[The airlines are finding interesting applications of presence-evoking technology. This story from MRO (“Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul”) Network is about new immersive tech Emirates Airlines is adopting for seat booking and other previews of the inside of its planes (more details, images and a 1 minute video are available from Emirates). APEX (“Airline Passenger Experience Association”) has a related story about a passenger survey supporting the addition of VR-based experiences in airlines’ airport pre-flight lounges. –Matthew]

Virtual Reality Informs Passengers Booking Airline Seats

Emirates helps make seat selection a more accurate experience for its passengers via an immersive, 3D, online process

Kerry Reals
August 29, 2018

Airlines are starting to use three-dimensional technology to provide customers with a detailed, immersive view of their aircraft interiors during the booking process.

By allowing passengers to virtually experience the cabin before selecting seats, the hope is that their expectations will be more accurately met.… read more. “Airlines find new uses for presence, including 360 cabin views for booking seats”

[This story from VentureBeat is about valuable applications of aerial telepresence; more details are on the Cape website and in coverage in Aviation Today, which includes this:

“The U.S. government launched the [drone integration pilot program] because drones are a quickly expanding industry. Civilians and companies alike are embracing them and finding new uses every day. [Cape CEO] Rittler is confident that we’re on the cusp of a broader integration into the fabric of society. ‘I really think we’re at that point, kind of like when the smartphone first came out, everybody said ‘This will never be used in enterprise,’ he said. ‘And all of a sudden, it became the enterprise tool, and everybody was creating mobile enterprise applications and mobile enterprise extensions. I think we’re right there at the end of that curve as well.’”

–Matthew]

[Image: A Cape-equipped drone in front of the Ensenada, Mexico fire department.]… read more. “San Diego Fire Department testing drones piloted via telepresence as part of FAA program”

[The creators of a new Cinematic VR film are testing the limits and learning best production practices for transitioning the VR medium from short-form demos and games to long-form engaging narratives. This story is from Variety, where the original includes more images. –Matthew]

Venice: Secret Location’s ‘The Great C’ Takes an Ambitious Stab at Long-Form VR

By Janko Roettgers
August 28, 2018

When the Venice Film Festival opens its doors this week, audiences will once again get to see a number of virtual reality (VR) titles. And anyone who has followed VR might notice a trend: Cinematic VR, as non-gaming titles are often being called, is getting longer, with experiences slowly but surely approaching the VR equivalent of a feature film.

Case in point: “The Great C,” which is based on a Philip K. Dick short story of the same name, clocks in at just above 30 minutes, and spans 20 unique environments.… read more. “Secret Location’s ‘The Great C’ takes an ambitious stab at long-form VR”

[As the fall semester begins it’s a good time to read about how The University of North Carolina System is using VR and presence to “promote and facilitate college access” across all of its campuses. It notes their plans for the use of chatbots and expansion to all colleges in the state. Most of the press coverage is drawn from this more detailed press release from UNC. –Matthew]

[Image: This still shot from a new virtual reality video compiled by the UNC System shows a class at N.C. State University. Source: News & Record.]

UNC SYSTEM LAUNCHES FIRST-IN-NATION VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY TO IMPROVE COLLEGE ACCESS

GEAR UP grant provides opportunity to visit the UNC System’s 16 universities

By ncbarkley@north…
August 8, 2018

CHAPEL HILL, NC – The University of North Carolina System has unveiled a new app that will allow users to take immersive virtual reality tours of each of the UNC System’s 16 universities.… read more. “UNC system launches VR app to improve college access”

[This case study report from the Virtual Engineering Centre (VEC) at the University of Liverpool describes a unique and potentially valuable application of presence-evoking technology to help people learn the warning signs that a dog is likely to bite them. The link at the end leads to a 1:19 minute video of a first-person interaction with a virtual dog. –Matthew]

CASE STUDY: THE DOGS TRUST

The Virtual Engineering Centre, in collaboration with Dogs Trust,  the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Infection and Global Health and Institute of Psychology, Health and Society, have created an immersive 3D environment to demonstrate the value of digital technologies in the identification and education of canines body language related to aggression.

THE CHALLENGE

6,740 hospital admissions for dog bites and strikes were recorded in the UK in 2013 and University of Liverpool research suggests that the burden of dog bites is considerably larger than those estimated from hospital records.… read more. “New VR tool uses presence to teach people to avoid being bitten by dogs”