[A presence-evoking technology for an overlooked population is the focus of a satirical new prosocial campaign in Australia. This story is from B&T; follow the link at the end for more information including images and a video. –Matthew] Isobar’s Cat VR Powers Game-Changing Content For Australian Zoos By Hannah Cheale April 3, 2018 Isobar has proven its credentials as one of Fast Company’s Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in AR/VR, launching the world’s first Cat VR on 1st April 2018, in partnership with Zoos Victoria and the RSPCA in Australia. Faced with alarming statistics around the environmental impact of domestic…

[The importance of realism and the potential of presence-evoking technology for learning and empathy are highlighted in this story from The Irish Times (where the original includes two additional images). –Matthew] [Image: The UN virtual-reality experience from the player’s perspective.] Irish firm in vanguard as 360° virtual reality is deployed in combat zones Content studio VRAI working with UN on project to help identify concealed bombs Ciara O’Brien April 12, 2018 The convoy of military vehicles makes its way slowly down a dusty road in Mogadishu. Scanning the road ahead, I am trying to figure out if that little disturbance in…

[This story from Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) provides an overview of the promise and challenges of using VR and presence to treat pain and reduce addiction to opioids. The original version includes more images and a 5:16 minute video. See also a related story from Research News @Vanderbilt and a press release via Eurekalert! about an Ohio competition to find innovative ways of using technology to fight opioid addiction (both include videos). –Matthew] VR Gives Oregon Patients And Doctors An Alternative To Opioids Oregon’s largest health care providers see both promise and challenges in virtual reality as a non-opioid treatment for pain.…

[Researchers in Korea have created Fribo, a robot that uses medium-as-social actor presence to evoke a sense of social and spatial presence among a small group of people who each live alone. This story is from The Verge, where the original version includes a second image and a 6:01 minute video. –Matthew] Meet Fribo, a robot built for lonely young people Fribo encourages young people to text and call one another by sharing information on their daily activities By James Vincent Apr 5, 2018 The number of people living alone is on the rise in the US and other developed…

[A second survey of leaders in the augmented and virtual reality industries reveals some interesting trends, including the importance of user experience and increasing focus on collaborative and social experiences. This press release is from Perkins Coie LLP via Business Wire. For more information see the company’s (free) survey and infographic. –Matthew] Perkins Coie’s Second Augmented and Virtual Reality Survey Shows Continued Advancement and New Worries Investment is on the rise and more companies are going to market, leading to increased practical applications and heightened legal concerns March 20, 2018 PALO ALTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–With investment in augmented reality (AR) and…

[This story from SB Nation provides a first person account of using VR to experience the recent NCAA men’s basketball championship game and a balanced analysis of the limitations and promise of the technology (note the very solvable problems of spotty WiFi and lack of audio). The original story includes more images. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports] I watched the national championship in virtual reality and it was sports purgatory They say you can’t be in two places at once, and they’re right. By Charlotte Wilder Apr 3, 2018 MANHATTAN — You can’t be in two places at…

[Virtual reality has gotten more attention in the presence community but augmented reality has great potential to generate effective and useful presence illusions, as described in this story from Forbes. –Matthew] [Image: Instagram ‘filters’ like this headband have become a key part of the app’s popular Stories feature. Credit: Instagram] Six Ways Augmented Reality Will Matter Beyond Puppy Selfies Kathleen Chaykowski, Forbes Staff March 8, 2018 Augmented reality — mixing the physical world with digital elements — has gained traction among everyday smartphone users as a playful way to send selfies with puppy masks or silly effects like helium voice…

[Mozilla is releasing a new cross-platform, open source, privacy-friendly browser specifically for presence experiences. This story is from The Verge, and there’s a 0:48 minute video available from Mozilla’s Mixed Reality blog. See also the September 2017 ISPR Presence News post “VR Web Browsing Needs Revolution More Than Evolution.” –Matthew] There’s a new version of Firefox for virtual reality By Adi Robertson Apr 3, 2018 Mozilla has announced a new version of its Firefox browser for standalone virtual and augmented reality headsets. It’s called Firefox Reality, and Mozilla describes it as a cross-platform, open source, and privacy-friendly browser whose interface…

[Those of us who will be in Prague in May for PRESENCE 2018 will be able to visit a new VR exhibit designed to let the blind, and everyone else, experience three iconic sculptures via haptic gloves. This story is from KnowTechie and features a 2:14 minute video. Visit the Touching Masterpieces website for more information. –Matthew] This VR exhibit enables the blind to ‘see’ art with haptic gloves Please do touch the exhibits. By Joe Rice-Jones April 2, 2018 Any museum-goer knows the ubiquitous “Do not touch” signs. What if you could though, with the aid of VR technology?…

[A designer has imagined how augmented reality and the sense of spatial presence it evokes could improve the process of using assembly instructions for IKEA products (and of course the ideas could be extended to all kinds of manuals). This short story is from Co.Design, where it includes a gif and a 1:06 minute video, which is also available along with more information from Adam Pickard’s website. –Matthew] The Ikea Manual Of The Future Looks Amazing Mark Wilson March 22, 2018 We’ve all been there. Blood pumping. Face red. Body exhausted. It’s 15 minutes into building a piece of Ikea…

[Two recent examples vividly illustrate the increasing use of technology to manipulate our perceptions of reality. Business Insider introduces the first example this way: “’Question everything’ is the Instagram influencer and blogger Carolyn Stritch’s latest message to her followers. And to encourage people to do just that, she conducted an experiment to show people just how easy it is to fake ‘perfection’ on the photo-sharing platform. Stritch, who is from the UK, is the 32-year-old lifestyle blogger and freelance photographer behind The Slow Traveler. She has amassed 190,000 followers on her Instagram account @theslowtraveler through sharing perfectly poised photos of…

[Reading this story made me feel good. It’s from the Boise Weekly (in the Rocky Mountain state of Idaho) and it’s about the real work and real benefits of bringing VR and presence to diverse members of the public. –Matthew] [Image: By Adam Rosenlund] Virtual Reality for All “We have helped people with all ranges of body limitations, stress or anxiety, autism, social skills, and even if you are fully paralyzed, we have found relaxing VR videos or music experiences to be effective.” By Harrison Berry March 21, 2018 Ted, a resident of the assisted living center The Terraces, was…