[From The Creators Project, where the post includes animated gifs; more information and gifs are available on the Prosthetic Knowledge site]

From Berlin To Tokyo, People Are Turning Their Faces Into Tablets

By Ella Riley Adams — Feb 6 2014

With her Yamada Taro project, Katsuki Nogami explores ideas of international identity and the anonymity of technology. Yamada Taro is a placeholder Japanese name, like John Smith in the US. To create placeholder people, Nogami attached iPads to performers’ faces. The performers then took photos of people they encountered on the streets of Berlin and Tokyo. Each photo appeared on the iPad screens in both cities as well as in the hall where Nogami presented her project, giving each “person” a transcontinental existence.

Nogami describes the iPad people as “walking icons,” representations of people who masquerade as others online. Watching the semi-cyborgs totter around crowds in Germany and Japan, we can see both the playful and spooky effect of interacting with anonymity.… read more. “From Berlin to Tokyo, art project turns people’s faces into tablets”

[The first of two art-related news posts today… this is from the Guardian; more information, including two videos, is available from the Tate‘s web site]

Robots to roam Tate Britain at night

Artist collective known as the Workers wins inaugural digital prize with plan to let loose remote-controlled robots in gallery at night

Mark Brown, arts correspondent
The Guardian, Thursday 6 February 2014

It is an enticing proposition: the chance to be all on your own in a gallery or museum in the middle of the night. Tate Britain may not allow that but it hopes for the next best thing.

The winners of a new digital arts prize were named on Thursday as three artists who want to put after-dark robots into the gallery. The robots would be controlled by users from the comfort of their homes, with people able to steer them where they want, and zoom in on what they want, when they want.… read more. “Robots will let online visitors roam the Tate Britain at night”

[From New Scientist, where the story includes a 1:33 minute video]

Natural sense of touch restored with bionic hand

05 February 2014 by Douglas Heaven

We have the world at our fingertips. A sense of touch can sometimes be as important as sight, helping us to avoid crushing delicate objects or ensuring that we hold on firmly when carrying hot cups of coffee. Now, for the first time, a person who lost his left hand has had a near-natural sense of touch restored thanks to a prosthesis.

“I didn’t realise it was possible,” says Dennis Aabo Sørensen, who is so far the only person to have been fitted with the new prosthesis. “The feeling is very close to the sensation you get when you touch things with your normal hand.”… read more. “Natural sense of touch restored with bionic hand”

[Another story all about creating presence experiences, but without using the term; it’s from Wired, where you can find a second picture from Royal Caribbean]

Cruise Ship’s 80-Inch ‘Virtual Balconies’ Livestream the High Seas

By Damon Lavrinc
02.04.14

Passengers stuck in the bowels of Royal Caribbean’s latest behemoth can now pretend they’re living the high life with a “virtual balcony” — marketing-speak for an 80-inch HD display that pipes in real-time video to create a pseudo window, complete with a banister for “a feeling of safety.”

Eighty-one interior staterooms aboard the 15-deck Navigator of the Seas will get screens that stretch nearly floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall, displaying a live feed of what people with real windows are seeing, along with sound picked up my exterior microphones. But it’s more than just slapping big-screen TVs on each wall and calling it a day.… read more. “Cruise ship’s 80-inch ‘virtual balconies’ livestream the high seas”

[From Gizmodo, where the story includes more images]

The Oculus Rift Put Me In Game of Thrones and It Made My Stomach Drop

Mario Aguilar
1/28/14

Game of Thrones might be fantasy, but the characters are so deep and the betrayals so gripping that it feels real. And thanks to Oculus Rift, I just experienced a brief slice of life in the Seven Kingdoms. It was awesome—but I’m glad to be back in our reality.

For the second year in a row, HBO will be hosting a traveling Game of Thrones exhibition, and the first preview of the multi-city nerd extravaganza is happening right now in New York. Inside, there’s a prototype of one of the most thrilling Oculus Rift experiences I’ve ever had.

Called “Ascend the Wall,” the virtual reality scenario places you in the carriage of a lift that’s scaling the 700 foot wall of ice in Game of Thrones.… read more. “Game of Thrones ‘Ascend the Wall’ simulator offers compelling presence experience”

[From Polygon; much more information including videos is available at PrioVR.com]

PrioVR brings accurate, full-body motion control to games without a camera

By Michael McWhertor on Jan 06, 2014

New gaming technology on display at CES frequently focuses on bridging the gap between virtual and physical reality. Unproven tech like VR headsets, force feedback vests and hands-free motion control are regularly on display, often in nascent, proof of concept form.

One of the more interesting attempts is PrioVR, a suit that enables full-body motion control in games without the use of a Kinect, glowing PlayStation Move wand or Razer Hydra-style base.

Instead of using a camera to track your position and movement, PrioVR relies on a series of inertial sensors worn on the head, torso, arms and — optionally — legs. PrioVR comes in three flavors: an upper body version that will cost less than $300 at retail, a full body version and a “pro” version with additional sensors that should come in at less than $400, the company says.… read more. “PrioVR brings accurate, full-body motion control to games without a camera”