[flv image="http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/Beam_me_up.jpg"]http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/first person thinker.flv[/flv]

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FIRST-PERSON THINKER:
A Video Game of People Skills

American soldiers are masters at using their weapons to survive in combat zones. Now, with a video-game system called ELECT BiLAT, scientists and engineers are showing troops how to add another dimension -- enhanced cultural awareness and social skills -- to their arsenal of talents.

With ELECT BiLAT, troops can hone this understanding safely on-screen by moving around an Iraqi community, interacting with villagers, and observing local customs, all via the guidance of a virtual teacher. Simulated challenges expose soldiers to real-life situations, helping them gain experience and sharpen their problem-solving skills before they're put to the test in the field.

"What you gave us, what you helped us learn, is exactly what we were doing in real life every day," says Julia Kim, project director at the Institute for Creative Technologies, which developed the game for the Army.

[flv image="http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/Beam_me_up.jpg"]http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/LaserDazzlers.flv[/flv]

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LASER DAZZLERS:
A Stop Sign in Any Language

A laser that stops traffic? Yes, a new light tool called "driver defeat" will help soldiers slow approaching cars from a distance so they can determine if the driver is friend or foe. It works like this: When a laser is pointed at the eye, the flashes create an "afterimage," an optical illusion that limits a person's sight for a very short time.

"It's a little like driving into the sun", says Gordon Hengst, a research physicist at Brooks City Air Force Research Lab. So, "if somebody's driving a vehicle the natural reaction is to either slow down or stop," giving soldiers that extra moment they need.

Scientists are experimenting with the color, power and timing of flashes to make the laser a safe -- as well as effective -- universal stop sign.

[flv image="http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/Beam_me_up.jpg"]http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/3D_Teleconference.flv[/flv]

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3-D TELECONFERENCE:
Can you see me now?

The movie "Star Wars" wowed audiences with its use of holograms -- 3-D impressions that were projected into thin air so that a person’s animated image seemed to materialize from nowhere.

For years such innovation was only the stuff of dreams.

Now, scientists at the Institute of Creative Technologies in Los Angeles have conceived an invention that rivals Hollywood: a 3-D teleconferencing system that scans and then reflects images using a high-speed video projector. This amazing device operates at thousands of frames per second to display a 3-D headshot in real time. Phone calls may never be the same.

[flv image="http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/Beam_me_up.jpg"]http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/LightStage.flv[/flv]

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LIGHT STAGE:
Amazing avatars worthy of the Army, and Hollywood

Using spherical stages enveloped with lights and cameras, scientists at the Institute for Creative Technologies bathe a subject's face in the glow of as many as 6,000 LEDs controlled by 60 computers.

Feeding the data to a master computer, the researchers are operating on the bleeding edge of animation, using physics to recreate a human being in a way that is virtually indistinguishable from the real person. The effort is opening new frontiers in training and education for the Army while dramatically influencing the world of entertainment.

"We want the things that you see in simulations and video games and movies, even if they're completely computer generated, to look absolutely realistic," says Dr. Paul Debevec, the project director.

[flv image="http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/Beam_me_up.jpg"]http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/VirtualHuman.flv[/flv]

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VIRTUAL HUMAN:
Blurring the Reality Barrier

Using virtual human technology, scientists, programmers and graphic artists at the Institute for Creative Technologies in Los Angeles have created realistic environments featuring computer generated characters. These lifelike characters respond to your movements and answer questions within 250 milliseconds - real time for human conversation.

What started as an Army training project is pushing the frontiers of virtual technology, creating ever more realistic interactions, even striving to add emotion.

"The goal of this kind of research, down the road, is to really blur that barrier between what is real and what is virtual,” says Dr. Jonathan Grach, a virtual human research scientist.

[flv image="http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/Beam_me_up.jpg"]http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/SmallWorld.flv[/flv]

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IT'S A SMALL WORLD:
Big Things with Small Materials

Nanomaterials scientist Joseph McDermott works at the Air Force Research Lab in Dayton, Ohio, with materials so tiny the width of a human hair is huge by comparison.

One amazing invention emerging from the lab is a flexible, cheaper and super-efficient solar panel.

"I always thought it was incredibly exciting to be doing something that no one else has done before," says McDermott. "Then to take that sort of enthusiasm… (and invent) products that can actually change the world - it's a really exciting field to be working in."

[flv image="http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/Beam_me_up.jpg"]http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/talk_to_the_hand.flv[/flv]

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TALK TO THE HAND:
Communication glove designed for space will be a delight on Earth

Upcoming missions to the moon may include as many as 30 people at a time, having such a large group talking on a single voice channel is impractical. How can they more efficiently communicate?

Naval scientists in San Diego are exploring answers to that challenge with special gloves that contain -- in each hand -- six of the feedback devices now being used in wireless remotes for the Wii video game system!

The research has many potential Earthly applications. "By using icons they become universal," explains Emily Medina, an engineer at the Navy's Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center in San Diego, California. "We're able to communicate with people who don't speak English. We're able to communicate with people who are perhaps deaf and need American Sign Language. All of a sudden the language barrier is cast aside."

[flv image="http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/Beam_me_up.jpg"]http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/SpinCycle.flv[/flv]

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SPIN CYCLE:
Training for High G Flying

The professionals at the Brooks City Air Force Research Lab in San Antonio, Texas, are experts on the forces caused by acceleration, also called G forces. That's what people feel in their stomachs when riding a wild roller coaster.  But at Brooks City, they specialize in the more powerful forces experienced by fighter pilots.

Training in a human centrifuge under the guidance of people like Sgt. Andre Scott, an aerospace physiology craftsman, the pilots wear custom clothing and learn techniques to handle High G environments. They are taught to safely fly their aircraft to 9 Gs, far past  4-6 Gs where the average person would pass out."

[flv image="http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/Beam_me_up.jpg"]http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/Save_Bay_Robotics Challenge.flv[/flv]

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SAVE THE BAY: Robotics Challenge
Students Learn to Reverse Environmental Harm

The room buzzes with excitement as 400 students gather for the finale of the Save The Bay: Robotics Challenge. For the last 16 weeks, under the guidance of Navy scientists and engineers, they have been trouping out to river banks to study the environment and working in the classroom to build and program robots.

The students worked in teams to research problems in the Chesapeake Bay and devise ways to reverse environmental harm. Their focus is diverse, from invasive species and over-harvesting of marine life, to the effects of soil erosion and runoff.

The kids are wonderful, says Physicist Ray Gamache. “You can inspire them and hopefully influence them to have fun and guide them possibly in a career.”

[flv image="http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/Beam_me_up.jpg"]http://stemresources.wm.edu/videos/SGT_STAR.flv[/flv]

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SGT. STAR:
A Virtual Human with a Sense of Humor

Standing behind a "TranScreen," Sergeant Star looks you in the eye, shifting slightly on his feet. You are speaking to, he jokes "an incredibly handsome solider."

Well, sort of. Sgt. Star actually is a hologram-like projection, created by a team of graphics researchers, computer scientists and artificial intelligence experts here at the Institute for Creative Technologies in Los Angeles, California.  He travels the country in Army Adventure vans, answering more than 145,000 questions a month.

When someone meets Sergeant Star, our goal is to really have them drop their disbelief, says Diane Piepol, project director. “We want them to feel immersed in that moment, just as they would if they met a real person.”