[Both the creative and financial potential of virtual reality art are explored in this link-filled story from Forbes, where the original includes two more images and three videos; note especially the link to the Radiance VR website, where you can review “documentations of more than 160 VR art experiences by 150 artists from 30 countries.” –Matthew] [Image: Bangkok, Thailand – 2020/11/05: People enjoying with VR headset in front of the Marina Abramovic’s artwork during the exhibition at The Parq Klong Toey. Bangkok Art Biennale (BAB) is a biannual art festival set in the capital of Thailand throughout the heart of…

Watch the 1:04 minute demonstration video via the link in this short press release from Extend Robotics Ltd. via PR Newswire to see R:O:B:, a new teleoperated bartender robot that features “real-time, immersive and intuitive control using the latest VR technologies, highly realistic human-like dexterity and reachability to six degrees of freedom (DoF).” –Matthew] [Image: Source: Extend Robotics on Twitter] British firm, Extend Robotics Ltd., launches “R:O:B:” – a Virtual Reality-controlled ‘robotically optimised bartender’ Extend Robotics announces successful trial of VR remote-controlled robot with application in services, healthcare, utilities and energy November 25, 2020 READING, England, Nov. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/…

[Using measures of physiological and behavioral responses to a series of experiences inside virtual reality, researchers at Ecole Polytechnique Federal de Lausanne (EPFL) have developed an objective measure that predicts people’s susceptibility to the damaging impacts of stress. This story from EPFL describes the project; the original version includes three different images and a 2:47 minute video (also available via YouTube). See the article in Nature Communications for more details. –Matthew] [Image: Elevated alley VR scenario. Source: EPFL via Newswise] Virtual reality helps measure vulnerability to stress Behavioral scientists at EPFL have developed a virtual reality test that assesses a…

[The Tribune report below describes an effect of the limitations in presence provided by video conferencing systems including Zoom. Coverage in health24 adds these details: “Dr Benjamin Marcus, an author of another study that investigated self-observation, self-criticism and narcissism commented on the results of the study: ‘The Covid-19 pandemic has radically changed the frequency with which we are confronted with our own image. The shift to online work, learning, and even socialising has dramatically increased the time we have to observe ourselves.’ […] The phenomenon of Zoom Dysmorphia has been developing for a while. In an Allure article, which looked…

[This essay from American City & County by the CEO and founder of a company that makes them, describes how presence-evoking simulators are evolving to better prepare law enforcement for the challenges of their job, including the insidious role of biases regarding members of the public. –Matthew] How virtual reality simulators are changing law enforcement training By Bob Ferris, VirTra 28th October 2020 There’s a pressing need for improvements in effective police training. Officers need to hone their skills for managing crisis situations and de-escalating dangerous encounters. Repeatable and accurate training is required to build their resiliency to stress and…

[As reported by Pain News Network (PNN), a treatment that uses virtual reality (and apparently presence) to treat chronic pain has received “Breakthrough Device Designation” from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The beginning of the PNN report below is followed by an earlier first-person review of the AppliedVR device. For more information see a press release about the FDA designation via Business Wire, a three-minute video in the original PNN review (and YouTube), and the AppliedVR website. –Matthew] [Image: Screenshot of AppliedVR Pain Care virtual reality content that visualizes the user’s breath. Source: “Self-Administered Skills-Based Virtual Reality Intervention…