[USC’s Viterbi School of Engineering reports on an interdisciplinary project to use haptic-enabled VR to help Parkinson’s patients retain mobility and avoid falls. See the original story for three more images and the Overcome website for much more information, including a 1:49 minute trailer (also available via YouTube). –Matthew]

[Image: This picture shows the experiment setup, which includes (1) a clinical treadmill with (2) body weight support for safety of player, (3) HTC VIVE headset, (4) controllers that are attached to the railings, and (5) the tracker along with the haptic feedback setup. See the original on the Overcome website for numbered labels. Credit: Naghmeh Zamani]

VR Game Allows Parkinson’s Patients to Move and Feel in Virtual Worlds

USC engineers team with researchers and VR game designers to help Parkinson’s patients walk steadily with confidence

Dena Taha
August 1, 2019

“Overcome.”… read more. “VR game allows Parkinson’s patients to move and feel in virtual worlds”

[To really understand the advance in presence-evoking technology described in this short story from Stanford Engineering, watch and listen to the 0:29 second video demonstration in the original story (ideally while wearing headphones) and the two longer videos on the project‘s web page. –Matthew]

A new algorithm enables more realistic sound effects in VR

If a character in a virtual environment drops a plate, software can generate that sound at just the right time.

July 30, 2019
By Tom Abate

When we watch movies or play video games, the right sound effects can help make scenes more realistic: When a grizzled gambler rolls a silver dollar across a card table in a silver screen saloon, the sound seems to travel from ear to ear, a trick movie-makers can accomplish by splicing in a pre-recorded sound that moves from speaker to speaker.… read more. “A new algorithm enables more realistic sound effects in VR”

[The new device described in this story from the University of Houston is another step toward effective presence illusions in teleoperation and other human-machine interactions. See the original version for a different picture and a 1:11 minute video. For more information see the paper in Science Advances. –Matthew]

[Image: Source: IEEE Spectrum]

A Wearable Device So Thin and Soft You Won’t Even Notice It

Device Also Can Serve as Robotic Skin, Relaying Information Back to the User

By Jeannie Kever
August 2, 2019

Wearable human-machine interfaces – devices that can collect and store important health information about the wearer, among other uses – have benefited from advances in electronics, materials and mechanical designs. But current models still can be bulky and uncomfortable, and they can’t always handle multiple functions at one time.

Researchers reported Friday, Aug. 2, the discovery of a multifunctional ultra-thin wearable electronic device that is imperceptible to the wearer.… read more. “A wearable human-machine interface device so thin and soft you won’t even notice it”

[Our colleagues Skip Rizzo and Jim Blascovich are quoted in this interesting story from Pacific Standard about the potential of VR to simulate the experiences generated by psychedelic drugs; in the process there are some insights about how it’s possible to “be there” but know that you’re not there during a presence experience. For more information and a video about the Ayahuasca (Kosmik Journey) VR experience, see the a-BAHN website and for a first-person report on the experience see The Cut. –Matthew]

[Image: A man tries out a virtual reality game inside a Fulldome.pro 360-degree projection dome on opening day of the Electronic Entertainment Expo at the Los Angeles Convention Center on June 13th, 2017. Credit: David McNew/Getty Images)]

Can Virtual Reality Replace Psychedelic Drugs?

A new ayahuasca “experience” at the Tribeca Film Festival puts the question of whether drug trips can be artificially recreated to the test.… read more. “Can virtual reality replace psychedelic drugs?”

[This opinion column from The Next Web highlights some of the many ethical, factual and financial problems with a new presence service offered by a pornography company. Despite these issues, it’s interesting to note the evolution of technologies used to record our sexual and other activities for re-experiencing later move beyond still photography and audio to film and video to virtual reality. For more information including images and videos find the company’s website. –Matthew]

[Image: Source: VR Bangers]

Porn company wants $10K to shoot you screwing in VR before you’re too old to be attractive

By Tristan Greene
July 25, 2019

“Yes, time travel is finally possible.” As someone who’s written extensively about quantum physics, the arrow of time, and other wacky aspects of our amazing universe, I’ve waited my entire career to see that sentence pop up in my inbox.… read more. “VR Time Capsule preserves your sexual experience for your old age (and beyond)”