Emerging Trends in CyberTherapy. Introduction to the Special Issue

According to the recent reports presented by IST Advisory Group (ISTAG) the evolutionary technology scenarios in support of the Knowledge Society of the 2010s will be rooted within three dominant trends: (a) Ambient In telligence, the pervasive diffusion of intelligence in the space around us; (b) B3G, "Beyond 3rd Generation" mobile communication system; (c) Shared Virtual Reality, with the increase of the range, accessibility and comprehensiveness of communications. Th e convergence of these trends manifests itself as the next frontier of Information and Communication Technologies . This convergence stimulates a change in the way health care is carried out, making it an embodied experiential process in which communication and collaboration of geographically dispersed users may also play a key role. In this special issue we will try to outline this process and its potential for the future of cybertherapy. We suggest that a key role will be played by the attainment of " Immer sive Virtual Telepresence" (IVT). In IVT tools, distributed virtual reality systems are combined with wireless multimedia facilities - real -time video – and innovative input devices – tracking sensors, biosensors, brain -computer interfaces

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