[From Singularity Hub] Second Life Founder, Philip Rosedale, Is Quietly Creating a Next-Generation Virtual World Written By: Jason Dorrier Posted: 11/12/13 In Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, humanity escapes a gritty dystopia by donning VR goggles and entering a virtual world called OASIS. Back here in a comparatively rosy 2013, we don’t have a fully immersive virtual experience—yet. But virtual reality is undergoing a renaissance. And while Oculus develops a consumer-ready virtual reality headset, Second Life creator, Philip Rosedale, and his latest startup, High Fidelity, are hard at work constructing a next-generation global virtual world.…

[From BuzzFeed; a 1:56 minute promotional video (NSFW) is available on MediaFire; apologies for the self-promotion but for more on this topic see the journal Human Technology] It Finally Happened: There Is An Oculus Rift Sex Simulator Welcome to 2013. NSFW video inside. Over the weekend, in Tokyo, the group VR Japan hosted an Oculus Rift Game Jam. These events, which are common in countries where developers have access to early versions of the headworn virtual reality display, are occasions for creative thinking about ways to apply the Oculus to generate immersive new gaming experiences. In that spirit, someone at…

[From The Scientist, which features a linked a photo gallery that can be found here; for more of Danny Quirk’s art find him on MEDinART, Behance and Facebook] Dissection via Paintbrush An artist uses latex body paint to bring anatomical structures to life By Tracy Vence | October 31, 2013 Getting to know the complex anatomical structures that make up the human body can be both fascinating and frightening. The thought of examining cadavers at close range is enough to send some potential anatomists running. Even for the non-squeamish, few outside of the medical profession can access this all-important learning tool.…

[A first-person account of presence and its aftermath, from the Guardian] I swapped my world for a virtual one – and I loved what I found Oculus Rift is a brilliant piece of kit that has huge potential for the future of gaming and education Lucy Prebble The Observer, Saturday 9 November 2013 We were supposed to have virtual reality by now. We knew from fiction what it would look like, the wrongs it would bring. For ages we seemed on the edge of a self-imposed Matrix or as much creepy, blobby lovemaking as we wanted, as in The Lawnmower…

[From NPR, where the story features an audio version too] [Image: “Sandy,” a sign-waving mannequin, helps bring in customers to a Los Angeles smoke shop.] There’s A New Kind Of Sign Spinner In Town by Alex Schmidt October 16, 2013 Want to get cash for gold, buy furniture, find a tanning salon or rent an apartment? You could look those things up online, but in many cities if you just drive around, you probably won’t have to go far before you see a person spinning a giant sign that will point you in the right direction. Or maybe you’ve just…

[From Neurogadget, where you can watch the 4:56 minute video] Mind-controlled virtual reality system combines the forces of Emotiv EPOC, Oculus Rift and Razer Hydra By Neurogadget; November 7, 2013 This awesome VR project combines the forces of three sophisticated gadgets to take mind-controlled virtual reality to the next level. Use your mind to move around with the Emotiv EPOC brain-interface, look around with the Oculus Rift 3D headset, and move your hands to interact with virtual objects holding the Razer Hydra gaming controller.…

[From Motherboard, where the story features a 10:21 minute video; the discussion at the end in particular refers to presence, even though the term itself isn’t used] How to Use Virtual Reality to Replicate Psychosis By Alejandro Tauber November 5, 2013 In 2005, artist Jennifer Kanary’s sister-in-law committed suicide while suffering from a psychotic episode. This event led Kanary to develop Labyrinth Psychotica, an experience designed to give people more insight into how it feels to suffer through psychosis. Users are strapped into virtual reality gear and transported into the mind of a psychotic girl named Jamie. The whole experience…

[From Syracuse University News] Art Meets Technology in Newhouse M.I.N.D. Lab Friday, November 1, 2013   By SU News Art meets technology in pioneering ways in a new facility opening Monday, Nov. 4, in the AXA Equitable Tower, located in downtown Syracuse on the Connective Corridor. Newhouse M.I.N.D. Lab is debuting its new world-class research and design center, featuring large-format new media technology and visualization space, augmented reality, 3D computer graphics and human computer interaction. SU Arts Engage is opening co-located new community performance space, combining physical expression, such as dance and theater, with the world of 3D projection and virtual…

[This is terrible news, both personally and professionally. From the Stanford Daily] [Image: Courtesy of Linda A. Cicero] Clifford Nass, communication professor, dies at 55 By Ileana Najarro November 4, 2013 Clifford Nass, professor of communication and director of the Communication Between Humans & Interactive Media (CHIMe) Lab, died of a heart attack this weekend at age 55. James Fishkin, chair of the Communication Department, said Nass was attending the Stanford Faculty and Staff Program of the Stanford Sierra Camp when the fatal heart attack occurred. Fishkin added that the news came as a shock. “He was a force of…

[From Gamasutra, where the post includes a picture] [Image: Wikipedia] Do We Need 4K Resolution For Immersive Virtual Reality? by Ivan Blaustein on 10/29/13 The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community. The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company. Oculus HD and Beyond Shortly after shipping 10,000 developer kits, the folks at Oculus announced that they had made an HD Prototype of the Rift that has a 5? screen and a resolution of 1920 x 1080. Oculus set up a booth at the…

[It’s all about social realism and the suspension of disbelief! From the Nerdist blog; watch the trailer here] HELL NO: The Sensible Horror Film by Kyle Anderson on October 17, 2013 It’s being hailed as “the most realistic horror movie ever.” Why? Because the characters in it aren’t stupid and don’t put themselves in dumb situations. This hilarious short/faux movie trailer from director Joe Nicolosi shows us every single scenario we’ve ever seen in scary movies, and then it shows the people involved actually doing the things we’ve been yelling at the screens since there have been movies that are…

[From Fast Company’s Co.CREATE blog, where the story includes more pictures] Your Halloween Is Sorted With These Gory, iPhone-Enabled Costumes From An Ex-NASA Engineer If you’ve got a smartphone and 30 bucks, you no longer have an excuse for not having a killer Halloween costume. By Dan Solomon October 9, 2013 Mark Rober was just your average mechanical engineer for NASA, working for seven years helping to build the Mars Rover, when he finally found his true passion: Halloween costumes. In 2011, Rober figured out that, with FaceTime, he could create one of the grislier costumes the human mind had…