[Another provocative set of predictions about the future of presence and sexuality; the story is from The Daily Dot and includes two other images. See the related second post today. –Matthew] [Image: Yahoo! News] By 2050, we’ll all be having sex with robots By Dylan Love Oct 2, 2015 If you’re not having sex with a robot by 2050, you might be the minority. With VR porn and connected sex on the rise, theorists and ethicists are weighing in on the near-future implications of high-tech human sexuality. A paper titled “The Rise of the Robosexuals,” co-created by futurist Ian Pearson…

[This is an inspiring story from People about the ability of new 3D printing technology to create presence experiences for the blind (see the quote in the second paragraph); the story includes more images and a 4:27 minute video, and see the 3D Photoworks website for more information and a series of videos. And see the website for Sonic Paintings for a complimentary technology. –Matthew] 3D Creations Allow the Blind to Experience the World’s Greatest Artworks in a New Way By Cathy Free 10/26/2015 As he traced his fingers across a copy of the painting, “George Washington Crossing the Delaware,”…

[This invention produces presence as transportation into a social actor; the story from MIT Technology Review includes another picture and a 30 second video (the last image of which reads “Telepresence – Bear; Coming Soon”). -Matthew] [Image: You take control of this bear by donning a virtual reality headset to see through its eyes and control its head.] Inhabit This Teddy Bear’s Body Using Virtual Reality Japanese startup Adawarp thinks teleporting inside the body of a robotic stuffed animal could be a good way to keep in touch with loved ones. By Signe Brewster on October 26, 2015 Companies inventing…

[Presence experiences don’t have to involve experiencing the world as yourself or even another human; check out the 1:57 minute video and the other screenshots in this story from The Creators Project blog. –Matthew] Finally, Virtual Reality Lets You Become a Mystical Forest Creature By Kevin Holmes Sep 22 2015 In previous eras if you wanted to experience the world through the eyes of an animal you’d have to be some kind of next level shaman, but now we have virtual reality. In the Eyes of the Animal, the latest project from Marshmallow Laser Feast—Robin McNicholas, Barney Steel, and Adam…

[Here’s another interesting application of VR and presence; as so often happens, this story from The Los Angeles Times includes many descriptions of presence but not the term itself. -Matthew] [Image: Neal Taylor watches and listens a Los Angeles Philharmonic performance via a virtual reality headset in the orchestra’s Van Beethoven. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)] L.A. Philharmonic’s Van Beethoven takes virtual reality for a classical spin September 24, 2015 David Ng Can the technology that set the video gaming world abuzz create classical music fanboys and girls? The Los Angeles Philharmonic has launched a virtual reality project in…

[Shared augmented reality is more difficult than shared VR, with all kinds of interesting potential uses; this story, which features some of our presence colleagues, is from MIT Technology Review; btw, as the CNET coverage notes, the headsets are called “Reality Mashers.” –Matthew] [Image: One of Lanier’s students, Andrea Stevenson Won, wears a headset developed in his lab at Microsoft.] Microsoft Researchers Are Working on Multi-Person Virtual Reality Researchers in Jaron Lanier’s lab at Microsoft are exploring ways for people to share the experience of mixed reality. By Will Knight on October 12, 2015 Augmented or mixed reality, which renders…

[Note: Apologies for the lack of posts Monday, due to computer server problems beyond our control] [Aside from all the good this invention can do in testing vision, as someone with reduced vision (due to congenital nystagmus) and of course interested in VR and presence, I find its potential for personalized prescription VR screens particularly interesting; the story is from MIT Press. –Matthew] [Image: Ramesh Raskar holding the Netra device. Credit: John Werner/Camera Culture Group] Smarter lenses Newly launched mobile eye-test device could lead to prescription virtual-reality screens Rob Matheson | MIT News Office October 19, 2015 After five years…

[Here’s an ambitious plan for a 21st century virtual World’s Fair; this story is from Variety and there’s more coverage in Fortune; the Landmark press release is available via PR Newswire, and an earlier story in ISPR Presence News describes the company’s plans for mixed reality theme parks. –Matthew] Landmark Entertainment Is Building A Virtual Reality World’s Fair October 15, 2015 Janko Roettgers, Senior Silicon Valley Correspondent Landmark Entertainment President and CEO Tony Christopher thinks it’s about time that the world joined virtual reality: Landmark is unveiling plans to build what it calls a Virtual world’s fair, which could eventually…

[This first-person account of watching a political debate in VR identifies both strengths and limitations and raises questions about which will and won’t be solvable as the technology evolves. The story is from Mashable, where it features more images. –Matthew] I used virtual reality goggles to watch the CNN Democratic debate and it was underwhelming Jason Abbruzzese October 14, 2015 The Democratic debate almost made me throw up – but not for the reasons you expect. I’m in a giant hall, in the back right corner facing the stage. I look up and to my right, and I can see…

[The research described in this news from the University of Lincoln describes a way to enhance medium-as-social-actor presence. In press coverage, “Dr Murray told the BBC that how robots interact socially will be key to future robot research. ‘Obviously it depends on the application and, in a factory, we don’t want robots that make mistakes,’ he said. ‘But with robot companions, it is not so much the look of the robot but its behaviour. If you want a robot to become friendly and for people not to [be] wary of it, it will need certain traits.’” –Matthew] How perfect is…

[Here’s a nice first-person description of already-available presence experiences (even if the term isn’t used), and technology tweaks that would enhance them; it’s from VentureBeat, where it includes lots more pictures. Get the Street View app for IOS or Android here. –Matthew] Hands-on with Google Street View on Cardboard: Goodbye, productivity Jordan Novet October 12, 2015 I just went to Fiji. No, not literally. I took a mini vacation in Google Street View. I was able to look around 360 degrees in a bunch of places using the OnePlus Cardboard virtual reality (VR) headset, based on the Google Cardboard VR system.…

[This high-end simulator attraction sounds like it creates a compelling sense of presence. The story is from designboom, where you’ll find many more images and two videos: ‘Making Of’ and a trailer for the attraction. –Matthew] Sensorama opens an immersive virtual reality ride in Brazil September 21, 2015 Sensorama has announced the launch of ‘VIX’, Brazil’s advanced immersive attraction. It’s a 24 person ride that straps passengers on a sensory experience of an underwater voyage. As the ride accelerates through a narrow passage of land, guests will feel their hair blowing in the wind, simulating the sensation of levitating through…