[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…

[There is intriguing, and possibly disturbing, potential for enhancing presence experiences in this research by Facebook; the story is from New Scientist. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Mashable] Facebook AI learns human reactions after watching hours of Skype By Matt Reynolds 5 September 2017 There’s something not quite right about humanoid robots. They are cute up to a point, but once they become a bit too realistic, they often start to creep us out – a foible called the uncanny valley. Now Facebook wants robots to climb their way out of it. Researchers at Facebook’s AI lab have developed an expressive bot,…

[Despite the unfortunately-worded quote that begins “The great thing about dementia is it really fits our brand…,” this story from Quartz describes an important application of presence. The original version includes more images. –Matthew] Dementia is difficult to spot early. Researchers think VR can help. By Karen Hao September 03, 2017 In 2014, German mobile carrier Deutsche Telekom initiated a search for something it could do to benefit the world. Employees met with experts in health, education, and cybersecurity, seeking out something that, according to Hans-Christian Schwingen, chief brand officer at Deutsche Telekom, would show “how mobile products and services…

[According to this story from Adweek, VR dating has “started to breach pop culture,” including a new dating program set in virtual reality. You can watch the 1:04 minute trailer on YouTube and the 7:56 minute first episode on Facebook. The reviews (e.g., in The Verge and New York Post) have been negative, but it’s interesting to imagine ways in which both actual VR dating and the program could be made more interesting and useful. –Matthew]   [Image: Source: VRScout] Condé Nast and Facebook Are Debuting a Virtual-Reality Dating Show Will VR blind dates lead to real love?…

[Here’s an interesting use of virtual reality and presence: To help new lottery winners practice responding to hints and requests from family, friends and co-workers for a share of the windfall. The effort may eventually benefit a broader segment of society too because the last two paragraphs in this story from CTV News note that the project is a precursor to using VR to combat bullying and workplace discrimination. For more information see the Canada NewsWire press release. –Matthew] [Image: Lottery winner Gilles Leprohon celebrates after receiving his cheque, Thursday, January 12, 2017 in Montreal. Credit: The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson)]…

[A method to adjust the potential for users experiencing nausea in a virtual environment discussed in this story from MIT Technology Review could be expanded to adjusting the intensity and other attributes or types of presence. For more details about the VRemedy Labs project, see a recent post in the company’s blog. –Matthew] Now There’s a Nausea Dial for Virtual Reality A startup is building a game that will let you adjust the excitement—and queasiness—of your VR experience. by Rachel Metz August 25, 2017 Some people have no problem flipping and flying in virtual reality; others find this kind of…

[Presence can provide vivid and impactful experiences that change people’s knowledge, attitudes and behavior but that power must be used responsibly, as highlighted in the second part of this story from the Daily Mail; for more information see a 1:53 minute video from Getty Images and a 2:26 minute video on YouTube. –Matthew] [Image from Framework Creative: We created spine medical diagnostic tool for a chain of chiropractors, Back To Health, determined to be at the cutting edge of their industry. Based on a multi-player platform, the patient moves around the virtual representation of their spine in VR whilst the…

[Vogue’s story below is about the use of presence to enhance the experience of drinking fine liquor. Forbes has additional details and Paste’s coverage includes this: “Currently, Rare Journey is only available at Baptiste & Bottle; however, [national brand ambassador] Raies says similar experiences will likely appear elsewhere once it has been fine tuned. For those looking to create an approximation of the experience at home, Raies recommends The MacallanVR app, which features the Rare Journey VR video. All you need is the cardboard VR viewer for your phone, a bottle of Rare Cask, and the sherry. If you don’t…

[This short story from iLounge summarizes and links to a detailed post by Apple about how the company is improving the “naturalness, personality, and expressivity of Siri’s voice” for iOS 11; click through to the bottom of that post to listen to several audio clips of Siri in iOS 9, 10 and 11 to hear the impressive differences. For other recent presence-related Siri news, see “AI Programs Are Learning to Exclude Some African-American Voices“ from MIT Technology Review and “To Win The AI Assistant Wars, Apple Is Melding Siri With Its Other Services” from Fast Company. –Matthew] Apple publishes details…