[Here’s a succinct summary of the features needed for a ‘perfect’ VR headset. See the original version of the MIXED story for an image or video about each feature, as well as a video of the 2 hour 40 minute Siggraph presentation (also available via YouTube). For a related story see the June 2022 ISPR Presence News post “Meta reveals VR prototypes on path to improve presence and pass the ‘Visual Turing test.’” –Matthew]

Meta’s display chief names 10 features for a perfect VR headset

There are still many hurdles to overcome before virtual reality reaches its technical potential. The head of Meta’s display division lists the challenges.

By Tomislav Bezmalinovic
August 14, 2022

Douglas Lanman has worked at Meta for eight years and heads the department that develops display systems. In June, his team unveiled new VR glasses prototypes.… read more. “Meta’s display chief names 10 features for a perfect VR headset”

[Amid vivid news coverage of modern inhumanity around the world, this touching and inspiring NPR story describes a project that uses presence experiences to help people affected by such events in the past. See the original version for the seven minute video and many more pictures. –Matthew]

[Image: Ishar Das Arora, 83, watches a 3-D video of his birthplace in Pakistan, through a virtual reality device. Credit: Raksha Kumar/NPR]

75 years after India’s violent Partition, survivors can cross the border — virtually

By Lauren Frayer
August 13, 2022

NEW DELHI — First comes the melancholy twang of a South Asian sitar, plucking a ballad about nostalgia for childhood. Then the name of a faraway yet familiar place appears on a black screen, in Hindi. Suddenly the screen bursts into 3-D light, revealing a dusty street corner — one that Ishar Das Arora hasn’t seen in 75 years.… read more. “75 years after India’s violent Partition, survivors can cross the border – virtually”

[The mixed reactions to a digital recreation of beloved baseball announcer Harry Caray, at a game celebrating a much-loved film about “a farmer who builds a baseball field in his cornfield that attracts the ghosts of baseball legends” (Wikipedia), illustrate the challenges of creating effective presence illusions of people who have died. The report below is from The Washington Post, where the original includes more pictures, video clips and Tweets; find more reactions in coverage from TV Insider, CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated. Note that the reactions seem to have been more positive in the stadium than on social media where the flaws in the digital Caray were likely more apparent. –Matthew]

[Image: Source: Fox Sports]

‘Recreated’ Harry Caray startles viewers of MLB ‘Field of Dreams’ game

By Des Bieler
August 12, 2022

The Fox Sports telecast Thursday of MLB’s second annual “Field of Dreams” game had several charming aspects, but not all viewers were pleased when a virtual version of Harry Caray led a rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during the seventh-inning stretch.… read more. “‘Recreated’ Harry Caray startles viewers of MLB ‘Field of Dreams’ game”

[Many of us have had the strange experience in which the recorded music we’re listening to (e.g., in headphones or earbuds while walking) coincidentally seems to match up with the environment we’re moving through. This story from Creative Boom describes a new purposeful effort to create these matches between mediated and nonmediated elements of our experience, a type of presence illusion. See the original story for several different pictures and a 1:06 minute promotional video (also available via YouTube) and see the “Projects” page of the Circus Family website for other interesting presence-related projects such as “Vlisco – We are Here,” “KLM – Hologram Bar” and “TRIPH Interactive Installation.” For related resources see the June 2021 InsideHook story “Porsche’s Newest Technology Literally Composes Music While You Drive. The Marque’s New Soundtrack My Life App Turns Your Life Into a Movie,” Headphonesty’s “Listen to Music Together: Top Music Sync Apps to Party With Friends Online,” and the “Variations” section of Wikipedia’s entry for “Diegetic music.”… read more. “Syncing mediated and not: Interrail creates unique SoundTracks for every single train traveler”

[This Associated Press story describes some of the ways people around the world have been using technology and presence to experience religious sites and rituals, including during the pandemic. See the original version of the story for six more pictures and a video. –Matthew]

[Image: This July 22, 2019 photo taken from video gives a 360-degree view of Ramadan prayers on the plateau of the Dome of the Rock, which can be seen in The Holy City, a virtual reality experience in the metaverse. Credit: The Holy City VR via AP]

From Mecca to the Vatican, exploring sacred sites with VR

By Luis Andres Henao
August 5, 2022

Click and gape at the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel ceiling up close. Click again and join thousands of pilgrims praying and circling around the cube-shaped Kaaba at Islam’s most sacred site. Or strap on a headset and enter the holy city of Jerusalem.… read more. “From Mecca to the Vatican, exploring sacred sites with VR”