You can now put on a virtual reality headset with sensors which will predict your facial expressions before you even make them and have them instantly mirrored on an avatar. MindMaze unveiled MASK on Wednesday, a lightweight foam with sensors that can be applied to VR headsets, which brings human emotion to VR gaming and social networking. MindMaze, a Switzerland based company, has developed products to help stroke victims and amputees using virtual reality, computer graphics, brain imaging & neuroscience -- and now it's bringing that technology to gaming. "There's a lot of technology but none of it is human," CEO and founder of MindMaze, Tej Tadi, told International Business Times about the VR world. MindMaze unveils MASK, which predicts facial expressions and mirrors them on VR avatars.

Existing VR systems and experiences are immersive, engaging and sometimes even interactive. But they don't offer a quick, easy way for you to express your emotions. Medical device maker MindMaze has come up with a novel, compelling way to convey your facial expressions in VR called Mask. It's a foam insert that's compatible with existing headsets and uses diodes to read your biosignals and muscles. The potential applications here are plenty: You could deduce, from your opponents' faces, when they're preparing to shoot or see a new acquaintance laugh at your joke in social VR scenarios.

Magic Leap, the augmented reality startup that has raised $1.4 billion in funding but has yet to release a product, has made an acquisition to expand its work in computer vision and deep learning, and to build out its operations into Europe. The company has acquired the 3D division of Dacuda, a computer vision startup based out of Zurich. One of Dacuda's focuses had been developing algorithms for consumer-grade cameras (and not just cameras, but any device with a camera function) to capture 2D and 3D imaging in real-time, "making 3D content as easy as taking a video." Dacuda has confirmed the acquisition with a short announcement on its site. It notes that the whole 3D team has moved to Magic Leap and that Dacuda's founder, Alexander Ilic, is now leading Magic Leap Switzerland.

NOTE: This is an extract from our chapter on Healthcare in The Fourth Transformation: Why AR & AI Will Change Everything. In the fourth transformation, people will be leading healthier and longer lives. Of course, AR/VR will play roles in this, as will other enhanced technologies that tap directly into the human brain and nanotech devices that will swim around our bodies hunting down cancer cells and other malicious attackers. In addition, when things inside our bodies become irreparably broken, we will bypass them with external solutions that connect to the brain. This is a chapter that deals with personal and emotional issues related to healthcare, but also, keeps in mind that it is a huge industry.