[From Develop, where the story includes several more images] Crossing the UI Rift with Oculus Virtual reality opens the doors to a new era for user interface design. Oculus VR speaks to Develop about its opportunities by Will Freeman Wednesday, 11th September 2013 [This feature was published in the September 2013 edition of Develop magazine, which is available through your browser and on iPad.] Virtual reality doesn’t present user interface design with its first opportunity for transformation. The dawn of 3D long ago afforded games makers the prospect of moving beyond flat heads-up-displays and conventional menus. And when mobile gaming…

[A news release from Iowa State University; see also “Professors use virtual reality to train firefighters” in the Iowa State Daily] [Image: Nir Keren, left, and Warren Franke, center, have conducted research on firefighter stress levels using virtual reality simulations. Photo by Robert Elbert.] Experienced firefighters are more analytical under stress than novices, according to ISU study Posted Jul 31, 2013 AMES, Iowa – Experienced firefighters take longer to make decisions under stress than novice firefighters, according to research conducted at Iowa State University. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. After conducting dozens of virtual reality trials in which…

[From Gizmag, where the story includes many more images and a video] Intelligent Headset aims to immerse users in augmented reality of sound and space By Heidi Hoopes September 12, 2013 Running down an alley you make out the low growls of a zombie approaching distinctly above you and to the right. Touring a famous city you get lost, happen upon a fascinating art exhibit, and touch your headphones to find out where you are and what you see. Intelligent Headset hopes to create these augmented reality scenarios with its GPS-enabled 3D audio headset and a complementary suite of smartphone…

[From Joystiq, where the story includes additional images] How to make players sick in your virtual reality game by Richard Mitchell on Aug 30th 2013 There is a great, undiscovered potential in virtual reality development. Sure, you can create lifelike virtual worlds, but you can also make players sick. Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey and VP of product Nate Mitchell hosted a panel at GDC Europe last week, instructing developers on how to avoid the VR development pitfalls that make players uncomfortable. It was a lovely service for VR developers, but we saw a much greater opportunity. Inadvertently, the panel…

[From NevilleHobson.com; for more coverage see the Atlanta Constitution-Journal] Disney brings the second-screen experience to the movies published September 11, 2013 by Neville Hobson The advent of mobile devices – especially tablets – has changed people’s behaviours in how we access, consume and share information across multiple devices, and where we do it, as surveys constantly show us. One place you don’t see that happening, though, is in the cinema. Using a smartphone, tablet, etc, in a darkened theatre is regarded in most cultures as the height of socially-unacceptable behaviour, not to mention an assumption of piracy by anyone who…