[Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed and tested a way for users to interact with specialized tools in virtual reality in a more natural and less cognitively distracting way, which should make it easier to evoke presence. The project is described in the story below, where the original includes a 1:56 minute demonstration video (also available on YouTube). –Matthew] Machine learning gives users ‘superhuman’ ability to open and control tools in virtual reality Media enquiries: Sarah Collins, External Affairs and Communications team November 8, 2023 Researchers have developed a virtual reality application where a range of 3D modelling…

[The original version of the story below from STIR (“See. Think. Inspire. Reflect.”) includes seven more images and two videos of the intriguing presence-evoking art of Dennis Rudolph. Find out and see more at the Upstream Gallery website, the artist’s dennisrudolph.art website and his Instagram. –Matthew] [Image: Installation view of Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft at Upstream Gallery, Amsterdam, 2023. Detailed view of Orpheus (1. Gesang), 2020, Oil on canvas and AR app. Credit: Courtesy of Dennis Rudolph] Dennis Rudolph redefines art’s boundaries through the virtual and the tangible The new media artist from Berlin invites viewers to traverse the ever-blurring…

[A new virtual reality project called “Inside Kristallnacht” will help people learn about the pivotal event in the Holocaust through interactions with archival images and videos of some of the places and people involved as well as the personal recollections of a survivor with whom users will be able to interact. This story from AP provides some of the details (and a different image); for more information see a press release via PR Newswire and the project’s website, which features a 2:35 minute preview video that’s also available on YouTube. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Claims Conference “Inside Kristallnacht” website] Holocaust survivor…

[Futurism provides the link-filled report below on the appointment of a robot as CEO of the Polish company Dictador. Note the Fox Business story in which New York residents were asked for reactions. See the original Futurism story for the 2:41 minute Reuters interview with Mika (which is also available on YouTube). Design TAXI adds that “Mika’s list of accomplishments as a girl boss is only set to grow. Last month, she was named an Honorary Professor at Collegium Humanum in Warsaw, Poland, during its 2023/24 inauguration.” And Business Insider notes that “Dictador is not the first company to make…

[This story from Inside Higher Ed describes the increasing prevalence, and some of the benefits and challenges involved, in the use of virtual reality and presence for both psychological treatment of students and the training of students who are learning to become counselors themselves. See the original version of the story for a second image and a video.  –Matthew] [Image: Olivia Uwamahoro Williams, a professor at William and Mary, utilizes virtual reality to train counseling students. Credit: UWG Live Simulations Lab] Virtual Reality’s Growing Role in Campus Counseling Lowered costs and a growing population familiar with technology have helped fuel…

[The author of this story from Forbes reports on her experience chatting with a new AI-enabled digital twin of K-pop singer/songwriter Mark Tuan. It’s early days for the technology, but the author writes that “’Once he gets going,… it’s easy to forget you’re not bantering with a human. I even caught myself nodding and saying ‘um hmm’ a few times. I guess I wanted Digital Mark to think I was a polite listener.” See the original story for a second image and a 25-second video (also on YouTube). The Soul Machines press release is available from PR Newswire, and you…