[This story from IEEE Spectrum provides a thoughtful and detailed description of the history and experience of riding roller coasters that incorporate VR. Note the explicit mentions of presence, beginning in the 8th paragraph; the original story includes another image, two videos and the sidebar “Virtual Reality Rollercoasters You Can Ride Now! (or Soon).” –Matthew] [Image: Source: Los Angeles Times] Virtual Reality Roller Coasters Are Here (and Everywhere) The U.K.’s Alton Towers, which opens its Galactica ride this week, is one of more than a dozen amusement parks that are giving old rides new life with VR By Kristen Clark…

[Here’s another clever technique for creating immersive, literally photo-realistic presence-evoking virtual environments; the story from Road to VR includes more images, and a 3:06 minute video titled “This is Not a Live Action Video, This is a VR Scene from Realities.io” is available on YouTube. For more coverage, see the Just A/VR Show. –Matthew] Inside ‘Realities’ Jaw-droppingly Detailed Photogrammetric VR Environments By Ben Lang – Mar 11, 2016 Realities wants to transport viewers to exciting places across the globe in ways that are much more immersive than the single, flat vantage point of a 360 degree photo or video.…

[What is said to be the world’s first permanent VR theater has opened, as detailed in this story from VentureBeat; the original includes more images and a 1:40 minute video; coverage in Architectural Digest identifies the initial offerings: “Moviegoers have the option, for example, of watching In Your Face, a film specifically developed for the VR Cinema. The movie looks at the moral dilemma of the Syrian refugee crisis and asks viewers what they would do if a refugee showed up at their door, unannounced. There are lighter options, too. Invasion! is an animated film featuring a rabbit and a…

[Designing presence experiences for older people, as with any demographic, has both challenges and potential benefits. This story is from the Wall Street Journal’s Experts blog; the image comes from a November 11, 2015 press release via Hypergrid Business about the Honor 360 program, which brings “National Memorials to those aging and disabled military veterans who cannot make the trip.” –Matthew] [Image: Veteran with Google Cardboard headset (Image courtesy Veterans United Foundation)] How Virtual Reality Can Enhance the Life of Older Adults By Marc Agronin Mar 21, 2016 Marc E. Agronin is a geriatric psychiatrist at Miami Jewish Health Systems…

[In a widely praised TED Talk last month Microsoft’s Alex Kipman said “I believe our children’s children will grow up in a world devoid of two-dimensional technology… I can see holographical telepresence in our future.” This story is from IndustryWeek; there’s no video of the talk yet but for more background, see an insider’s post in the Reality Prime blog. –Matthew] [Image: From GeekWire] Augmented Reality Looks to a Future Without Screens Still in development, the Microsoft HoloLens and other augmented reality devices could send our desktops, laptops, tablets and even smartphones into the Dumpster of irrelevancy. Feb 19, 2016…

[This story from Polygon identifies a depressing use of presence (which is referenced by name multiple times), and a few ideas for countering it. Even investigating the phenomenon is challenging – despite the positive intentions I wonder about the ethics of conducting the described ‘experiment’ with an ‘unsuspecting woman.’ –Matthew] [Image: Source: GDC on Flickr] Online harassment in virtual reality is ‘way, way, way worse’ — but can devs change that? Can the problem of bullying in the virtual world be stopped before it gets bad? By Allegra Frank on Mar 16, 2016 Patrick Harris of Minority Media (Papo and…

[Presence can be used to make political statements, as described in this story from Polygon; the original story includes both of the mentioned videos, the second of which features audio from John Oliver’s recent effective and entertaining takedown of Trump, which is available on YouTube. –Matthew] Donald Trump and Adolf Hitler star in what may be virtual reality’s first political cartoon It’s not subtle, but it shows the promise of VR to make a point By Ben Kuchera on Mar 15, 2016 Tilt Brush is a virtual reality painting and sculpture program that allows people to create images in three…

[Here is a vivid and ultimately sad reminder that (in this case social) presence has a long history; the story is from Atlas Obscura and features more images. –Matthew] [Image: A close-up of the Euphonia. The Euphonia’s face was impressively realistic but was reported to look very unsettling while in motion. (Photo: Public Domain)] Text-To-Speech in 1846 Involved a Talking Robotic Head With Ringlets Meet the Euphonia, a machine that boasted the ability to replicate human speech. by Addison Nugent March 09, 2016 On a summer day in 1846 at London’s grand Egyptian Hall, Joseph Faber unveiled one of the…

[BigScreen and other technologies like it may be the future of presence – shared virtual social experiences with “just as many possibilities as the real world”; the story from Upload includes more pictures. –Matthew] ‘BigScreen’ Lets You Share and Use Your Entire PC Desktop Inside VR by David Jagneaux March 11th, 2016 I was sitting on a couch in a comfortable and decadent penthouse-style apartment overlooking a beautiful city landscape at night time. The horizon was peppered with lights and buildings in the distance. In front of me was a floating flatscreen monitor, hovering at an angle below my neck,…

[This story suggests another likely-to-be-popular use of VR and presence, one reminiscent of the Lonesome Gal radio show from more than six decades ago. The story from RocketNews24 includes many more pictures.—Matthew] VR visit to Japanese swimsuit model’s apartment provides joy for dateless men on Valentine’s Day Ai Shinozaki, one of Japan’s hardest-working models, extends some VR hospitality. Casey Baseel Feb 15, 2016 Ai Shinozaki could probably make a comfortable living doing nothing more than smiling for the camera, seeing as how she covers the three Bs of the Japanese modeling world: baby-faced, busty, and (frequently) bikini-clad. Nevertheless, the 23-year-old Tokyo…

[This article from The Guardian highlights the challenges and potential of using emerging technologies to deepen our experience of presence in the performing arts. –Matthew] [Image: Stuck in the Middle With You, a new virtual reality dance production commissioned by Acmi and Sydney Dance Company. Photograph: Wendell Levi Teodoro] Audience takes centre stage in pioneering virtual reality dance film Acmi join forces with Sydney Dance Company for an immersive film that combines choreography with virtual reality, allowing the audience to view the production from all angles Jana Perkovic Monday 7 March 2016 How do you capture a stage show on…

[This story presents a vivid example of how presence experiences can be intense and impactful. It’s from VICE’s Munchies channel, where it includes additional images and related links. More coverage is available from NPR and The Huffington Post UK, the latter authored by the executive director of iAnimal. The interactive 7:13 minute video is available via the link in the story below and on YouTube. By the way, this story makes me glad I’m a vegetarian. –Matthew] This Virtual Reality Slaughterhouse Could Turn You Vegetarian By Charles Parkinson March 8, 2016 Bleeding animal carcasses, piglets torn from their mothers, and…