[The astronauts aboard the International Space Station are using a new smaller high-quality 360 camera to record their experiences so that we can share them. Though the term isn’t used in this story from NASA, it’s all about presence. One interesting quote: “I think it is inevitable that VR is going to be the default way to document space exploration moving forwards. It is a perfect match between medium and story,” [Felix and Paul Studios co-founder and creative director Félix Lajeunesse] says. “Space exploration is something that you want to live. You want to be there. You want to experience…

[A new small study by researchers at Imperial College London explores the effectiveness of, and mechanisms involved in, using mediated experience to reduce (experimentally-induced) chronic pain. While many questions and much more research remain, watching a ‘non-interactive’ 360 video reduced pain sensitivity while a static image on a computer monitor did not. The original story contains the 7:07 minute National Geographic video “Polar Obsession 360” used in the study (also available via YouTube). The link to the article in Pain Reports is at the end of the story below. –Matthew] Immersion in virtual reality scenes of the Arctic helps to…

[The installation described in this story from The Sydney Morning Herald uses virtual reality and presence to cultivate the awareness of future possibilities as a way to understand and prevent suicide. For more information about Edge Of The Present see The Big Anxiety website and listen to a 28:52 minute episode of the ABC radio program All in The Mind about empathy for mental health through the arts. For more on the research component of the project see the Workshop Participant Call Out page of The Big Anxiety site. –Matthew] [Image: Future thinking: Michaela and Alex Davies in their installation…

[The use of technology to make it appear that iconic movie actor James Dean is alive and performing in a film 65 years after he died is getting covered widely in the press; the original report reproduced below is from The Hollywood Reporter, where it includes a 1:26 minute video. Other coverage notes related projects like Tupac’s hologram, a de-aged Robert DeNiro in The Irishman, the appearance of Carrie Fisher and Peter Cushing in Star Wars films after their deaths, and Paul Walker’s posthumous appearance in Furious 7. Much of the reaction is negative, for example VICE’s headline: “CGI James…

[Researchers at Wayne State University are testing the effectiveness of augmented reality for the treatment of the fear of spiders and other objects, as described in this story from Next Reality (where it includes three gifs and a 0:58 minute video). For more information see a story from earlier this year in Counseling Today. –Matthew] HoloLens & Augmented Reality Spiders Used in Univ. Study to Treat Arachnophobia By Cristina Brooks November 5, 2019 Halloween may be finished, but the augmented reality chills are not over yet for some people. Arachnophobes are bravely facing their fears by cozying up to augmented…

[“Would you like a clone robot of yourself” or another person? Interesting Engineering reports on a Russian startup making it possible. Follow the links for more information about Robo-C, and for more on Russia and robots see recent coverage by BBC News. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Promobot website] Russian Firm Sells Autonomous Robot Clones of Real People The androids are both for professional and personal use. By Loukia Papadopoulos November 03, 2019 Russian startup Promobot is now selling autonomous robot clones of any real person. This is the key selling point of their robot called Robo-C as their website states: “Order…