[An attorney quoted in this story from Bloomberg’s Big Law Business says “The sense of ‘presence’ that VR provides has the potential to be a game changer in the practice of law.” The original story includes a second image and it links to a recommended second story that examines the challenges facing widespread use of VR in courtrooms. –Matthew] The Next Frontier for Virtual Reality: Courtrooms By Bruce Kaufman – Bloomberg Law November 18, 2017 Twenty-five years ago, a California jury took a brave leap into the future by donning headsets to watch a virtual reality-like accident reconstruction scene. The three-dimensional…

[Another interesting application context for VR and presence is described in this story from the Daily Herald (Provo, Utah). For more information see the Bullfrog Spas website and coverage in Aqua, and watch the 5:41 interactive video on YouTube. –Matthew] [Image: A customer at Bullfrog Spas tries out the virtual reality program to better experience a hot tub.] Virtual reality comes to the hot tub purchasing experience Karissa Neely, Daily Herald December 7, 2017 For new buyers, purchasing a hot tub is a bit intimidating, but one company is trying to make the shopping experience more interactive. Hot tubs are…

[Facebook’s Oculus now lets users bring the connected multi-tasking so many of us have come to crave into virtual environments. It’ll be interesting to see how enhances and/or degrades the sense of presence. This story is from CNET, where it includes different images. –Matthew] [Image: Source: TechPocket] Facebook just made VR better — by adding Microsoft Windows With a new beta, you can do practically anything you’d do with your PC in an Oculus Rift headset. By Sean Hollister December 6, 2017 Being transported to a virtual world can be fantastic — until you realize what you’ve left behind.…

[New software created by Nvidia researchers extends both the potential value and dangers of technology-created illusions. The story below is from MIT Technology Review, where it includes a ten second video demonstration; for more information see the post on Nvidia’s blog, a 3:00 minute video by the researchers, a Two Minute Papers video report (which is actually 3:50 minutes) and more demonstration videos in coverage by DesignTAXI. The Next Web notes this tweet from Wired magazine’s Oli Franklin-Wallis about the implications of the new software: “The biggest casualty to AI won’t be jobs, but the final and complete eradication of trust…

[An interesting new study demonstrates that users don’t perceive the 3D cues provided by virtual reality as they do the same cues in the real (nonmediated) world unless they’re trained to do so. This story is from University of Wisconsin-Madison News and the full study is available from Nature Scientific Reports. –Matthew] [Image: Figure 2c from the study indicating that task feedback improves performance over time. Left: Target interceptions over trials when feedback was not provided (blue symbols) and when feedback was provided (orange symbols). Circles correspond to the percentage of target interceptions across observers on each trial.] Virtual reality…

[This new more immersive version of an intentionally boring video game was created for laughs and charity, but it could represent an interesting new genre of VR comparable to Slow TV (!). The original story from Ars Technica includes several more images, and you can watch a 25 minute gameplay session and listen to the origin story on YouTube. –Matthew] The world’s slowest, most boring bus simulator finally has a VR version The ‘90s gag begun at Janet Reno’s expense is now a freebie—even if you don’t have VR. Sam Machkovech November 28, 2017 After roughly 22 years, one of…

[The BBC has already produced several VR experiences and conducted in-depth research on user expectations and responses to the technology; now it’s opening a VR studio. This post from the BBC Internet blog provides a brief summary; follow the links (especially the one to their research) for more information. –Matthew] Launching a VR studio: BBC VR Hub 30 November 2017 Zillah Watson, Head of Content Commissioning, VR Hub Virtual Reality has proven itself as an exciting new medium. Storytellers have been quick to recognise its potential as a means to transport viewers – almost literally – to immersive and believable…

[In this story from The Conversation, Denise Quesnel, a doctoral student at Simon Fraser University, describes her experiences conducting research on the potential of VR (and presence) to promote positive experiences; she captures the sense of enthusiasm I’ve felt since grad school for advancing our understanding and use of presence to improve people’s lives. The original story includes more images and a 1:24 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: Individuals wearing virtual reality headsets often look isolated. But research shows they can experience profound emotions such as awe, which enhance their feelings of social connection and wellbeing. (Credit: Shutterstock)] Inspired, magical, connected:…

[The prospect of robots being used to care for elderly patients suggests many benefits but also raises a variety of concerns including of course those of the people who would receive the care. This story from Slate’s Better Life Lab blog provides a review; see the Pew Research Center study, and a related story in VC Daily, for more information. –Matthew] [Image: Photo illustration by Lisa Larson-Walker.] In the Midst of a Coming Elder Care Shortage, the Case for Robot Caregivers By Amanda Lenhart November 11, 2017 An elderly woman nestles a white, fluffy baby seal in her arms.…

[This story from EdTech: Focus on K-12 reports on the use of VR and presence at SUNY Buffalo to train teachers for the classroom; coverage from UBNow includes more information and a 2:10 minute video and more details from a presentation by Richard Lamb and his colleagues are available from SlideShare. Presence is being used elsewhere too: A story in University Business highlights the use of TeachLive at the University of Wyoming and Penn State University’s First Class. –Matthew] VR Gives Student-Teachers a Taste of the Classroom A University at Buffalo virtual reality training program lets educators deepen their pre-service…

[Presence has long been used to ease our longing for those who have died (see Lombard and Selverian, 2008); the project described in this first-person report from The Next Web uses it to ease our anxieties about what will happen when we die, and to prompt a discussion about what we should do for people at the end of life. The use of a tapping hammer to simulate the user’s heartbeat mentioned here has now been refined and added to the experience, as reported in new coverage from De Zeen. Both stories include many images and the De Zeen story…

[As noted at the end of this press release from VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the finding that presence-evoking technologies can modify our evaluations of foods just as our non-mediated eating environment can, raises potentially important prospects for the promotion of healthy (and unhealthy) foods. See the original for more photos and a video. –Matthew] [Image: Source: VTT] VTT: Virtual and augmented reality technologies influence consumers’ eating experiences November 22, 2017 Could health-promoting foods be made more appealing by using digital tools to enhance consumers’ eating experiences? VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland has used Virtual Reality (VR) to…