MSNBC reports on recent advances in VW programming and supercomputing, noting that one day soon, a “Matrix-style world… could be up and running in just a few years.”

The article summarizes advancements from researchers and scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory (increased processing speeds), the University of California at San Diego (graphics algorithms and global illumination), and Queen’s University Belfast (the Sensitive Artifical Listener.) It also brings up applications for counseling, noting that there have been great advances in getting avatars to recognize subtle, non-verbal shifts in human communications – and also notes that the Sensitive Artificial Listener is based on studies of Oprah Winfrey’s linguistic behavior. Finally, the article reports on advances at the Robotics Institute at Carnegie Mellon University of Pittsburgh, where researchers are testing the limits and applicability of virtual touch.

Taken as a whole, the article points to important moves forward that will further splice a virtual world into a real one, much as depicted in the film The Matrix and the book Neromancer. Well worth reading.