[From ExtremeTech, where the story includes more images] Virtual reality, the death of morality, and the perils of making the virtual ever more real By Sebastian Anthony on October 10, 2014 As the technology that underpins virtual reality develops and the experiences become increasingly more real, I’ve been pondering a particularly morbid thought: When will we have the first VR-induced death? Will a realistic rocket launcher blast in Team Fortress 2 or VR version of Silent Hill give you a heart attack? Will watching the chase sequence in Casino Royale in full VR 3D pump enough adrenaline into your system…

[From Re/code, where the story includes two videos] Google Set to Lead Huge Investment in Magic Leap and Its “Cinematic Reality” October 13, 2014 By Liz Gannes and Peter Kafka Google and other investors are planning a huge investment in Magic Leap, a secretive but boastful company building hardware and software it says will deliver “cinematic reality.” Sources say Google is leading what could be a $500 million funding round for the Florida-based company; Andreessen Horowitz may be one of the other investors in the consortium. Magic Leap already announced $50 million in funding earlier this year. Google, Andreessen Horowitz…

[From WVAS FM, where the post includes another picture and a 4:55 minute video] Domesticated Robots And The Art Of Being Human September 29, 2014 By Tania Lombrozo In the 1960s — well before Spike Jonze’s Samantha — MIT computer scientist Joseph Weizenbaum introduced the world to Eliza, a psychotherapist (of sorts) who interacted with people through a text interface. She’s still around today. In preparing this post, I asked her what makes us human. “Are such questions on your mind often?” she replied. Eliza is a computer program — one of the first “chat bots” and an example of…

[From The Hollywood Reporter] Future of Film: Even Bigger Screens and, Yep, Cinema Selfies A panoramic theater opens in L.A. on Sept. 19 as other new tech includes live audience interaction onscreen 09/02/2014 by Carolyn Giardina As exhibitors try to fend off competition from ever-bigger home theater systems, movie houses may soon take their cues from the ’50s. Back then, to counter the arrival of TV, Hollywood retaliated by offering bigger — and wider — images onscreen, culminating in Cinerama. That panoramic theater configuration, which faded out by the end of the ’60s, left behind the landmark Cinerama Dome on…

[From Siemens’ Pictures of the Future magazine, where the story includes another image and a 2:22 minute video; see also a story (with video) in Bloomberg] Simulation and Virtual Reality: Training in the Virtual World 3D visualization software makes it possible for users to immerse themselves in a virtual model of a facility. In-depth training sessions prepare technicians for future challenges. Stefan Schröder 1 October 2014 In an oil industry nightmare, a leaky pipe on a production platform has caught fire. The flames spread rapidly, and dense black smoke rises from the lower deck. The crew has to respond within…

[From Space.com, where the story includes other images and a 2:33 minute video; for first-person reports on the exhibit, see The Mary Sue and Complex] ‘Interstellar’ Launches Immersive Space Trip with IMAX, Oculus Rift By Tariq Malik, Managing Editor   |   October 06, 2014 NEW YORK — Grab your spacesuits, space fans. The folks behind “Interstellar,” arguably the most anticipated space film of the year, are offering a sneak peek inside the movie’s centerpiece spaceship Endurance. And all it takes is a few minutes of your time. For a limited time, Paramount Pictures and IMAX are inviting the public to take…