[The technologies that provide people mediated experiences of cultural artifacts that do or did exist are evolving quickly, raising all kinds of interesting issues and questions; this column from The Conversation (which includes a 3:00 minute video) highlights some of them and would be a good starting point for a larger discussion. –Matthew] [Image: Virtual history. Cyark/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY] Museums are using virtual reality to preserve the past – before it’s too late July 14, 2015 Jenny Kidd, Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies at Cardiff University Cultural institutions are steeped in history and tradition, but they are also…

[This article from TechRepublic focuses on the uses of presence technology to both separate and connect people in the workplace; I think the Breakroom VR application by MureVR is particularly interesting; you can watch a 6:13 minute video about it on YouTube. –Matthew] From privacy to productivity: A look at how virtual reality could change the way we work Businesses someday getting on board with virtual reality will need to do some self-examination. Various VR tools are aimed at reclaiming productivity and improving interactions. By Erin Carson July 14, 2015 The fabled “promise” of virtual reality is expansive. At its…

[It’s hard to imagine effectively addressing the research questions in this story from E&T about how people will respond to new transport technologies without evoking (tele)presence; for first-hand details and four short videos, see coverage in oneMK. –Matthew] Virtual reality floor unleashes Oculus Rift in Milton Keynes 16 June 2015 By Tereza Pultarova Milton Keynes-based Transport Systems Catapult has installed an advanced virtual reality system to test how pedestrians react to driverless cars in a safe environment. The system uses the Oculus Rift headset, Optotrak’s motion tracking technology and a special floor that allows the user to move and walk…

[This is a nice primer on the current and possible future impacts of VR and presence on the travel industry; it’s from Bloomberg and includes lots of images. –Matthew] [Image: Thomas Cook hired Visualise VR specialists to capture 360 videos of Greece. Source: Thomas Cook Group via Bloomberg] How Oculus and Cardboard Are Going to Rock the Travel Industry As advertisers jump on VR, it may just be a matter of time before you can rack up air miles, virtually by Jennifer Parker June 19, 2015 Holy cow. My feet are planted firmly beneath me, but somehow I’m stepping into…

[The implications of this work for presence and beyond are the stuff of science fiction; the story is from New Scientist. –Matthew] Animal brains connected up to make mind-melded computer July 2015 by Jessica Hamzelou Two heads are better than one, and three monkey brains can control an avatar better than any single monkey. For the first time, a team has networked the brains of multiple animals to form a living computer that can perform tasks and solve problems. If human brains could be similarly connected, it might give us superhuman problem-solving abilities, and allow us to communicate abstract thoughts…

[This application of VR could bring a planetarium’s entertaining and educational real-time, communal immersive experience to people around the world. I wonder if the inputs could eventually be live from an earth-based or even orbiting telescope… This story is from Astronomy Now and more details are in the press release from the Royal Astronomical Society. –Matthew] [Image: An image of the sky above Edinburgh made using Stellarium open-source planetarium software. Users of the new headset will see a similar image, but will be totally immersed in the view. Image credit: A. Lawrence.] Royal Astronomical Society’s National Astronomy Meeting 2015 –…

[A virtual job interview helps veterans and others get jobs – the study mentioned in this story from Motherboard (which includes more images and a 19:49 minute video) doesn’t refer explicitly to presence but it seems likely to play a role (the study is available here). -Matthew] Virtual Reality Interview Training Helped Veterans With PTSD Get Job Offers Ben Richmond, Contributing Editor June 30, 2015 Job interviews are stressful for anyone, but for people who are prone to anxiety, or who have been diagnosed with PTSD or mental illness, they can be nightmares. That’s why a software company has built…

[It’d be interesting to compare people’s reactions to watching this video of a aerial views of Wimbledon, controlling the view on a smartphone or tablet, being immersed in the experience with Google Cardboard and using the even more immersive setup at Waterloo Station. The story below is from Sport Techie and includes the 2:29 minute video; details about the Waterloo setup (pictured) are in coverage from VR Scout. –Matthew] Stella Artois Gives Viewers A Hawk’s-Eye-View In Virtual Reality Wimbledon Ad July 5, 2015 Rufus the Hawk probably has a better view of the Wimbledon action than any person paying the…

[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…