cholera, killing more than 400,000 Chinese.

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