[From Engadget, where the story includes more pictures] The first live VR broadcast brought the beach to my backyard By Richard Lawler | January 26th 2015 On Saturday morning in Ann Arbor, Michigan, it was about 30 degrees outside, but I was in my backyard enjoying a 75-degree day at the beach. That’s only possible because I was testing out the first attempt at streaming virtual reality from one place to another — in this case from Laguna Beach, California, to a Samsung Gear VR headset strapped to my head. Thanks to technology from the folks at Next VR, I…

[From International Business Times, where the story includes more images and a 0:55 minute video] [Image: Brand Killer blocks ads in real time from the wearer’s point of view using a DIY augmented reality headset] Brand Killer: Augmented reality goggles create real-world AdBlock By Anthony Cuthbertson January 23, 2015 A new use for augmented reality headsets has been developed by students in the US using software that blocks brand’s logos in the real world. Brand Killer was designed and built by undergraduates at the University of Pennsylvania and uses similar technology to other virtual reality and augmented reality headsets, such…

[From The New York Times, where the story includes an additional image] [Image: A scene from the Millions March protest. Credit VICE] Vice Uses Virtual Reality to Immerse Viewers in News By Emily Steel January 23, 2015 A young woman stands in the middle of a crowd of protesters marching up a New York City street, shouting that she is fed up with police brutality, fed up with people saying that black lives don’t matter, fed up with people telling her not to be angry. “My people don’t deserve this,” she yells, inches away from your face. “We have right…

[From PSFK, where the story includes more images] Virtual Reality May Enable Us to Eat Anything Without Regret Project Nourished aims to reduce obesity and food related illnesses with substitute foods and virtual tricks of the mind By Kiran Umapathy on January 22, 2015 In a creative new use of technology, Los Angeles-based Kokiri Lab is in the development stages of what it calls a gastronomical virtual reality experience. The idea, called Project Nourished, would replicate foods high in calories with substitutes, while the eater experiences a virtual reality where they consume the originally desired food items. Interestingly, the idea…

[Coverage of Microsoft’s demonstration of its new Hololens technology is all over the web today; this detailed description is from The Verge, where the story includes more pictures, a 3:56 minute video report, and Microsoft’s 2:12 minute concept video] Up close with the HoloLens, Microsoft’s most intriguing product in years Welcome to the age of holographs By Dieter Bohn and Tom Warren on January 21, 2015 We just finished a heavily scripted, carefully managed, and completely amazing demonstration of Microsoft’s HoloLens technology. Four demos, actually, each designed to show off a different use case for a headset that projects holograms…

[From Southern Methodist University] Teen girls report less sexual victimization after virtual reality assertiveness training Study participants in the “My Voice, My Choice” program practiced saying “no” to unwanted sexual advances in an immersive virtual environment Posted on January 20, 2015 By Margaret Allen Teen girls were less likely to report being sexually victimized after learning to assertively resist unwanted sexual overtures and practicing resistance in a realistic virtual environment, finds a new study. The effects persisted over a three-month period following the training, said clinical psychologist Lorelei Simpson Rowe, lead author on the pilot study from Southern Methodist University,…

[From VentureBeat, where the story includes an additional image; for more coverage see the San Francisco Business Times] Oculus Rift gets more virtual reality porn with Red Light Center January 15, 2015 Dean Takahashi Adult entertainment and technology have gone hand in hand throughout history. That’s why Utherverse Digital is announcing today that its 3D animated virtual world, RedLightCenter.com, will soon run on the Oculus Rift virtual reality platform. RedLightCenter.com is an X-rated world where players can engage in virtual sex and all sorts of other adult fun. It has been around for more than a decade, but with version 2.0,…

[From Fast Company, where the story includes another picture] Inside The NBA’s Plan To Give Every Fan A (Virtual Reality) Courtside Seat In February, the league will begin serving up 360-degree video on Samsung’s Milk VR. But it’s already thinking much bigger. By Jason Feifer January 5, 2015 The NBA has a problem of its own making: It has spent years and many millions of dollars fostering international basketball fandom, and now has large and enthusiastic bases in places like China and India. But most far-flung viewers only know the NBA as a television show. They will never be inside…

[From Toyota, where the press release includes another photo and a 1:15 minute video] New Driving Simulator from Toyota TeenDrive365 Uses Oculus Rift to Bring Dangers of Distracted Driving To Life Marks the First Time Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Technology Is Being Used to Educate The Public about Safe Driving January 14, 2015 DETROIT – Today at the Detroit Auto Show, Toyota launched its new TeenDrive365 distracted driving simulator with Oculus Rift, marking the first time the virtual reality technology is being used to educate the public – teens and parents alike – about the dangers of distracted driving. A…

[From Road to VR, where the story includes more pictures and a 5:50 minute video] Visionary VR is Reinventing Filmmaking’s Most Fundamental Concept to Tell Stories in Virtual Reality January 5, 2015 by Ben Lang Several of the founders of the VRLA Meetup are today launching Visionary VR, a technology and content development studio which is reinventing the language of filmmaking for effective storytelling in virtual reality. The frame. It’s a simple, but incredibly powerful concept within the world of filmmaking, one that has endured for film’s history of more than 100 years. The frame is the edge of the screen,…

[From The Creators Project blog, where the post includes more images] Giant Billboards Paint a Discordant Portrait of Mongolian Desertification By Emerson Rosenthal — Jan 13 2015 A large-scale museum diorama popped up in the Mongolian plains, challenging the unending ebb and flow of history by making apparent the borders between the actual and the ideal. Created by Paris-based Korean photographer Daesung Lee, the giant billboard that anchors his Futuristic archaeology project is adorned with images of desertification in Mongolia—that is, the places where, due to environmental and human factors, the drying landscape is threatening centuries-old traditions. “Environmental changes directly…

[From Slashgear, where the story includes more pictures and a 2:48 minute video] Oculus Rift Crescent Bay hands-on with 3D Audio Chris Burns Jan 12, 2015 We entered the room Oculus VR had prepared for us not knowing exactly what we were in for. Not the Samsung Gear VR – surely not – that’s already nearly a consumer product. Instead, Oculus had a padded room ready for us. Not because the SlashGear team is ready for straight jackets, but because this demonstration required that we be in as quiet an environment as possible. This demonstration – of the newest Oculus…