[Many aspects of presence phenomena, including the sense of freedom and exploration many creator-users fear will be lost as corporations take over as they did the early versions of the internet, are explored in this interesting story from Input; see the original story for more images, tweets and videos. –Matthew]

ANTHROPOMORPHISM

How furries are making virtual reality actually worth visiting

The community is at the vanguard of VR — from world design to teledildonic orgies.

Matt Baume
July 27, 2021

Here I am, standing in the basement of a sprawling house full of stolen merchandise in Louisville, Kentucky, and I am not alone.

The house went viral a few months ago for being a hoarder’s dream: It’s a former church-turned-warehouse that was, until recently, occupied by a bargain-bin DVD reseller whose merchandise was not always obtained through legal means.… read more. “How furries are making virtual reality actually worth visiting”

[This short story from Wallpaper, and supplementary excerpts from V Magazine that follow, describe a new coffee table book that uses augmented reality integration with vivid images to create a sense of presence as transportation (though that term isn’t used). See the original stories for more images from the book; the authors’ Instagram for more samples of their work; and the publishers’ page for the book to read the “journey”-themed description, see dynamic illustrations of the “experiential” effect and order a copy (for $120). –Matthew]

Go on a dream holiday with this virtual reality book

Kiss & Fly is a new AR book that blends print media with digital technology for a virtual vacation

By Mary Cleary
July 29, 2021

‘Home’ is still the top destination for many holidaymakers this summer. While that may not be the dream holiday location, a new virtual reality book is offering a new way to break up days spent sunbathing in the garden or sipping a Margarita from a paddling pool.… read more. “‘Kiss & Fly,’ first experiential AR coffee table book, takes reader on a virtual vacation”

[Here’s a good primer on the past, present and possible futures of immersive, presence-evoking technology. The original version from Big Think includes an additional image and two videos. –Matthew]

[Image: Man using VR device seen with glitch effect. Credit: nuclear_lily via Adobe Stock]

Immersive technology will revolutionize everything from theme parks to daily life

Virtual reality continues to blur the line between the physical and the digital, and it will change our lives forever.

By Stephen Johnson
22 July, 2021

Immersive technology aims to overlay a digital layer of experience atop everyday reality, changing how we interact with everything from medicine to entertainment. What that future will look like is anyone’s guess. But immersive technology is certainly on the rise.

The extended reality (XR) industry — which includes virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), which involves both virtual and physical spaces — is projected to grow from $43 billion in 2020 to $333 billion by 2025, according to a recent market forecast.… read more. “Big Think: Immersive technology will revolutionize everything from theme parks to daily life”

[I’ve pieced together parts of recent stories from different sources to tell the story of how Samsung’s latest huge, modular television will be used as the foundation of a new virtual production studio in Korea (I join the author of the last excerpt in disappointment that “for those of us still hoping to one day live in a home with virtual walls that can change their decor at-will, pricing for The Wall still puts it well out of reach for most domestic installations.”). For more information see the link in this sentence from the Engadget story: “virtual production is expected to become the norm in filmmaking within five years, according to an industry report by the Göteborg Film Festival“ and the TV Technology story “SMPTE Outlines New Virtual Production Initiative.” –Matthew]

[Image: Source: Engadget. Credit: Samsung]

[From New Atlas]

Korea gets its first Mandalorian-style virtual film set

By Loz Blain
July 26, 2021

Virtual set filmmaking has proven itself incredibly practical and flexible in a very short time, with Disney’s The Mandalorian pioneering the technology in the streaming equivalent of prime time.… read more. “Samsung’s vast The Wall TV to be used to create virtual production movie studio”

[ScienceAlert reports on how a visual effects artist extracted a new subjective point-of-view image from an iconic photo taken on the moon over a half-century ago, creating a presence-evoking image and even a second, immersive 360 degree version of what Buzz Aldrin saw as the photo was taken. See the original story and especially the artist’s Reddit post and its links, for more details. DesignTAXI’s coverage adds this:

“This point of view has left social media users astounded, if not a little spooked. ‘It’s kind of eerie… It’s literally people 52 years in the future using modern technology to catch a new perspective of the past,’ one user commented. ‘What kind of fancy ways will people be looking at our present 52 years from now?'”

–Matthew]

[Image: Astronaut Buzz Aldrin walks on the Moon. Credit: NASA]

VFX Artist ‘Unwraps’ Classic Apollo Pic to Show Us What Buzz Aldrin Saw on The Moon

By Michelle Starr
22 July 2021

Fifty-two years after the first historical Moon landing, we’ve been given a brand new perspective of a classic Apollo-era photo.… read more. “VFX artist ‘unwraps’ classic Apollo pic to show us what Buzz Aldrin saw on the moon”