[This looks like it could be a compelling communal virtual reality experience; the story is from Live Science, where it includes a different image and a 4:16 minute video. See the Kickstarter page and the event’s website for more information. –Matthew] [Image: Source: The Hubble Cantata Kickstarter page] ‘The Hubble Cantata’ Weds Live Music with VR Views of the Cosmos By Mindy Weisberger, Senior Writer | July 25, 2016 An event combining virtual reality and live musical performance aims to bring together a 20-piece orchestra, a 100-person choir and breathtaking views of the cosmos captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.…

[This follow-up story about the Mr. Robot VR experience (the original post is here), includes a detailed description and review (starting in the fourth paragraph) and the good news that those who missed the viewing window last week will get another chance after July 25 (see the last paragraph). The story is from The Verge, where it includes many more pictures. –Matthew] The Mr. Robot VR experience isn’t a gimmick — it’s true storytelling By Bryan Bishop on July 22, 2016 Mr. Robot mastermind Sam Esmail has made a point of taking on nearly every creative role possible on his…

[Another example of using VR and presence for the public good; this story (which reads like a press release) is from The Hemming Fire website; the VF4 website identifies the four main causes of deaths of young drivers addresses in the road safety VR project as “using a mobile phone, not wearing a seatbelt, being under the influence of drink or drugs, [and] speeding.” A 1:22 minute video report is available on YouTube. –Matthew] [Image: Source: The Hinckley Times] Leicestershire FRS adopts VR headsets to provide young drivers with a car crash experience Published:  22 July, 2016 Samsung Electronics has…

[More accurate 3D motion capture without a bodysuit, and real-time rendering – presence technology continues to evolve. The original short story from Motherboard includes a 5:46 minute video. –Matthew] Microsoft’s Experimental Tech Captures 3D Scenes in Unprecedented Detail Written by Daniel Oberhaus, Contributor July 16, 2016 The ability to capture and render scenes in 3D has been around for a while now, but for the most part this technology has been limited to non-moving objects. The reason for this limitation is obvious: as soon as you incorporate motion into the picture, there are way more parameters the algorithm rendering the…

[Among other interesting items, there are echoes and extensions of Minky’s predictions about telepresence in this story from Inverse, which features the full 90 minute VR session, a Magic Leap demo video and more images. –Matthew] Leap Motion’s David Holz Divulges Secrets About Future of AR, VR, Humanity How would you like to become a cyborg wizard? Joe Carmichael July 20, 2016 Leap Motion co-founder and Chief Technology Officer David Holz recently offered his vision of our weird future, and how augmented reality and virtual reality will forever change what it means to be human. During the recent presentation —…

[On Thursday July 21 the compelling USA cable TV series Mr. Robot will distribute a VR ‘film’ in the one-time-only format of traditional broadcast TV (before VCRs and DVRs). Details are in the story below from The Creators Project, where you can find the 1:44 minute trailer for season 2 of the series. If you haven’t watched Mr. Robot, I highly recommend it for a lot of reasons including its use of presence-related techniques – see the review in IndieWire for an introduction, and the program’s website for more on how to view the VR film. –Matthew] ‘Mr. Robot’ Is…

[The new study described in this story from Lafayette College demonstrates the effectiveness of live mediated social interaction (vs. recorded, parasocial interaction) for learning by children as young as 17 months; see the links at the end for more information, including images and a 1:00 minute video. –Matthew] New Study of Toddlers Sheds Light on Value of FaceTime Video Chat as Meaningful Interaction Research reveals young kids can tell the difference between live interactions and pre-recorded ones designed to seem real 15-Jul-2016 Newswise — Does your toddler’s video chat with Grandma equal quality interaction time, or just more “screen” time…