[This story from The Guardian reports on trends in the use of virtual reality at theme parks, including the increasing focus on interactivity and customization, from the 2022 London conference of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA). See the original story for two more images and the IAAPA website for much more information. For coverage of a related development, see the Theme Park Insider story “Disney Files Patent for Augmented Reality Ride Without Glasses.” –Matthew]

[Image: Bumper car riders wearing VR headsets, at the IAAPA expo in London. Credit: Linda Nylind/The Guardian]

‘Each guest experience will be different’: VR and the future of theme parks

Expo in east London shows how important augmented and virtual reality will be, as attractions move with the times

By Alex Hern, Technology editor
September 19, 2022

In the fight for theme park visitors the battle lines have been drawn – monster trucks, virtual reality zombie warfare and “smellscaping”, just thankfully not all at the same time.… read more. “‘Each guest experience will be different’: VR and the future of theme parks”

[A new study described in this story from Pain News Network demonstrated the ability of virtual reality (and arguably presence) to distract and calm surgery patients so that they could be given lower doses of anesthesia. See a press release via EurekAlert! and the new article published in PLOS ONE for more details. –Matthew]

[Image: Figure 2 from the study in PLOS ONE: A) Image of a study patient using the VR equipment. B) Screenshot of a typical immersive environment with an example of text communication from study personnel. The text in B says “Surgery is going great! Try to stay still”]

Virtual Reality Therapy Reduces Drug Use During Surgery

By Madora Pennington, PNN Columnist
September 21, 2022

Imagine going in for minor surgery, one where you don’t need to be totally unconscious, and being given a virtual reality headset for pain and anxiety relief instead of the usual dose of anesthesia.… read more. “Study: Virtual reality reduces need for anesthesia use during hand surgery”

[The technology to create convincing videos of any person saying whatever words you supply is evolving quickly, as described in this story from TechCrunch about the latest platform by the company D-ID. The original story includes a second image and a short demonstration video (also available on YouTube). For more information see the D-ID website and YouTube channel. –Matthew]

D-ID, the company behind Deep Nostalgia, lets you create AI-generated videos from a single image

By Ivan Mehta
September 19, 2022

Israeli AI company D-ID, which provided technology for projects like Deep Nostalgia, is launching a new platform where users can upload a single image and text to generate video. With this new site called Creative Reality Studio, the company is targeting sectors like corporate training and education, internal and external communication from companies, product marketing and sales.… read more. “D-ID lets you create AI-generated videos from a single image”

[Reminiscent of a well-acted scene from Star Trek: The Next Generation in which the android Data is given a ‘gift’ of laughter (see Laughing Squid for details and the video clip), researchers in Japan are training a robot to recognize and share laughter during conversations with humans. The details are in this story from The Guardian, with supplements from coverage in CNET. For an interview with Divesh Lala, a member of the research team, and a 3:16 minute video (also on YouTube) see a story in the Hindustan Times. –Matthew]

[Image: Erica being trained on how to have a sense of humour. Credit: Inoue et al.]

Scientists try to teach robot to laugh at the right time

Research team hopes system could improve natural conversations between humans and AI systems

By Hannah Devlin, Science correspondent
September 15, 2022

Laughter comes in many forms, from a polite chuckle to a contagious howl of mirth.… read more. “Scientists try to teach robot to laugh”

[This CNN review of the first officially licensed NFL football game for virtual reality doesn’t explicitly mention, but is all about, spatial and social presence. See the original story for three more images. A review from Yahoo! includes this assessment:

“As someone who, in my youthful days, played the position, I can attest that it’s the closest I have come to feeling like I was playing the game again. I literally rolled out and threw a touchdown, and it felt realistic, to say the least. I also almost rolled out into a wall, so make sure you’ve got some room.”

Find a 1:52 minute trailer for the game on YouTube; more information is on the game’s official MetaQuest website. –Matthew]

NFL Pro Era turned me into a quarterback in VR — and it was a total blast

By Mike Andronico, CNN Underscored
September 15, 2022

Football season is officially underway, which means lots of yelling at the TV and devouring chicken wings, if you’re anything like me.… read more. “NFL Pro Era turned me into a quarterback in VR – and it was a total blast”