ICYMI: Touch in the Metaverse and video games good for kids

Tactile technologies to take sense of touch to the Metaverse

Online shoppers will be able to feel products in the Metaverse thanks to a new system which allows users to touch virtual items and receive tactile feedback in real time. The research team co-led by City University of Hong Kong (CityU) developed a wearable tactile rendering system, which can mimic the sensation of touch sensation with a resolution and response rate far greater than any previously developed. 

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Three hours of video games each day could give kids a boost

Researchers say they have discovered new evidence that kids who play video games for three hours or more per day performed better on tests involving impulse control and working memory compared to children who had never played video games. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study analysed data from the ongoing Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, which is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institutes of Health.

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£4.4m fine shows the need to prevent phishing attacks

Britain’s data watchdog has fined a construction company £4.4mn for failing to keep the personal information of its staff secure. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) found that Interserve failed to put appropriate security measures in place to prevent a cyber attack, which enabled hackers to access the personal data of up to 113,000 employees through a phishing email.

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Robots feel their way to home-help roles with synthetic skin

Robots may be able to help people with household tasks including folding laundry, according to new research from Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute (RI). Robotic helpers could “feel” layers of cloth rather than relying on computer vision tools to see them, say researchers, presenting a wealth of opportunities for robot help in the home. Humans use their senses of sight and touch to pick items up easily, simple routine tasks which are extremely difficult for robots to replicate and generate data that machines struggle to quantify.

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Tech CEO named in The Powerlist of influential Black leaders

Forterro Chief Executive Officer Dean Forbes has been named one of the three most influential Black people in Britain in an annual ranking of the most powerful individuals of African, African Caribbean and African American heritage working in British business, politics, technology and science. Forbes secured second place on The Powerlist 2023, published by Powerful Media in partnership with J.P Morgan. He is joined in the top three by Dame Sharon White, Chair of John Lewis Partnership, who secured first place; and by Anne Mensah of Netflix. Steven Bartlett, entrepreneur and a Dragon’s Den “dragon”, also features in the top 10.

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