[From Wired, where the story includes more images and a 4:14 minute video about Project Syria] [Image: A still from Perspective; Chapter 1: The Party, in which viewers can experience both roles in a date rape story] VR Films Are Going to Be All Over Sundance in 2015 By Angela Watercutter 12.04.14 Next month, a giant industry gathering is going to be flooded with virtual-reality experiences: the Birdly flight simulator; something that lets users confront a kaiju attack; an Oculus Rift-enabled spin on combat training; even a VR installation that lets you go to a college party. But this isn’t…

[Anyone interested in telepresence should watch the short (3:28 minute) video “The Revered Gaze,” which explores the history of our use of technology to create immersive and inspiring experiences. It’s the latest (December 4, 2014) installment of Shots of Awe, a web series in which host Jason Silva “freestyles his way into the complex systems of society, technology and human existence and discusses the truth and beauty of science in a form of existential jazz.” Note also the link to Alison Griffiths’ 2008 book Shivers Down Your Spine: Cinema, Museums, and the Immersive View. As always, you can post your…

[From Fast Company’s Co.Design, where the story includes a photo gallery and a 3:54 minute video; for more coverage, see Technobob and The Washington Post] Crazy Project Will Let You Hijack A Human And See The World Through His Eyes Have an adventure without ever leaving your house. Mark Wilson December 1, 2014 Walk into that market. Take a look around. Ooh, what are those strange spikey fruits? Walk up to them and give ‘em a sniff. How do they smell? Like feet? Awesome. Ask the lady what they cost. 588 yen? That’s…about $5? Okay, tell her you’ll take three,…

[From New Scientist, where the story includes a 0:48 minute video; more information including a longer video is available from the University of Bristol] Haptic holograms let you touch the void in VR December 1, 2014 by Chris Baraniuk Feeling is believing. A system that uses sound waves to project “haptic holograms” into mid-air – letting you touch 3D virtual objects with your bare hands – is poised to bring virtual reality into the physical world. Adding a sense of touch as well as sight and sound will make it easier to completely immerse yourself in VR. And the ability…

[From Harvard Business Review; for more information including a video, see the project page on the HCI Lab’s web site; a broader discussion see a recent article in Fair Observer] [Image: CTV News] Can Robots Be Managers, Too? James Young and Derek Cormier April 2, 2014 Robots are starting to enter homes as automatic cleaners, work in urban search and rescue as pseudo teammates that perform reconnaissance and dangerous jobs, and even to serve as pet-like companions. People have a tendency to treat such robots that they work closely with as if they were living, social beings, and attribute to…

[From The Creators Project blog, where the post includes more images] Interact with the Virtual Worlds of Teengirl Fantasy’s New EP By DJ Pangburn — Nov 18 2014 To coincide with the release of Teengirl Fantasy‘s new EP, THERMAL, out today on Break World Records, the digital agency 4REAL—composed of musician/hacker Slava and artist Analisa Teachworth—built four interactive virtual realities that they paired with each of the EP’s four tracks. The THERMAL website, which went live today, runs on WebGL, a web-based 3D graphics technology makes 4REAL’s four virtual worlds interactive. This allowed Slava and Teachworth to move the concept…

[From CNN’s Smart Business coverage; follow the link for a large photo gallery and three videos] [Image: A business conference can take in virtual tours in a range of settings.] A whole new world: 5 ways virtual reality can transform business By Kieron Monks November 25, 2014 (CNN) — A winter commute can seem far easier when the office is a Caribbean beach complete with lapping waves, a lilting calypso soundtrack, and no boss to bother you. The ability of virtual reality to transform worlds is not limited to gaming, and as excitement builds ahead of the launch of Oculus…

[An inspiring post-Thanksgiving story from Road to VR, where you’ll find more pictures] Dreamporte Needs Your Immersive Videos for Unique VR Education Program November 26, 2014 by Paul James Dreamporte is a non-profit organisation set up to help bring the wonders of the world to underprivileged children. But they need help to achieve their goal: your 360 degree or 3D videos. We asked co-founder of the project, Kelly Zhang, to tell us what Dreamporte is and why it matters.…

[From USA Today, where the story includes two other images and a 3:00 minute video report; more information about Santa HQ is available in a press release via Business Wire] [Image: From Let’s Play OC, where the post includes more information about Santa HQ in Orange County, California] Retailers use virtual technology to vie for sales Hadley Malcolm, USA TODAY November 24, 2014 A journey to the North Pole now includes selfies, ‘elf-ray’ vision and a passport. In a bid for more customers and ultimately more sales, shopping malls and retailers are making holiday shopping an interactive and virtual experience,…

[From The Telegraph; see also coverage of Stuart Turner’s appearance at WIRED2014 in Wired, where the story includes a 7:45 minute video, a longer article about him in Mancunian Matters, and his Robots and Cake blog] [Image: Stuart Turner operates the drone with a live video feed to his laptop. DAN ROWLANDS / MERCURY PRESS] Bedroom-bound quadriplegic develops drone to see the world Stuart Turner, who has spina bifida, uses head movements to pilot the camera-mounted flying device, thousands of miles from his Yorkshire home By Tom Brooks-Pollock, and agencies 25 Nov 2014 A quadriplegic man who is confined to…

[From The Verge, where the story includes a 3:31 minute video. A longer article in Billboard includes this analysis: “The illusion of ’being there’ or ‘presence’ is often invoked by VR enthusiasts. Did I feel like I was there? Not exactly. I felt like I was in the best movie theater of my life, though. The video resolution, sound and depth of field were remarkable. It took very little effort to suspend my disbelief.” ] Watch Paul McCartney perform in virtual reality with a new Android app By Adi Robertson on November 20, 2014 360-degree video company Jaunt is trying…

[From VICE Media, where you can watch a 0:47 minute trailer and the 32:47 minute program. For another status report on the topic see “When Porn and Virtual Reality Collide (NSFW)” from Gizmodo.] The Digital Love Industry: Investigating the Future of Love and Sex in the Digital Age ​Soon, virtual reality is going to crash into our lives in a way we never even imagined. Though dating and masturbating have long been commandeered by the web, it’s only been as a kind of middleman. Now we’re nearing the possibility of falling in love with your computer, as meeting your dream…