[Can presence in virtual environments motivate us to return to the gym? Will machines like the Icaros come to dominate the gym of the future? This story is from Gizmag, where the original includes a 10 image photo gallery. –Matthew] Icaros fitness machine powers your workouts with virtual reality C.C. Weiss December 23, 2015 The idea of blending exercise with video games isn’t a new one. Nintendo got plenty of hype years ago with the Wii and offerings like Wii Fit, and there’ve been multiple other examples of virtual-physical exercise equipment, such as the Pro-Form Le Tour de France Indoor…

[If presence can produce even a subset of the benefits of nonmediated nature it could be immensely valuable in space travel and other contexts, as described in this story from Popular Science (which includes the mentioned video); more information is in a Dartmouth press release and see a related story from 2014 in ISPR Presence News. –Matthew] [Image: Screengrab from Virtual Wembury. Virtual simulation of a seaside village in the UK. It’s almost like the real thing.] Can Virtual Reality Help Keep Astronauts Sane In Space? Scientists are sending Oculus Rift headsets deep into the Arctic to find out By…

[It’s one thing to watch professional sports team members play, quite another to experience what they do on the field – it seems likely that virtual experiences like the one described in this story from Fortune will increase fans’ interest in the sport and admiration for players. For more, see the 1:49 minute video on YouTube. –Matthew] Now Anyone Can Play Goalie for the New York Rangers VR experience at Madison Square Garden puts fans in the goal vs. NHL players. By John Gaudiosi December 30, 2015 Over the years, only a small group of brave men have had the…

[Happy New Year and best wishes for a safe, healthy, productive 2016 filled with wonderful (nonmediated and telepresence) experiences! The story below from VR Focus highlights one option for celebrating within VR (see the creator’s 3:16 minute descriptive demo video on YouTube), and this and other virtual fireworks options are featured in a story at UploadVR. –Matthew] New To VR: Make Celebrations Go With a Virtual Bang In Firework Factory VR June 27, 2015 Kevin Eva It’s not just the Oculus VR Share and WEARVR platforms that get all the new content and we begin the weekend with the New…

[This piece from Motherboard covers some fascinating presence work and history, and includes some key terminological distinctions; see the original story for many more pictures and a 4:52 minute video. –Matthew] The Japanese Professor Who’s Spent Three Decades Perfecting a Human Avatar Written by Emiko Jozuka December 23, 2015 When Susumu Tachi made his first prototype telexistence machine in 1981, he was amazed at what he saw. As he peered through the contraption, he glimpsed another version of himself from behind, looking through the very same prototype device. The effect induced a curious out-of-body sensation. Excited, he called his lab…

[The power, promise and peril of presence are all illustrated in this story from Inverse, which features two more images. –Matthew] The VR Pornstar of the Future Will Play Therapist, for Better and Worse Virtual reality intimacy is going to be a growth industry, but is emotionally empowering sex workers in transactional relationships really a good idea? Yasmin Tayag November 9, 2015 According to Ela Darling, porn’s potential as a tool for emotion growth and counseling is often overshadowed by a popularly imagined seediness or the immediacy of the thing. Darling, an adult performer who co-founded the virtual reality porn…

[This story about a climbing simulation provides more insights regarding how to best evoke (spatial) presence, including the roles of narrative, photorealism and natural mapping; it’s from The Guardian, where it includes another image. –Matthew] [Image: The Climb uses the Oculus Rift’s motion-controller technology to let the player control the hands of the protagonist. Photograph: Crytek] The Climb – the most head-spinning virtual reality experience yet Crytek’s new project for the Oculus Rift shows us exactly where VR gaming is going – towards heady and experiential gameplay Keith Stuart Thursday 24 December 2015 Above you, the craggy face of the…

[An inexpensive and increasingly common presence technology helps save a life; the story is from the Miami Herald, where it features a 4:02 video and several more images. –Matthew] [Image: Dr. John F. Rhodes, left, looks towards Dr. Redmond P. Burke, center, as he holds the Google Cardboard virtual reality device and explains its use in the cutting-edge medical procedure with Dr. Juan Cuarlos Muniz, right. On Tuesday, December 22, 2015 doctors at Nicklaus Children Hospital and the Lexcen family held a press conference on life-saving heart surgery performed on Teegan Lexcen at Nicklaus using a new procedure, virtual reality…

[The term isn’t used, but there are lots of presence-related observations in this story about a new interactive, non-linear, 360 degree animated video story with a Christmas theme, designed to be viewed with smartphones or tablets, or with Google Cardboard. The story is from The Verge, where it features the 4:14 minute video and several more images. –Matthew] Rear Window at Christmas: Behind Google’s new interactive animated short A team-up with the creators of Wallace and Gromit is the latest step for Google’s Spotlight Stories By Adi Robertson on December 22, 2015 The scene is a snowy apartment building out…

[Since most of us won’t be taking the in–person tour, here’s a way to experience the White House decorated for the holidays; the story is from iDigitalTimes Australia and features the 5:17 minute 360 degree video. –Matthew] [Image: From Engadget] Google Provides Virtual Reality Video Tour Of The White House By Ken Salcedo Mon, 12/21/2015 Google managed to get in the White House and was able to capture 360-degree videos showing some of the Presidential home’s rooms and corridors. Users will be able to watch the five-minute video on YouTube, or they can even experience it on the company’s Cardboard…

[Among Dr. Furness’ interesting observations are the comparison of VR to Star Trek’s Vulcan “mind meld”; the story is from NPR. –Matthew] [Image: Dr. Thomas Furness (left) in one of the labs stretched throughout a nondescript house in Seattle that’s home to his RATLab. Gil Aegerter/KUOW] Grandfather Of VR: The Virtual Can Show The Beauty Of The Real December 17, 2015 Jamala Henderson Thomas Furness is known as the pioneer who stood at the inception of what we know today as virtual reality. He often gets called the “grandfather of virtual reality”: he started with work on interfaces of fighter…

[This intriguing art installation was designed explicitly to evoke presence; the story is from The Creators Project blog, where it includes more pictures and a 3:51 minute video. You can experience the Infinity Room at Houston’s Day for Night Festival through Sunday (December 20). –Matthew] An Artist Put Infinity in a Room in Istanbul By Kevin Holmes — Sep 15 2015 Representing the infinite is, in its very nature, problematic. But that hasn’t stopped it from making an appearance in art, time and again. LA-based Turkish artist Refik Anadol tackles the concept in his installation Infinity Room, an immersive room…