Two research teams-- one from the Graz University of Technology in Austria, and the other from University College London (UCL), have converged to create a virtual world that can be explored solely using the imagination.

Sounds mind-boggling, but there's logic here-- the Graz folks specialize in measuring brain signals through electrodes or implants, and the UCL team focuses on building realistic virtual environments. The two teams converged through the PRESENCCIA consortium, to combine the latest in brainwave technology with virtual world exploration. Basically, the research subject sits in a room with electrodes attached to their scalp, and stereo video of the virtual environment projected onto the walls. Glasses help reinforce the illusion of 3D, while the person is essentially able to issue commands to an avatar using only their mind.

The goal is to create a virtual reality experience to help rehabilitate people with serious physical or physiological injury by allowing them to "move" in the virtual world. A man paralyzed from the neck down was asked to test the system, and was able to successfully walk up to other avatars and receive their greetings about 90% of the time.

The virtual environments are ideal for rehabilitation training, because they provide brain stimulation without requiring the patient to actually move. "A system such as this could be very motivational for a patient to use for training," says Jessica Bayliss at Rochester Institute of Technology, in New York, US, who also specializes in brain-computer interfaces and virtual reality. "It reminds me of how people with various handicaps are playing World of Warcraft, because they are able to do things in the virtual world that they can't do in the real world."

[Game|Life via NewScientistTech]