[While Sony’s PlayStation VR debuts today (here‘s a review), another VR platform is in the works, as described in this story from Venture Beat; the original version includes two videos and two other images. A press release is available via Business Wire. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Modal VR] Nolan Bushnell’s Modal VR launches next-generation virtual reality platform for enterprises Dean Takahashi October 12, 2016 Nolan Bushnell, the cofounder of Atari and father of modern video games, is back with a new startup creating a virtual reality platform for enterprises. Modal VR enables companies to set up virtual reality experiences that are…

[Cliff Nass would have loved the work described in this PC Magazine story about cultural differences in social responses to robots. The original story includes more images. –Matthew] When Taking Robots Global, One Size Does Not Fit All Even robots can get lost in translation. PCMag talks to Dr. Selma Sabanovic about the challenges of taking them global. By Sophia Stuart October 2, 2016 Whether it’s robots that dance, robot coworkers, sociable trash cans, or therapeutic devices, Dr. Selma Sabanovic from Indiana University has seen it all. Dr. Sabanovic, an associate professor at the university’s School of Informatics and Computing,…

[This story from TechCrunch suggests interesting research questions about how different strategies and techniques can increase presence in a format part way between symbolic text and photo-realistic audio-video. The story includes a 1:30 minute video.–Matthew] Digital comics startup Madefire launches its first virtual reality app Posted October 10, 2016 by Anthony Ha When digital comics startup Madefire announced its latest funding round a few days ago, co-founder and CEO Ben Wolstenholme said the company was getting ready to move into virtual and augmented reality. He lived up to that promise in very short order, launching a preview app for Samsung’s…

[This story from The Wall Street Journal considers the prospects for videoconferencing via virtual reality and concludes with the question of whether mass adoption would decrease or increase face-to-face meetings. See the original story for several more images and a detailed infographic. –Matthew] [Image: Developers are working on virtual-reality systems that one day could replace videoconferencing as a common tool for business meetings. Photo: iStockphoto/Getty Images] Virtual Reality Takes On the Videoconference If meetings are held in virtual reality with avatars, will people feel more connected? By Cat Zakrzewski Sept. 18, 2016 Get ready for your next conference call—in virtual…

[Another early-days but promising application of presence-evoking technology involves putting users ‘inside’ a city’s or nation’s technology infrastructure to maintain equipment and diagnose (and hopefully repair) problems; this story is from Fortune, where the original includes a 2:23 minute video. –Matthew] Virtual Reality Goes Electric Utility PG&E thinks VR technology may make inspecting equipment faster and safer. by Jonathan Vanian September 28, 2016 For an electric utility, a technical glitch could trigger a huge blackout, plunging entire cities into darkness. Typically such an event would require utility workers to scramble to a faraway substation. But what if they instead strap…

[Here’s an interesting perspective on the possibilities for presence-evoking technology from FedScoop. –Matthew] At DARPA, virtual reality is more than a toy Trung Tran, a program manager at DARPA, told an audience of virtual reality enthusiasts about the agency’s current goals, urging them to consider government partnership if they have big ideas. By Samantha Ehlinger September 27, 2016 For virtual reality to become more than another quick-to-fade fad like 3-D televisions or the overhyped Google Glass, it needs the type of careful nurturing that only government can give it through long-term developmental investments, a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program…