[It’s easy to forget that the pursuit of presence experiences has a very long history; the fascinating, if long, story below is from the Otago Daily News where it includes a 5 image photo gallery. –Matthew]

[Image: A Magic Lantern Slide Lecture on St. Peter’s Basilica, 1897. An illustration from the December 1897 catalogue of T. H. McAllister Company, Manufacturing Opticians, New York. Source: Art History Resources.]

In thrall of travelling stereopticon

Tue, 5 Jan 2016

In The Lives of Colonial Objects, even the seemingly ordinary can offer exceptional insights into New Zealand’s cultural fabric.

The following extract from the book sheds light on a magic lantern of sorts.

Frank Stanert packed up his stereopticon, its attendant glass slides, gas cylinders and additional equipment, at the end of April 1892 and left Philadelphia for a summer camp in Minnesota.… read more. “Presence history: In thrall of the traveling stereopticon”

[vTime brings us yet closer to the goal of a practical, cross-platform, mobile-capable, real-time, immersive virtual social environment that effectively evokes spatial and social presence. This story is from Road to VR, where it features more images and a 1:07 minute promotional video; a separate Road to VR story includes an 18:29 minute interview inside vTime with the Product Development Director. –Matthew]

First Look: ‘vTime’ is a “Sociable Network” for Mobile VR, Available Today on Gear VR

By Scott Hayden
Dec 21, 2015

Starship, a Liverpool-based digital entertainment studio, has today released vTime on the Gear VR store, the mobile platform’s latest social VR app. I got a chance to check out vTime’s alpha and sat down with Paul Hollywood, the studios product development director, to find out more.

vTime is essentially organized like a social network, allowing you to search other users by name and subsequently send friend requests.… read more. “vTime brings immersive social networking to mobile VR”

[Can presence in virtual environments motivate us to return to the gym? Will machines like the Icaros come to dominate the gym of the future? This story is from Gizmag, where the original includes a 10 image photo gallery. –Matthew]

Icaros fitness machine powers your workouts with virtual reality

C.C. Weiss
December 23, 2015

The idea of blending exercise with video games isn’t a new one. Nintendo got plenty of hype years ago with the Wii and offerings like Wii Fit, and there’ve been multiple other examples of virtual-physical exercise equipment, such as the Pro-Form Le Tour de France Indoor Cycle.

Icaros’ idea of virtual reality fitness goes well beyond those predecessors and beyond other forms of exercise gaming with virtual reality headsets. Designed by HYVE Innovation Design, which also brought us the carbon fiber Gridboard and electric skateboard paddling, the Icaros machine looks like some type of torture device or kinky sex machine.… read more. “Icaros fitness machine powers your workouts with virtual reality”

[If presence can produce even a subset of the benefits of nonmediated nature it could be immensely valuable in space travel and other contexts, as described in this story from Popular Science (which includes the mentioned video); more information is in a Dartmouth press release and see a related story from 2014 in ISPR Presence News. –Matthew]

[Image: Screengrab from Virtual Wembury. Virtual simulation of a seaside village in the UK. It’s almost like the real thing.]

Can Virtual Reality Help Keep Astronauts Sane In Space?

Scientists are sending Oculus Rift headsets deep into the Arctic to find out

By Sarah Fecht
Posted January 4, 2016

Nature is good for us. Scientists are still working out the technical details, but so far evidence indicates that seeing sunlight, trees, and other green stuff helps your mental health.

Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of forests in space, and that sucks for the future astronauts we’ll send to Mars and back.… read more. “Can virtual nature help keep astronauts sane in space?”

[It’s one thing to watch professional sports team members play, quite another to experience what they do on the field – it seems likely that virtual experiences like the one described in this story from Fortune will increase fans’ interest in the sport and admiration for players. For more, see the 1:49 minute video on YouTube. –Matthew]

Now Anyone Can Play Goalie for the New York Rangers

VR experience at Madison Square Garden puts fans in the goal vs. NHL players.

By John Gaudiosi
December 30, 2015

Over the years, only a small group of brave men have had the chance to strap on the pads and blockers and stare down 100 mph slap shots through colorfully decorated hockey masks on the ice at Madison Square Garden. But that’s all changed now, thanks to virtual reality.

Startup STRIVR (sports training in virtual reality) has made it possible for any fan to experience life as New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist on home ice.… read more. “You are the goalie: VR experience at Madison Square Garden puts fans in the game”