[VR can put people inside nearly any experience – here’s one that raises important issues for presence scholars and others; the story is from Gizmodo, where it features two animated gifs and a 2:00 minute video. For more information and a 3:51 minute video featuring Namco Bandai talking about his project, see coverage in Anime News Network. –Matthew] I Ogled a Schoolgirl in Sony’s Virtual Reality Sean Hollister 6/19/15 Yep, it’s creepy. Summer Lesson, a VR experiment for Sony’s Project Morpheus headset produced by Namco Bandai, is a powerful virtual reality experience. It’s also disturbing and awkward and, well, kind…

[We too often overlook the long history of attempts to use technology to transport and engage us (i.e., evoke (tele)presence). This is from the Long Beach Press-Telegram. –Matthew] [Image: The Velaslavasay Panorama is a little known theater in Los Angeles celebrating its 15th Anniversary. The 360 panorama landscape incorporates sound and light for shows like those popular in the days before film. Theater director Sara Velas stands in the circular venue. Photo by Robert Casillas / Daily Breeze] Los Angeles panorama theater offers quick trip to the Arctic with old art form By Richard Guzman, Press-Telegram Posted: July 1, 2015;…

[Retailers are working to take advantage of virtual reality’s ability to create presence experiences. This story is from Reuters; for a more general discussion see recent coverage in DIGIDAY. –Matthew] Virtual reality sweeps shoppers into new retail dimension Tue Jun 23, 2015 Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy and Lisa Richwine; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Lisa Shumaker A shopper in France gazes into a virtual reality headset and is transported to the bustle of a Manhattan street, then steps into a high-end boutique to browse crystal chandeliers, a chaise lounge draped with a sheepskin throw, and designer trousers. Virtual reality, the…

[This new educational interactive environment looks intriguing; the description is from Design I/O, where you can find a video and lots of images. For more information, see coverage in the New York Daily News  –Matthew] Connected Worlds An Interactive Connected Ecosystem Connected Worlds is a large scale immersive, interactive ecosystem developed for the New York Hall of Science. The installation is composed of six interactive ecosystems spread out across the walls of the Great Hall, connected together by a 3000 sqft interactive floor and a 45ft high waterfall. Children can use physical logs to divert water flowing across the floor…

[David Attenborough guides you on a virtual trip through space and time, to the oceans of early Earth, at London’s National History Museum this summer (through September 24); the detailed review below is from The Register; more information and a 1:13 minute trailer is available from Wired. –Matthew] Virtual reality below the prehistoric waves: David Attenborough’s First Life A trip back in time at the Natural History Museum 20 Jun 2015, Nigel Whitfield One way or another, Sir David Attenborough has been involved in the adoption of many key consumer technologies of recent decades, from the introduction of colour programming…

[A recent ISPR Presence News post was about developments in remote social presence in the context of sexuality; this one is about sexuality and medium-as-social-actor presence. The conclusion of the story from ExtremeTech is in line with Lombard & Jones (2013). For more information watch the 7:23 minute video from The New York Times and read a recent Reddit ask-me-anything with Matt McMullen. –Matthew] Artificial intelligence: Coming to a sexbot near you By Aaron Krumins on June 15, 2015 While the cynical among us knew it was only a matter of time before the rise of the sexbots, the partnering of…

[Exciting things are happening at Brown University; this story from The Boston Globe also includes a 2:43 minute video and a photo gallery. –Matthew] [Image: Brown University graphics systems programmer Ben Knorlein demonstrated a program called Hypercube, which teaches students about geometry of the fourth dimension. Gretchen Ertl for The Boston Globe] Brown University unveils 3D virtual-reality room By Amanda Katz, Globe Staff June 20, 2015 PROVIDENCE — In a darkened room, a group of people wearing 3-D glasses clustered around someone using a wand to draw a shape, a bit klutzily, in midair. As the virtual object grew, the…

[Aside from being interesting and engaging, presence technology that brings nature into our human-made environments can have therapeutic effects. This press release from Archinect features three more images; Sky Factory has more information and the aquarium videos, and another release at Archinect contains more information about Sky Factory products and the rationale for their effectiveness. –Matthew] [Image: Designed as a portal into larger underwater environments, eSea captures the therapeutic benefits of Heraclitean Motion, the familiar, yet random movement of living systems.] Sky Factory and the Tennessee Aquarium Make an ēSea™ Splash at the T. C. Thompson Children’s Hospital at Erlanger…

[One of the best uses of presence is to delight – here’s a great example; it’s from Projection Mapping Central, where you can watch the 3:04 minute video. –Matthew] Le Petit Chef: Projection Mapping on your Dinner Plate! Rajinder Sodhi May 27, 2015 Projection mapping could be coming to a restaurant near you! It’s always a treat to see designers go that extra mile to create beautiful projection mapping content and this piece is no exception. Filip Sterckx and Antoon Verbeek over at SkullMapping put on a wonderful show for their dinner guests. [Watch the video] to see the mini-chef…

[The Huffington Post story below is all about the possible evolution of theme parks as they incorporate the latest presence-evoking VR and AR technologies. For more on what Landmark is planning, see coverage in the Washington Post Innovations blog, and for a related story see this ISPR Presence News post from last month. –Matthew] Will the Next Great Theme Park Be On Your Face? Posted: 06/08/2015 By Noah J. Nelson As we’ve been watching the Virtual Reality market spin up over the past few years the spotlight has almost entirely been on hardware. When you consider that the first heavy-duty…

[Impressive how much can be accomplished, and how users adapt, when remote telepresence offers audio and visual channels and the ability to move but no haptics or teleoperation. This press release is from Indiana State University. –Matthew] [Image: Scott Kelemen (on iPad screen) participates in a nursing research presentation April 17, 2015 via a telepresence robot. (ISU/Rachel Keyes)] Robots give Jersey student, Oregon prof virtual presence at Indiana State June 3, 2015 Scott Kelemen had a busy few months during his final semester as an Indiana State University nursing student. He attended a research seminar, trained with human patient simulators…

[This AR art event in Long Beach, California is just an example of new ways we’ll be able to experience art via presence-evoking technology; the story is from the Long Beach Post and includes more images. –Matthew ] Smartphone Users Can Access Virtual, Open-Air Art Gallery in DTLB This Weekend By Asia Morris June 15 2015 Bryan Amburgey’s goal is to make Long Beach the first augmented city of the future using a technology called Augmented Reality (AR), where a smartphone’s camera can be used to see interactive digital images superimposed on top of the real world. “We are now…