A systematic search for massive young stars in the Galaxy - the RMS survey

We have selected red MSX sources (RMS) that have the colours of massive young stellar objects (MYSOs). Our aim is to generate a large, systematically selected sample to address questions such as their luminosity function, lifetimes, clustering and triggering. Other objects such as UCHIIs, PN, PPN and AGB stars have similar IR colours and a large programme of ground-based follow-up observations is underway to identify and eliminate these from the sample of the red MSX sources. These include radio continuum observations, kinematic distances, ground-based mid-IR imaging, near-IR imaging and spectroscopy to distinguish. We report the progress of these campaigns on the 3000 candidates, with initial indications showing that a substantial fraction are indeed massive YSOs.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures Talk in conference: Milky Way surveys, the structure and evolution of our Galaxy, Boston 200

The design and implementation of the telepathic immersive virtual reality system

This paper describes a project which has a focus on immersive virtual reality (IVR) as an experimental environment and medium for telepathy. IVR denotes the use of three-dimensional computer graphics technology to generate artificial environments that afford real-time interaction and exploration. These are intended to give the user an impression of being present (‘telepresence’) or immersed in a computer-generated world. A sense of immersion is promoted through the use of head mounted displays (HMDs). These present stereo images and sound to create a perceptually encompassing computer environment. An instrumented data glove allows participants to interact with virtual objects. We argue that IVR has a number of features which make it well suited for the study of telepathy, including a higher degree of experimental control, the co-location of senders and receivers, and the opportunity for more ‘natural ’ and meaningful (to participants) experimental trials. In the early stages of the project we have focussed on developing an immersive virtual environment (the Telepathic Immersive Virtual Environment, or TIVE) which acts as the experimental environment for both ‘Sender ’ and ‘Receiver ’ in the later telepathy trials. This environment looks like a room: for example, it has a door, a window, a chair, a bookshelf and a potted plant. During the experimental trials the bookshelf is filled with four objects. These objects are interactive; that is, both Sender and Receiver are able to pick up an