[Audiences around the world will be able to experience an upcoming champion level chess match in live-streamed 360-degree virtual reality; the coverage will be “up close and personal like never before allowing viewers to truly soak up the atmosphere” and “get into the minds of the players.” This story is from The Telegraph, where the original includes several more images, a video, and a profile of Magnus Carlsen. –Matthew] [Image: Virtual reality chess as seen on a smartphone Credit: World Chess] Cold War rivalries renewed as chess enters age of virtual reality By Leon Watson 12 September 201 When Bobby…

[Could neurofiction become a common way to experience stories (and presence)? This story from Wired describes a recent experiment using readers’ brain waves to determine story features, along with some other interesting ideas. The original includes the 9:50 minute audio podcast; for more on neurofiction see neurofiction.net. –Matthew] Books Would Be So Much Better if They Could Read Your Mind September 09, 2016 Hannu Rajaniemi is a science fiction author, a self-described “recovering string theorist,” and co-founder of the biotech startup Helix Nano. Recently he and his friend Sam Halliday got their hands on an EMOTIV Epoc headset—a very simple…

[This story from UCI News reports new evidence that telepresence can improve people’s lives; for more information about the research see the website of UCI’s Digital Learning Lab. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Steve Zylius / UCI] Robotic surrogates help chronically ill kids maintain social, academic ties at school UCI is first to conduct formal study of virtual inclusion for homebound students Irvine, Calif., Sept. 7, 2016 – Chronically ill, homebound children who use robotic surrogates to “attend” school feel more socially connected with their peers and more involved academically, according to a first-of-its-kind study by University of California, Irvine education researchers.…

[This story from MIT News describes a promising new way to evoke presence in video material. The original includes a 5:50 minute video and links to other press coverage. –Matthew] [Image: Source: interactivedynamicvideo.com] Reach in and touch objects in videos with “Interactive Dynamic Video” Technique from Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab could improve augmented reality and reduce the need for CGI green-screens. Adam Conner-Simons | Rachel Gordon | CSAIL August 2, 2016 We learn a lot about objects by manipulating them: poking, pushing, prodding, and then seeing how they react. We obviously can’t do that with videos — just…

[Another application area for VR and presence in the arts is ballet; this story is from Digital Trends, where it includes the navigable 8 minute video and a 1:39 minute behind-the-scenes video. –Matthew] [Image: Source: @robinrimbaud] You’ll be blown away by the world’s first virtual reality ballet experience By Luke Dormehl — September 7, 2016 When you picture the various use-cases that best fit virtual reality, ballet may not be the first you think of. Or the 10th, for that matter. But sometimes it’s a whole lot of fun being proved wrong, which is exactly what the Dutch National Opera & Ballet has…

[This story raises the prospect of the further blurring between how we perceive humans and technology (see especially the theorizing at the end). It’s from Motherboard, where it includes four more pictures. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Ministerio de la Cultura de la Nacion/Flickr] Porn Chatbot Tricks Argentinians Into Thinking They’re Chatting With President Written by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai September 6, 2016 Is that person you’re interacting with online a real flesh-and-bones human, or are they actually just made of 1s and 0s? Sometimes, it’s easy to tell that Twitter egg that speaks like a robot is, indeed, a robot. Other times, it’s…

[The school year is starting for many of us, so here’s a story about how a student supposedly created a (presence) illusion so he can appear attentive in class while he sleeps. The story from the Daily Mail includes the 11 second video and three images; the post and hundreds of comments about it are available on Reddit; and the creator, Zach King, has posted many other illusions on YouTube. For more light but thought-provoking presence items join the ISPR Presence Community Facebook group. –Matthew] The hilarious moment a sleeping student uses a life-size photo of himself in class so it…

[Although the term isn’t used here, one could argue that the most intense and compelling sense of presence occurs at the center of the Venn diagram in this story from TechCrunch, another step toward what the author calls “the experience age.” –Matthew] The future of mobile video is virtual reality Posted Aug 30, 2016 by Mike Wadhera After the dust settles, the real takeaway from Instagram’s cloning of Snapchat is that the connected camera revolution is just beginning. Instagram Stories sends a powerful message to hundreds of millions of people for the first time: No moment is too small to…

[Here’s a detailed first-person description of how to use VR (and presence) in the classroom. It’s from the New York Times, where it includes more images. –Matthew] Reader Idea | New York Times Virtual Reality in the Classroom By The Learning Network August 31, 2016 Using virtual reality, or VR, in the classroom can help students learn about the world in a powerful new way, says Cayne Letizia. In this series of lessons, he uses Times VR reporting as a way to hook students on stories about everything from the refugee crisis to life on Pluto to the secret languages…

[The film Viens! is “an experiment meant to transform and ‘test the boundaries of intimacy, presence and empathy’”; this story from Broadly raises several interesting questions about the future of VR and presence experiences (the original story features more images and related links). –Matthew] What It’s Like to Experience a Virtual Reality Orgy If you thought real orgies weren’t nerve-racking enough, try sitting through a tantric sex film shot in 360 degree virtual reality. by Katherine Templar Lewis Aug 30 2016 “Put your feet on the ground. Don’t hold the headset. And breathe.” The experience will only last 12 minutes,…

[The installation described in this story from The Creators Project should evoke a welcome sense of spatial presence among travelers. The original includes different images and a 1:08 minute video, and for more photos and information see the project’s page on the Studio Roosegaarde website. –Matthew] A Dutch Artist Takes Augmented Reality into the Clouds DJ Pangburn — Aug 28 2016 If travelers happen to visit Departure Hall 3 of Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, they may notice an immersive installation of clouds. Titled Beyond, Dutch artist Daan Roosegaard’s latest work is a “cloud wall” that creates the impression of a 3D…

[As this story from Vox explains, the new game No Man’s Sky not only adds evidence to the debate about the possibility that our entire world is a convincing simulation, it raises deep questions about the nature and purpose of our lives. Here’s a quote from the second-to-last paragraph: “[B]y refusing to provide you with a purpose, it forces you to reconcile with the essential emptiness of its universe, with the pointlessness of a game whose only reward is the opportunity to continue playing the game. It is cold and lonely and empty and unsatisfying — and that may be…