For those not familiar with Marc Owens’ work, he’s the man behind the Avatar Machine. It’s a suit which allows the user to view themselves as a virtual character in real space via a head mounted interface. Now he’s working on another suit that’s sure to turn heads. According to a study that found that 54 percent of all males and 68 percent of all females gender swap in a virtual setting, psychologists have proven that the majority of people aren’t satisfied with their gender and want to cut their genitals out.

Thankfully, Marc Owens has the cure. If you’re the kind of guy that feels comfortable dressing up in your mother’s clothes or the kind of girl whose always wanted to play QB on the high school football team then the Virtual Transgender Suit was made for you. It replicates the aesthetics of the typical virtual female form while portraying it in physical form, kind of like if you were to act out Facebook in a real life setting. So, if cross dressing just seems a little too gay for you, how about trying out the Virtual Transgender Suit? You’ll look like a woman but no one will criticize you because you’ll look like a virtual woman.

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In construction work, it always helps to have a blueprint of your plans before you start building. Well, the same goes for LEGO construction, too. A new updated version of Allen Smith’s LEGO design freeware, Bricksmith was just released. Now, you can generate mini figures and add them to whatever it is you design in this virtual brick builder.

Do you find that you just don’t own enough LEGOs to build that dream scanner of yours? That’ll never happen with Bricksmith 2.0.. Not only will you never run out of LEGOs to utilize, the software also has a drag and drop building procedure. It might as well be real LEGOs. It’s free to download at the link provided but you’ll need a Mac.

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In an effort to stem losses from console sales (because the PS3 is a steal), Sony announced Friday that it is in desperate need of cash. Well, that wasn’t verbatim but it was something along the lines of an offer for advertising space in their upcoming games.

“Various game titles are played by fans who like certain things, which can offer opportunities for targeted ads,” said a Sony spokesman.

Wait, doesn’t everyone like certain things? Prepare yourself for a mindfuck of corporate pollution in your video games. The ’shopped picture says it all.
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Air guitar is a big thing but an even bigger musical hit is on the horizon. Omer Yosha has created an interesting, elegant interface that uses infrared sensors to control music applications he’s calling AirPiano. Similar in concept to the theremin but with many more advancements, the AirPiano allows any untalented schmuck to wiggle his fingers above the board to make sound.

This is done by a virtual matrix of keys and faders above the board, each assigned with MIDI messages and ready to be triggered at the whim of the user.  Once those MIDI messages have been triggered it then relays the positioning of your fingers to a computer via USB, where the preprogrammed AirPiano software converts it into sound, or if you’re talented, music.

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In more depressing news, nerdy engineer Drew Burrows has created a 2-D virtual image projected from the ceiling to your bedsheets called: INBED. Reminiscent of the virtual guard dog, this 2-D image interacts via “infrared sensitive” light, making it respond to various actions you’d do to a loved one while laying in the sack. Except for sex.

As for satisfying those not-so-innocent late-night desires, this lady adheres to her role as steady girlfriend. Give her a kiss on the cheek and she rolls over and buries her face in the pillow. And yes, she stays fully clothed at all times.

I’m still going to hump the mattress like it’s my job.

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Perhaps one day, our world will be ravaged by gigantic robots, nuclear war and stray cats. If this occured, would you really want to spend your days looking at dilapidated buildings and the sort? Of course not. Then, in comes the Augmented Reality Mask to save the day. Trust me when I say it’d go perfectly with the Urban Security Suit.

Supposedly, the mask is intended to provide a “jacked in” feel just like Neo experienced in the movie The Matrix. You’ll see an entirely new landscape, breathe in fresh air and will even be able to smell the virtual environment around you. The mask was designed by Frog Design and is only a prototype at the moment. Perhaps one day we’ll all be wearing these around a post-apocalyptic New York. Hit the jump to see what it looks like with the mask on.

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Falling under the conditions of the human condition, we’re born explorers. Sure, we’d love to seek out all of the hidden nooks of the world, but rather it be work or money, there’s always an excuse holding us back from traveling. GeoSim is launching their first complete city tour, starting with Philadelphia, which might one day lead to a whole new form of tourism.

There’s a whole sub-culture of tourism known as the “armchair traveler”. People who drift into travel books in the comfort of their own homes without lifting more than a finger to turn a page. GeoSim has completed a rendering of the city of Philly (where we hear Vince Veneziani Will Smith was  reportedly born and raised, though has been known to frequent the playground on most of his days), down to the current storefronts, architecture, even placements of trash cans.
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As if you are not sick of Samsung’s propaganda in real life yet, the company is opening an island on the online virtual space Second Life to promote their phones. And since Samsung was trying to tell us how thin those phones they developed with Softbank were, they got this phone-raining effect on. If you would like to use these cool looking phones in Second Life, you would need to answer some of the easy questions… in Japanese. Well, at least you don’t have to pay. More pics after the jump.

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Ok, so maybe a 52â€? TV doesn’t cost an arm and leg (but it’s close), but there is more deception than that in the title. Headplay’s Personal Cinema System isn’t actually a 52â€? TV; it’s actually headgear that has a screen which looks the same size as a 52â€? TV because it is so close to your face. This strange looking contraption can be connected to many different devices, such as a PC, iPod, Xbox 360, or DVD player. Don’t worry; if you don’t have all those fancy gadgets, memory cards and thumb drives work also. With a resolution of 1024×768, you’ll have no trouble imagining you have a monster 52â€? TV in your house. Make sure you never wear this in a place where the general public could see you because you’ll look really stupid and become the laughing stock of you friends. Another precaution, if you’re playing gears of war with this on, play in an open area so you when you start getting into it you won’t hit anything. If this looks like the perfect substitution to that crappy TV you have right now, then pray that this won’t be too expensive; they reveal it at CES. — Nick Rice

Headplay 52″ TV: it’s all in your head [Xbox 360 Fanboy]