[Two recent stories from Campus Technology describe partnerships between GigXR and universities to expand the development of presence-evoking, safe-to-fail holographic simulations for medical training. The original version of the first story below includes a one-minute video (also available via YouTube). For more details, a 37 minute December 2020 GigXR Holographic Standardized Patients webinar from HealthySimulation.com is available via YouTube. –Matthew] [From Campus Technology] University of Cambridge, Cambridge Hospitals Partner with GigXR to Co-Create Holographic Simulation Medical Training By Kristal Kuykendall January 6, 2022 GigXR, a global provider of extended reality (XR) solutions for instructor-led teaching and training, has partnered with…

[The first video of the humanoid robot Ameca went viral at the end of 2021 (see a summary of coverage from a December 3 ISPR Presence News post). Now Ameca has appeared for the first time in public at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show, where the author of this story from CNET interviewed both the robot and the director of operations of the company that created it, Engineered Arts. See the original story to watch the nine minute interview (also available on YouTube) and search online for other videos. While the company purposely made Ameca look less like a human…

[Disney’s new “Virtual World Simulator” patent describes a sophisticated projection mapping system that can track multiple users and project personalized three-dimensional images to create augmented reality illusions without the need for a headset, phone or other user device. This story from SiliconValley.com provides details and context (and the original version includes two different images). IGN’s coverage adds this: “In addition to creating immersive theme park experiences, Disney’s patent also appears to note that the technology could be adapted for home use. The patent states that the virtual world simulator could be used to enable the transformation of a real-world venue,…

[BMW has unveiled a car that can change colors, with some reports (e.g., see DesignTAXI) reassuring us that the video demonstration is real and not the result of CGI or other special effects. The details are in the VentureBeat story below, which also describes new presence-evoking technology developed for the interior of BMW vehicles. Watch the color-changing technology in videos in the original story and from DPC Cars and the BMW Blog via YouTube. For even more details, images and videos see the company’s press releases about the exterior and interior technologies. –Matthew] BMW unveils car that can change its…

[Beyond the scientific findings from a new study that used virtual reality to explore how blind people orient themselves in space, this short story from the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) suggests important benefits of using the experimental stimulus (and variations of it) to provide new presence experiences to this segment of the population for both rehabilitation and entertainment. See the original version of the story for a one-minute video (also available on YouTube). –Matthew] IIT: Virtual reality archery is “Braille” for orientation of blind people The new platform was developed by researchers at IIT in order to understand how…

[The TechRadar story below describes a new wireless haptic vest designed to be more immersive and more comfortable than similar existing products; the author of the ExtremeTech story that follows it is more skeptical. But it seems extremely likely that if it’s not the OWO Game vest it’ll be another product that enhance the user’s presence experience and the TechRadar story makes the interesting observation about how the new level of realism will “make us approach our VR experiences differently.” –Matthew] This award-winning VR shirt promises a level of immersion we aren’t ready for Owo’s haptic vest will make games…