[I’m just back from the IBC2017 Conference, where I gave a talk, got a glimpse of new technologies and had a series of valuable and enjoyable conversations about presence; great thanks to long-time presence advocate and producer of the IBC technical sessions Nick Lodge (info; video). The story below from Fast Company describes a VR project that raises a series of intriguing questions about presence without ever using the term; if only Horton and Wohl, who originated the term parasocial interaction, could see “Fall in Love VR.” The original version of the story includes a second image and a 0:29…

[This story from Digital Trends is a realistic, and in the end hopeful, look at what it’ll take to turn browsing the web into a presence-evoking experience; the original version includes a second image and two videos. –Matthew] VR Web Browsing Needs Revolution More Than Evolution By Jon Martindale September 9, 2017 Virtual reality has given us new ways to play games, and has the potential to bring us closer to loved ones around the world, but it’s yet nail down how to let us browse the internet properly. We’re still far from having a VR headset replace an entire…

[Quantifying the health benefits of different activities in virtual environments could be valuable in promoting presence; the original version of this story from the San Francisco Chronicle includes two more images. –Matthew] [Image: Aaron Stanton exercises using a virtual reality headset at San Francisco State University on Monday, Aug. 21, 2017. Photo: James Tensuan, Special to the Chronicle.] S.F. State tests benefits of workouts in virtual reality games By Nanette Asimov September 5, 2017 You enter the boxing ring and face your opponent. He glares at you, his bulging pecs glistening under the arena lights. Pow! You nail him with…

[Another effort to use VR and presence to ease medical treatment; this story is from Forbes, where it includes a different image. –Matthew] Virtual Reality Startup Uses The Psychology of Gaming To Do Battle With Cancer Moira Vetter, Contributor September 9, 2017 Virtual reality innovations are often believed to be speculative technologies that haven’t yet found practical applications. People think of gamers and hobbyists wearing a headset or goggles and peering into a synthetic reality. But virtual reality isn’t so virtual anymore. One startup, OnComfort, has fixed its sights on one of the most daunting foes there is to fight—cancer.…

[Especially in light of recent and current natural disasters, this is an encouraging story from the University of Virginia; for more information on the How to change the world engineering podcast competition and to listen to Bethany Gordon’s 7:31 minute winning entry see coverage from the Royal Academy of Engineering. –Matthew] [Image: UVA graduate engineering student Bethany Gordon’s idea to apply virtual reality technology to crisis situations recently won an international podcast contest. (Photo by Dan Addison, University Communications)] Virtual Reality Can Make a Remote Crisis Real – And Spur Effective Responses September 07, 2017 In Gyumri, Armenia, about 4,000…

[This story from Slate’s Future Tense series provides a useful perspective on alternate meanings of the term virtual and their implications for how we perceive and realize the potential of VR and presence. –Matthew] [Image: Perhaps to speak of virtual reality is to anticipate the disappearance of the world we know. Photo illustration by Natalie Matthews-Ramo. Photos by Thinkstock.] Our Virtual Future What philosophers say about the inevitability of VR. By Jacob Brogan September 1, 2017 A few months ago, I pulled on an Oculus Rift headset for the first time and stepped into a virtual reality meeting room. I…