[In this short piece from Wired, the CEO and co-founder of online gaming platform Roblox predicts the pandemic-accelerated increase in 2021 and beyond of social and spatial presence experiences in 3D virtual worlds, which will “become a human co-experience utility.” –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Leonie Bos] The Metaverse is coming A 3D virtual world where millions meet online will become our key social hub By David Baszucki, an inventor and the CEO and Founder of Roblox January 2, 2021 We will see a shift in the way people play, work, learn or simply hang out in 2021. Some of this connection…

[The pandemic has accelerated the development of innovative ways to link and merge virtual/mixed reality and designed physical spaces to create compelling entertainment experiences, as reported in this story from the Los Angeles Times (where the original includes two more pictures). –Matthew] [Image: “Star Wars: Tales From the Galaxy’s Edge” VR screenshot: View from inside a ship. Credit: ILMxLab / Disney / Oculus] How the new virtual reality ‘Star Wars’ experience gets us closer to a theme park ‘metaverse’ By Todd Martens, Game Critic December 28, 2020 After a fulfilling and action-focused ending to the second season of “The Mandalorian,”…

[Reading this new story in PsyPost about a study demonstrating interesting effects of the illusion of having an opposite-sex body led me to the lead author’s earlier study of the effects of seeming to switch bodies with a friend. That study is nicely presented in a link-filled Vice story from August 2020 that reviews embodied cognition research based on these kinds of presence illusions. –Matthew]   Experiencing the illusion of having an opposite-sex body in virtual reality can shift aspects of gender identity By Beth Ellwood December 23, 2020 A new study published in Scientific Reports offers insight into how the…

[After ten months in which actual travel is risky or impossible, virtual travel options look more appealing, especially the personalized one offered by Cooee and described in this short story from Fast Company (the original includes three more pictures). On behalf of myself and ISPR I wish you, and us all, a much brighter year ahead. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Paul Szewczyk/Unsplash] Missing vacation? Take a custom Zoom tour of Cambodia or Peru Cooee is finding ways to keep tour guides in business during the pandemic—and let people get a view of somewhere besides their own house. December 23, 2020 By…

[MotorTrend reports on a Nissan intern’s innovative car design, which the company has brought to life in a full-scale model. The Nissan GT-R(x) 2050 allows the driver to share control via a brain-to-vehicle connection and “feel as one with the car.” See the original story for 35 photos and a 3:38 minute video. The Nissan press release (which includes even more images and the video) includes this quote from David Woodhouse, vice president of Nissan Design America: “JB [Choi] has essentially envisioned a new mode of transportation that people could experience like clothes, ‘wearable,’ instead of a traditional vehicle ‘carriage.’…

[This story from Davidson College describes the potential for presence-evoking technology to reduce the negative effects of gender stereotypes. See the original story for two more images and for links to Professor Peck’s publications on this and other presence-related topics see Google Scholar. –Matthew] Virtual Reality Holds Promise in Combatting ‘Stereotype Threat’ December 22, 2020 By Mark Johnson Harvard’s president lost his job. So did a Google researcher. Mattel recalled a new version of “Barbie.” Each was a consequence of reinforcing the harmful stereotype that girls and women can’t compete with boys and men in science and math. The stereotype…