[Adding eye-tracking to VR headsets should allow more natural and effortless interactions and enhance both spatial and social presence; this story is from USA Today, where it features more images and a 1:53 minute video. A 0:21 minute EyeFluence ‘demo clip’ is available on YouTube. –Matthew] Next big thing for virtual reality: Lasers in your eyes Marco della Cava, USA TODAY May 2, 2016 SAN FRANCISCO – The next big leap for virtual and augmented reality headsets is likely to be eye-tracking, where headset-mounted laser beams aimed at eyeballs turn your peepers into a mouse. A number of startups are…

[Here’s a heart-warming use of presence (which will be more impressive if the partners follow through in establishing a permanent installation at St. Jude to help more children); the story from Advertising Age features four videos. –Matthew] [Image: Source: AdWeek] Expedia Takes Sick Children on Thrilling Real-Time Adventures — Without Leaving the Hospital Campaign From 180LA for St. Jude Is the Stuff of Dreams By Ann-Christine Diaz. Published on March 21, 2016. Children with serious illnesses and confined to their hospital beds might think that swimming with tropical fish or running with wild horses is the stuff of dreams.…

[Some relatively simple uses of presence can save lives; this story is from The Architects Newspaper, where it features other images; coverage in Mashable notes that India’s transport minister tweeted on April 27 that the country will be trying out the 3D paintings, and that the use of optical illusions as speed breakers was first pioneered in Philadelphia. For more on the use of road design illusions created to increase safety, see a 2014 story from BBC News. –Matthew] 3D “zebra crossings” stop drivers in their tracks By Jason Sayer April 21, 2016 Earlier this year, it was reported that…

[It looks like in addition to the many other telepresence technology formats from phones to rooms, telepresence robots will become increasingly common; this story is from Inverse, where it includes a very short video of the early Greenman Teleperated Humanoid system mentioned. –Matthew] [Image: From VGo: “Despite a diagnosis of lymphoma resulting in a bone-marrow transplant that’s left her bed-bound in the Children’s Hospital, 13-year-old Cookie Topp is going to school, doing her homework and meeting with her friends.”] Telepresence Robots May Be Awkward Now, but Expect More of Them by 2020 Research group Tractica projects a 50 percent increase…

[This story from The Verge describes two projects that use presence to take us to Chernobyl, with likely powerful impact; the original story includes a 3:40 minute interactive trailer for The Chernobyl VR Project and a 0:57 minute interactive trailer for Chornobyl 360. For more on the former, see coverage in Raw Story and YouTube for a 4:47 minute video; for more on the latter, see coverage in U.S. News. –Matthew] Watch the trailers for two Chernobyl VR interactive documentaries By Adi Robertson on April 26, 2016 Today marks the 30th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine — the…

[Headset-based VR is becoming a ‘hot’ medium in Marshall McLuhan’s use of the term, but as discussed in this story from The Verge (which has more pictures), it’s not the only, or necessarily the most effective, way to evoke intense presence illusions. –Matthew] [Image: Person being helped into the Famous Deaths installation at the Tribeca Film Festival.] What’s virtual reality without a headset? Tribeca Film Festival installations push our definitions of VR By Adi Robertson on April 21, 2016 My first thought, when I see someone roll into the Famous Deaths morgue freezer, is I’m sure glad they don’t lock…

[Presence isn’t referenced explicitly in this interesting piece from Forbes about the role of VR in the music industry, but both applications discussed – VR as an experience and a tool – involve evoking compelling presence illusions. –Matthew] [Image: A screenshot of StubHub’s immersive virtual-reality content that gives ticket buyers a full, 3D preview of available seats. (Photo courtesy of Re/code)] Virtual Reality In The Music Industry Needs To Be A Tool, Not Just An Experience Cherie Hu, Contributor April 23, 2016 Last month, I found myself at the Made in NY Media Center in Brooklyn, testing a prototype of…

[It’s easy to be blasé about technology events, but this surgery experienced remotely in VR in real time by thousands of people around the world last week is pretty amazing. Our colleague Skip Rizzo is quoted extensively in this story from CNN, which features a photo gallery and a 1:00 minute interactive video. –Matthew] Step in the operating room, wherever you are in the world By Meera Senthilingam, for CNN Thursday April 21, 2016 (CNN) All you need is a headset and smartphone to enter a virtual world of gaming, movies, travel — and now surgery. Health care company Medical…

[This brief story from Venture Beat describes a novel application of presence; the fact that the content users experience is created in the same (or at least a similar) physical space may heighten the illusion. –Matthew] VR Bangers and AuraVisor to offer adult virtual reality content in hotel rooms Dean Takahashi April 18, 2016 Virtual reality porn company VR Bangers has partnered with headset manufacturer AuraVisor to offer a headset preloaded with adult content in hotel rooms. The headset will combine AuraVisor’s wireless VR headset technology with VR Banger’s “immersive porn.” It will initially be available in Las Vegas hotels,…

[This story about the Ossic X 3D headphones includes first-person descriptions of the “real-life” sound the device produces; it’s from Tech Insider, where it includes more images. In coverage by Wareable, Ossic a quote from co-founder and CEO Jason Riggs explicitly refers to presence: “Accurate 3D sound is going to be key. You don’t want to break the sense of presence, or break the illusion. The sounds that are coming from outside your FOV (field-of-view), will make you turn and look at them – and when you do, you want to turn and know exactly what and where it is.…

[This story from The Stack describes a new IMAX venture that combines its presence-evoking film presentation technology with the group cycling experience. The original story includes a 4:31 minute video report from the program CBS This Morning. More information is available from the press release and the IMAXShift website, which features this promotional text: “Let The IMAX Experience® change the way you think about fitness. Crystal clear audio surrounds you as sharp, hyperreal visuals suck you into the massive screen. A unique ride that leaves you breathless before you even break a sweat.” –Matthew] IMAX launches IMAXShift, a virtual cycling…

[Even though most people won’t see Ang Lee’s new film in 3D, 4K resolution and 120 frames per second, this presentation is said to be historic and a glimpse into the possible future of cinema, and it clearly involves (tele)presence. As reported by Variety, the people who attended said it was “as though I was there,” it provided an “almost VR-like sense of presence,” “it was literally as if you were there,” and was “as immersive and involving an image play as I’ve ever seen.” Coverage in The Verge includes the assessment that “It truly was more like looking through…