[This story from Digital Trends suggests an evolution of VR toward deeper social presence experiences based on biometrics. See also the recent ISPR Presence News post about the Veeso headset, which uses cameras to measure facial expressions. –Matthew]

[Image: Source: Road to VR]

Emteq wants to track your facial and eye movements for emotional interaction in VR

By Kevin Parrish — September 9, 2016

In June, a company called Emteq came out of stealth mode and revealed that it’s working on a solution that will enable emotional interaction within virtual reality. Right now we can interact with virtual objects, NPCs, and the surrounding artificial environment by using our head movements and hands. That’s what the company considers as first- and second-generation VR, with the third-generation consisting of eye-tracking technology. After that, the company is hoping interaction through facial expressions will move the VR industry into its fourth generation.… read more. “Emteq uses biometrics to move VR to its fourth generation”

[Those who design and study presence-evoking technologies can be surprised by how users react to and use them; this story is from MIT Technology Review, where it includes an additional image. –Matthew]

[Image: Netflix’s app for Samsung’s Gear VR headset lets you watch movies and TV in a virtual living room.]

What’s Popular in Virtual Reality’s 3-D World? Netflix and TV.

More people care about movies and shows than immersive 3-D games.

by Tom Simonite
September 15, 2016

Companies such as Samsung and Facebook’s Oculus promote their virtual-reality headsets by highlighting awe-inspiring 3-D experiences for gaming and virtual travel. But one of the most popular activities among early adopters of the technology is less novel: watching 2-D movies and TV.

“It’s been a surprise on the VR circuit because much of the work is driven by people coming from the gaming world, who are fairly dogmatic about what VR means,” says Anjney Midha, founder of the San Francisco venture capital fund KPCB Edge.… read more. “What’s popular in VR’s 3D world? Netflix and TV”

[Audiences around the world will be able to experience an upcoming champion level chess match in live-streamed 360-degree virtual reality; the coverage will be “up close and personal like never before allowing viewers to truly soak up the atmosphere” and “get into the minds of the players.” This story is from The Telegraph, where the original includes several more images, a video, and a profile of Magnus Carlsen. –Matthew]

[Image: Virtual reality chess as seen on a smartphone Credit: World Chess]

Cold War rivalries renewed as chess enters age of virtual reality

By Leon Watson
12 September 201

When Bobby Fischer was crowned king of chess in 1972 fans could only watch through a fuzzy security camera.

At 2-0 down, the American genius, notoriously paranoid, complained about noise TV crews were making and insisted his match with the Soviet Boris Spassky was moved to the privacy of a dingy basement.… read more. “Chess enters the age of VR with live-stream 360 degree broadcast”

[Could neurofiction become a common way to experience stories (and presence)? This story from Wired describes a recent experiment using readers’ brain waves to determine story features, along with some other interesting ideas. The original includes the 9:50 minute audio podcast; for more on neurofiction see neurofiction.net. –Matthew]

Books Would Be So Much Better if They Could Read Your Mind

September 09, 2016

Hannu Rajaniemi is a science fiction author, a self-described “recovering string theorist,” and co-founder of the biotech startup Helix Nano. Recently he and his friend Sam Halliday got their hands on an EMOTIV Epoc headset—a very simple brain scanner—and started wondering how it might be used to tell stories. The result was a piece of experimental writing called “Snow White is Dead.”

“‘Snow White is Dead’ is what we ended up calling ‘neurofiction,’” Rajaniemi says in Episode 220 of the Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast.… read more. “Neurofiction: Books would be so much better if they could read your mind”

[This story from UCI News reports new evidence that telepresence can improve people’s lives; for more information about the research see the website of UCI’s Digital Learning Lab. –Matthew]

[Image: Credit: Steve Zylius / UCI]

Robotic surrogates help chronically ill kids maintain social, academic ties at school

UCI is first to conduct formal study of virtual inclusion for homebound students

Irvine, Calif., Sept. 7, 2016 – Chronically ill, homebound children who use robotic surrogates to “attend” school feel more socially connected with their peers and more involved academically, according to a first-of-its-kind study by University of California, Irvine education researchers.… read more. “Study: Robotic surrogates help chronically ill kids maintain social, academic ties at school”