[The Virtuali-Tee looks like a clever use of technology to evoke presence for education and enjoyment. The story below is from Wired, where it features a different image. See the Curiscope website for more information including a video, and the company’s blog for information about Operation Apex; the book “All About Virtual Reality” is available from Amazon UK (not the US site as of this writing). –Matthew]

Take a peek inside your own body with this virtual reality app

Curiscope’s Virtuali-Tee blends augmented and virtual reality to let people explore a human chest cavity through a T-shirt

By Eleanor Peake
Sunday 15 October 2017

When it comes to augmented and virtual reality, Ed Barton has been there and got the T-shirt. His Brighton-based startup Curiscope produces The Virtuali-Tee, a garment printed with a stylised QR code that resembles a rib cage.… read more. “Curiscope’s Virtuali-Tee blends AR and VR to let you peek inside your own body”

[“If you give someone a healthy body in VR, will that help them recover their health?” Researchers at USC are investigating the potential of VR and presence to promote brain plasticity and recovery in stroke survivors, with encouraging early results. This story is from CNET; for more information including a 4:35 minute video see earlier coverage from USC News. –Matthew]

VR could trick stroke victims’ brains toward recovery

Researchers at the University of Southern California are examining how virtual reality could promote brain plasticity and recovery.

By Abrar Al-Heeti
October 15, 2017

Could virtual reality help stroke survivors regain motor function?

That’s a question Sook-Lei Liew is looking to answer.

Liew, an assistant professor at the University of Southern California and an affiliate of the Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute at the Keck School of Medicine, was inspired by research from Mel Slater and Jeremy Bailenson on embodiment in VR.… read more. “How VR and presence could trick stroke victims’ brains toward recovery”

[This piece from The Conversation describes a powerful presence experience (and uses the term) to highlight the differences between observing a story in “flat cinema” and living it in a genre of virtual reality called “reactive theatre.” The original version includes two videos. For more information see the Draw Me Close and Alice: The Virtual Reality Play websites. –Matthew]

‘A virtual mum put me to bed’: A view from the VR future of film

September 19, 2017
Victoria Mapplebeck, Reader in Digital Arts, Royal Holloway

I’ve just got back from the Venice Film Festival, which for the first time showcased an exciting programme of genre defining virtual reality (VR) film. I’m currently developing a VR project of my own and for the last two years have spent many an hour queuing up at film festivals and in art galleries to see how various directors from cinema, fine art and theatre have experimented with such a radical and shape shifting medium.… read more. “‘A virtual mum put me to bed’: A view from the VR future of film”

[This ZDNet story and the (free) detailed, interactive report it describes and links to make clear that a large percentage of workers do now, or would like to, work remotely, and highlight the role of presence technologies and experiences in increasing the benefits and reducing the drawbacks of telework. –Matthew]

Companies that support remote work experience 25 percent lower employee turnover (and other findings)

A new survey shows the pros and cons of a distributed workforce.

By Greg Nichols for Robotics
October 4, 2017

Employees are more loyal if they’re allowed to work remotely.

That’s according to a new survey by hardware company Owl Labs, which makes teleconferencing solutions, and TINYPulse, which offers tools to conduct employee engagement surveys.

According to an Owl Labs spokesperson, the 2017 State of Remote Work report is one of the first of its kind “to analyze remote work’s impact on employee success and retention as well as manager-employee relationships.”… read more. “State of Remote Work 2017 report highlights importance of presence”

[An innovative new effort to bring static, black and white comics to VR is more evidence that presence does not require photorealism. This story from The Verge provides a quick summary and evaluation of the project. For more details see coverage in Rolling Stone; VR Scout, where the story notes that the creators “wanted to create that sense of presence that’s unique to VR”); and Road to VR, where the story features an 8:03 minute video. –Matthew]

Square Enix shows off its vision for the future of comics with virtual reality

And you can try it at NYCC

by Michael Moore
October 7, 2017

After a demonstration of the Oculus Dev Kit 1 in 2013, game developer and comic publisher Square Enix started work on a research project dubbed “Project Hikari.” The project was an attempt to adapt comics into virtual reality, by not just making something that look like it was a comic come to life, but also to explore what a VR comic means.… read more. “Tales of the Wedding Rings VR provides vision for the future of comics”