[Here’s an interesting first person report on what it’s like to regularly do one’s work in virtual reality. It’s from Wired, where the original story includes a second image. –Matthew]

[Image: The author’s virtual desktop, floating in orbit above Southeast Asia at night, inside of Immersed, a VR virtual work environment. Credit: Ben Klemens]

I Spent Hundreds of Hours Working in VR. Here’s What I Learned

This is how it feels in the future Mark Zuckerberg promised—disembodied and unaware of my surroundings.

By Ben Klemens
January 6, 2022

Hello from low Earth orbit! I have spent hundreds of hours working here in virtual reality. Even as I write this to you, I have Facebook’s Oculus strapped to my face and am in an aptly named app called Immersed. It puts me in this orbiting spaceship where there’s just me, the computer screen in front of me, and—let me look out the window—Ecuador.… read more. “I spent hundreds of hours working in VR. Here’s what I learned”

[Although I’d assumed they’re already an integral part of pilot training, this article from FLYING magazine notes resistance to, argues for, and predicts, greater use of virtual reality and other immersive technologies in the training of new pilots. See the original version of the story for a second image and two videos. –Matthew]

[Image: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadet Preston Tower looks behind him at two jets flown by fellow MIT cadets in a mixed reality environment during a flying training session with the 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by John Ingle]

Virtual Reality in Flight Training: More Than a Fad

VR presents immediate opportunities for more realistic lessons for more students.

By Michael Wildes
December 20, 2021

If you’re planning to sign up for flight training in the near future, there’s a strong chance you may be handed a virtual reality (VR) headset before a pair of David Clarks [aviation headsets].… read more. “The potential for VR (and presence) in flight training”

[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 University of Cambridge and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to co-create holographic acute-care simulations for training medical professionals at every level, according to a news release.

Using mixed reality — merging physical environments with hyper-realistic digital elements — learners will be able to interact with holographic patients to practice making high-level treatment and intervention decisions in real time.… read more. “GigXR partners with universities for holographic simulation medical training”

[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 and more like a robot, “backing away” from the uncanny valley, it (“she” seems more appropriate even though Ameca is said to be ungendered) moves and has facial expressions that are very human-like, raising questions about which combinations of social cues are most likely to evoke medium-as-social-actor presence (something Kun Xu and I have recently written about in the journal Human-Machine Communication).… read more. “‘You have to distance yourself from it being a human’: Humanoid robot Ameca interviewed at CES”

[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, in the form of a personal residence or photography studio, into a movie set without requiring the user to leave their home. While this still feels like it could be some way off, the notion that the company is working on such technologies is still a very exciting prospect.”… read more. “Disney patents AR without headsets for theme park rides”