[It’s good news that the VR industry is funding programs like the ones described in this story from SiliconANGLE to expand the applications and availability of presence-evoking technologies and experiences. For more information see the HTC Vive press release. –Matthew] HTC Vive launches program to bring the arts into virtual reality By Kyt Dotson 08 November 2017 Smartphone marker and virtual reality headset developer HTC Corp. today announced Vive Arts, a new multimillion-dollar global VR program designed to bring the arts into the living room. The Vive Arts program will help cultural institutions, such as museums, documentary projects, educators and…

[The project described in this story from Huffington Post UK is another example of the potential power of presence, including in this case “collaborative immersion”; the original version includes more images and a 1:36 minute video. For more information see the Scan Pyramids VR project page on the Emissive website. –Matthew] Virtual Reality Goggles Can Now ‘Teleport’ You Into The Pyramid Housing A Mysterious Void Walk in the footsteps of the Pharaohs… November 8, 2017 Sara C Nelson, Senior Editor, The Huffington Post UK A team of scientists have created a virtual reality tour that allows users to ‘teleport’ themselves…

[Fictional portrayals of people experiencing presence and its positive and negative effects and consequences can be both entertaining and thought-provoking (a group of us are studying them here); this story from Slate is about portrayals, and the possibility of actual, addiction to presence (and includes a quote from our colleague Skip Rizzo). You can find the new film OtherLife on Netflix and read a review in The Guardian (warning: spoilers). For more on Dr. Mehta’s research with rats, there’s a 46 minute interview with him on the Smart Drug Smarts podcast. –Matthew] The Ultimate Escapism Sci-fi has been warning us…

[A new series of successful video ads for IKEA seems to violate the rules of successful advertising but perfectly illustrates the power of presence; the story below is from AdWeek and includes three of the ads and a 2:22 minute ‘case study’ video; and coverage in Bustle makes the connection to ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response). –Matthew] Ikea Just Made the Most Boring Preroll Ads, Yet They’re Totally Mesmerizing Åkestam Holst does its own version of unskippable spots By Angela Natividad October 30, 2017 Ikea touts itself as a brand that draws inspiration from the everyday lives of people. In…

[This story from Study Breaks is about the use of augmented reality to create presence illusions for a serious and extremely valuable purpose. The original story includes several more images. –Matthew] ‘HOLOGRAMS FROM SYRIA’ REFUSES TO LET YOU IGNORE THE HAUNTING IMAGES OF WAR Bennington College student Asad J. Malik, also known by his alias 1RIC, seeks to bring the gruesome reality of war to the forefront with his latest project “Holograms from Syria.” By Marissa Cortes, Stony Brook University November 1, 2017 Early in the morning on September 2, 2015, before the sun had risen and the pops of…

[The original version of this widely-cited story from the Daily Mail includes many more pictures of the new East Valley of Science and Fantasy; for more information see the project’s (English) website. –Matthew] Spectacular pictures show China’s £1 billion virtual reality sci-fi theme park which lets tourists visit aliens, ride UFOs and fight dragons Virtual reality attraction is developed by the stock market listed Oriental Times Media Corp’s animation unit The massive park is situated in Guizhou province, China, and the first phase is set to complete in December A main feature is an impressive 174ft tall transformer structure constructed…