By Cade MetzThe New York Times

Dawn Jewell recently treated a patient haunted by a car crash. The patient had developed acute anxiety over the cross streets where the crash occurred, unable to drive a route that carried so many painful memories.

So Jewell, a psychologist in Colorado, treated the patient through a technique called exposure therapy, providing emotional guidance as they revisited the intersection together.

But they did not physically return to the site. They revisited it through virtual reality.

Jewell is among a handful of psychologists testing a new service from a Silicon Valley startup called Limbix that offers exposure therapy through Daydream View, the Google headset that works in tandem with a smartphone.

It provides exposure in a way that patients feel safe, she said. We can go to a location together, and the patient can tell me what theyre feeling and what theyre thinking.

The service recreates outdoor locations by tapping into another Google product, Street View, a vast online database of photos that delivers panoramic scenes of roadways and other locations around the world. Using these virtual street scenes, Jewell has treated a second patient who struggled with anxiety after being injured by another person outside a local building.

The service is also designed to provide treatment in other ways, like taking patients to the top of a virtual skyscraper so they can face a fear of heights or to a virtual bar so they can address an alcohol addiction.

Backed by the venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, Limbix is less than 1 year old. The creators of its new service, including its chief executive and co-founder, Benjamin Lewis, worked in the seminal virtual reality efforts at Google and Facebook.

The hardware and software they are working with is still very young, but Limbix builds on more than two decades of research and clinical trials involving virtual reality and exposure therapy. At a time when much-hyped headsets like the Daydream and Facebooks Oculus are still struggling to find a wide audience in the world of gaming let alone other markets psychology is an area where technology and medical experts believe this technology can be a benefit.

As far back as the mid-1990s, clinical trials showed that this kind of technology could help treat phobias and other conditions, like post-traumatic stress disorder.

Traditionally, psychologists have treated such conditions by helping patients imagine they are facing a fear, mentally creating a situation where they can address their anxieties. Virtual reality takes this a step further.

We feel pretty confident that exposure therapy using VR can supplement what a patients imagination alone can do, said Skip Rizzo, a clinical psychologist at the University of Southern California who has explored such technology over the past 20 years.

Facing the trauma

Barbara Rothbaum helped pioneer the practice at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, and her work spawned a company called Virtually Better, which has long offered virtual reality exposure therapy tools to some doctors and hospitals through an older breed of headset. According to one clinical trial she helped build, virtual reality was just as effective as trips to airports in treating the fear of flying, with 90 percent of patients eventually conquering their anxieties.

Such technology has also been effective in treating post-traumatic stress disorder among veterans. Unlike treatments built solely on imagination, Rothbaum said, virtual reality can force patients to face their past traumas.

PTSD is a disorder of avoidance. People dont want to think about it, she said. We need them to be engaged emotionally, and with virtual reality, its harder for them to avoid that.

Now, headsets like Googles Daydream, which works in tandem with common smartphones, and Facebooks Oculus, the self-contained $400 headset that sparked the recent resurgence in virtual reality technologies, could bring this kind of therapy to a much wider audience.

Virtually Better built its technology for virtual reality hardware that sold for several thousands of dollars. Today, Limbix and other companies, including a Spanish startup called Psious, can offer services that are far less expensive. Limbix is beginning to offer its tools to psychologists and other therapists outside its initial test. The service is free for now, with the company planning to sell more advanced tools at some point.

After testing the Limbix offering, Jewell said it allowed patients to face their anxieties in more controlled ways than they otherwise could. At the same time, such a tool can truly give patients the feeling that they are being transported to a different locations at least in some cases.

Standing atop a virtual skyscraper, for instance, can cause anxiety even in those who are relatively comfortable with heights. Experts warn that a service like the one offered by Limbix requires the guiding hand of trained psychologists while still in development.

Limbix combines technical and medical expertise. One key employee, Scott Satkin, is a robotics and artificial intelligence researcher who worked on the Daydream project at Google. Limbix also works with its own psychologist, Sean Sullivan, who continues to run a therapy practice in San Francisco.

Sullivan is using the new service to treat patients, including a young man who recently developed a fear of flying, something that causes anxiety simply when he talks about it. Using the service alongside Sullivan, the young man, who asked that his name be withheld for privacy reasons spent several sessions visiting a virtual airport and, eventually, flying on a virtual plane.

In some ways, the young man said, the service is still less than perfect. Like the Street View scenes Jewell uses in treating her patients, some of this virtual reality is static, built from still images. But like the rest of the virtual reality market, these tools are still evolving toward more realistic scenes.

And even in its current form, the service can be convincing. The young man recently took a flight across the country here in the real world.

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BEING THERE: Virtual reality lets therapy patients return to the scene of their fear - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

UPS drivers preparing to get behind the wheel will soon be using virtual reality to do so.

The companys new VR training program will be rolling out next month at nine of the companys training facilities, simulating some of the uncertainties and challenges of delivering packages on city streets. Trainees will interact with the content using voice commands to identify obstacles while wearing headsets.

Virtual Reality offers a big technological leap in the realm of driver safety training, said UPS exec Juan Perez in a statement. VR creates a hyper-realistic streetscape that will dazzle even the youngest of our drivers whose previous exposure to the technology was through video games.

While companies like Walmart have signed onto programs with enterprise-focused startups like Strivr Labs, UPS will be building its training materials in-house.

Virtual reality may be a more immersive technology but, when done poorly, training videos can be just as unbearable as more traditional instructional materials. The big issue right now is that making custom, realistic VR content able to take advantage of everything the medium has to offer really isnt worth the effort.

Enterprise software companies could build (and some have) game engine-rendered content that allows you to move around and interact with the environment, but they often end up with dumpy PlayStation 1 graphics that wander too far from the real-world. Largely for this reason, most companies are opting for more realistic but less interactive 360 video.

While VR may not be as revolutionary as, say, drones to a company that ships packages across the globe, it can still be an effective tool for getting prospective employees ready before they get out on the job. Its also important because UPS drivers are a clear candidate for utilizing AR headsets in the future to more easily keep track of shipments hands-free while preparing for drop-offs and pick-ups.

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UPS is developing virtual reality tech to train its drivers - TechCrunch

The Notion of Reality

As technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), big data, 5G, and the internet of things (IoT) advance over the next generation, they will reinforce and spur one another. One plausible scenario is a physical world so enhanced by personalized, AI-curated digital content (experienced with what we today call augmented reality) that the very notion of reality is called into question.

Immersion can change how we interact with content in fundamental ways. For example, a fully immersive AR environment of the future, achieved with a wide-field-of-view headset and full of live content integrated with the built environment, would be intended by design to create in the user an illusion that everything being sensed was real. The evolution toward this kind of environment raises a host of ethical questions, specifically with attention to the AI that would underlie such an intelligent and compelling illusion.

When watching a movie, the viewer is physically separated from the illusion. The screen is framed, explicitly distinct from the viewer. The frame is a part of traditional art forms; from the book to the painting to the skyscraper, each is explicitly separated from the audience. It is bounded and physically defined.

But with digital eyewear, things change. Digital eyewear moves the distance of digital mediation from the screen (approximately 20 feet) to the human face, which is at zero distance, and almost eliminates the frame. It starts raising inevitable questions about what constitutes reality when much of ones sensory input is superimposed on the physical world by AI. At that stage of the technologys evolution, one could still simply opt out by removing the eyewear. Although almost indistinguishable from the physical world, that near-future world would still be clinging precariously to the human face.

The next step would be moving the source of the digital illusion into the human body a distance of less than zero through contact lenses, implants, and ultimately direct communication. At that point, the frame is long gone. The digital source commandeers the senses, and it becomes very hard to argue that the digital content isnt as real as a building on the corner which, frankly, could be an illusion itself in such an environment. Enthusiasts will probably argue that our perception is already an electrochemical illusion, and implants merely enhance our natural selves. In any case, opting out would become impractical at best. This is the stage of the technology that will raise practical questions we have never had to address before.

At that point, what is real? How much agency are we humans deprived of when we are making decisions based on AI-generated content and guidance that may or may not be working at cross-purposes to our needs? How would we even know? In the longer term, what happens to our desire to control our own lives when we get better outcomes by letting those decisions be made by AI? What if societal behavior became deliberately manipulated for the greater good, as interpreted by one entity? If efficiency and order were to supersede all other criteria as ideal social values, how could an AI-driven AR capability be dissuaded from manipulating individual behavior to those ends? What happens to individual choice? Is a person capable of being good without the option to be bad?

Perhaps the discussion surrounding the next generation of AI-informed AR could consider the possibility that the ethical questions change as the source of digital content gets closer to the human body and ultimately becomes a part of it. Its not simply a matter of higher-fidelity visuals. First, the frame disappears, which raises new questions of illusion and identity. Then, the content seems to come from within the body, which diminishes the possibility of opting out and raises further questions about agency and free will.

This combination of next-generation technologies might well find its ultimate expression after we have collectively engaged questions of philosophy and brought them right into the worlds of software development and corporate strategy.

Movies, advertising, and broadcasting have always been influential, but there was never a confusion between the content and the self as we will likely see in the next generation. Having these conversations about ethics and thinking through the implications of new technologies early in their development (i.e. right now) could help guide this remarkable convergence in a way that benefits humanity by modeling a world that reflects our best impulses.

Jay Iorio is the Innovation Director for the IEEE Standards Association.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author. They do not necessarily represent the views of Futurism or its affiliates.

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Will AI Blur the Lines Between Physical and Virtual Reality? - Futurism

by Stuart Tomlinson, KATU News

Whether its climbing mount Everest., floating around the International Space Station or taking a virtual tour of the White House, virtual reality expert Brandon Boone says there's never been a better time to jump into the virtual world. (KATU)

As the cost of virtual reality headsets continues to drop, the scope and magnitude of the available experiences is going up.

Whether it's climbing Mount Everest, floating around the International Space Station or taking a virtual tour of the White House, virtual reality expert Brandon Boone says there's never been a better time to jump into the virtual world.

Consider: the Occulus Rift VR headset dropped from about $700 last year to $400 right now.

"In virtual reality I can go climb Mount Everest and have the feeling of being high but at the same time knowing deep down in my mind that I'm not actually on Mount Everest," Boone said.

In addition to heart-pounding experiences, there is virtual reality software for meditation, sightseeing or just hanging out at the beach.

"People want to come right back into it as soon as they get out," Boone said.

Boone says virtual reality is not all fun and games. The devices are being used to train doctors, police officers and even sales people.

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Virtual Reality: Cost of viewing headsets goes down, number of experiences goes up - KATU

Prof Anneke Smelik says female artists need to start appropriating new technologies for their own storytelling. Photograph: Alamy

Virtual reality may be an industry in its infancy, but it is expected to generate $7.2bn (5.6bn) globally by the end of this year and be worth $150bn by 2020. Given that the technology is new and unlike much else in Silicon Valley, can it offer female creators the chance to start from and maintain a level playing field? Prof Anneke Smelik, an expert in visual culture at Radboud University in the Netherlands, believes the moment is ripe. Gaming, and VR generally, is considered very much a male genre, but female artists and filmmakers need to start appropriating new genres and technologies for their own storytelling, she says.

Why? Well, for one, the industrys biggest investments are being made in adrenaline-fuelled gaming experiences and pornography meaning that much of the content is dominated by men. In February, an extensive survey in the UK found that more men than women are likely to use VR; 20% said they had already, compared with 13% of women. Another study showed that two-thirds of women are not enthusiastic about trying VR.

It is not hard to see why: the tech world has a well-documented problem with sexism and virtual reality has yet to prove itself an inclusive space. Last year, gamer Jordan Belamire went viral after writing about being sexually assaulted online, highlighting questions of ethics, behaviour and consent in the virtual world, while Silicon Valley startup UploadVR faced a lawsuit over myriad claims, including gender discrimination and sexual assault suggesting that sexism in the industry has begun to infiltrate its content.

However, a number of female producers are determined to ensure that virtual reality will not share the same fate as other entertainment and tech sectors and are helping women reclaim the space by making content for and about women.

Independent filmmaker Jayisha Patel is one woman trying to exploit VRs potential. Her film Notes to My Father is a short documentary that explores the story of a human-trafficking survivor, an Indian woman named Ramadevi. When viewed through a headset, the perspective is chilling. One of the most harrowing scenes positions the viewer inside a train carriage full of men. In virtual reality, it is a vivid and uncomfortable depiction of what it is like to be the subject of the male gaze. I was trying to get the viewer to feel what its like being the only woman in the carriage and having all these men staring at you, hearing them adjust their belts, breathing heavily. You start to understand what its really like to be objectified, says Patel.

What I wanted to do with this film was not just use the female gaze in a story about sexual abuse, which is typically a womens issue, but use it to address the fact that men are often complicit in it and are instigators of it, she says. Doing stories about women is not just about showing empowered women on screen for a female audience, its also about showing vulnerability, so it can be a piece not just for a female audience, but for everyone. Here, the female gaze in virtual reality puts the viewer in the shoes of a character, offering an empathetic, sensory exploration of the female experience.

Another example of virtual reality that positions the viewer in a female space comes from producer and curator Catherine Allen. She runs a VRvirtual reality diversity initiative that tries to get more women to create virtual reality. Weve got this golden opportunity to make the VR space as inclusive and diverse as possible, but right now it is so male-dominated and the content reflects that. When I go on the Oculus store, Im hit by so many pieces that feel like theyre made by men, for men, she says.

Allen wanted to rectify this. Last year, she created No Small Talk, a VR talk show aimed at millennial women. Filmed in 360 degrees, it features presenter Cherry Healey and blogger Emma Gannon in a coffee shop chatting about everything from how to take photos with your smartphone to how it feels to suffer from anxiety. It feels like a visual podcast and is designed to make the viewer feel as if they are the third person at the table. We wanted to make it feel as though youre the quiet friend whos just sitting there and listening, says Allen.

The show was a step forward in creating virtual reality content that is accessible for female audiences, but it was not popular with everyone. Some of the male viewers we tested with just didnt get it. When women are having a conversation, men often describe it as gossip or chit-chat; it all sounds quite frivolous and unproductive. But when men are having a conversation, its described as discussion or deliberation or debate. We used this piece to really try to change that, by showing how women talk about big topics through everyday things, she says. It moves away from the thrill-seeking gimmick that so much virtual reality content is made up of these days.

Finding ways to amplify womens voices, stories and narratives is no mean feat, but virtual reality is starting to look like a positive space in which to execute those stories. Were still working out what virtual reality even is, how it fits into society and who experiences it, Allen says. I dont think it has more opportunity to expose people to womens stories than any other medium, but because, as an industry, it is newer we have a responsibility to help make it the most diverse form of entertainment it can be and one that can be reflective of society.

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How women are gaining ground in virtual reality - The Guardian

NOW: VR in Rockport Library

Amanda Hill, WCSH 7:16 PM. EDT August 14, 2017

Rockport Virtual Reality

ROCKPORT, Maine (NEWS CENTER) --While the internet and e-readers have taken away the necessity of a library, it's forced library directors to get creative; offering experiences you can't get from a smartphone.

"We've been sort of applying ourselves to different technologies and different things to make a library better for Rockport," said Ben Blackmon, the director of the Rockport Public Library.

Three weeks ago, the library installed a Virtual Reality system for patrons of any age.

"We've got a guided tour through the human vascular system, we've got some demos that let you walk around the Titanic," said Blackmon.

"It can facilitate experiences you wouldn't be able to have it any other way, specifically in STEM fields. It can take you to places you could never go, which is really neat, and we're going to hopefully use it to engage younger kids and the teen population, which is a little harder to grab."

2017 WCSH-TV

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When whales attack... in Virtual Reality - WCSH-TV

CNNand Volvo Cars USA will present the solar eclipse from multiple locations, coast to coast,in an immersive two-hour360 live-stream experiencestarting at 1PM ET on August 21, 2017.

The astronomical and historicvirtual reality event will be available all around the world in 4K resolution atCNN.com/eclipse, CNNs mobile apps, Samsung Gear VR powered by Oculus via Samsung VR, Oculus Riftvia Oculus Video and through CNNs Facebook page via Facebook Live 360.

"CNN'sEclipse of the Century"will allow users to witness the first total solar eclipse totraverse the United States for the first time in nearly 40 years. The live show, hosted byCNNs Space and Science CorrespondentRachel Craneand former NASA AstronautMark Kelly, will harness stunningimagery from specially-designed 4K 360 cameras, optimized for low-light, that will capture seven 'total eclipse'moments stretching from Oregon to South Carolina.

While only a fraction of the countrywill be able to witness thetotaleclipse in-person, CNN's immersivelivestream will enable viewers nationwideto "go there" virtually and experiencea moment in history, seven times over. The livestream will be enhanced by real-timegraphics, close-up views of the sun, and experts from the science communityjoining along the way to explain the significance of this phenomenon.

As part ofVolvos partnership with CNN, four of the sevenlive-streamswill feature brandedcontent produced by CNNs brand studio Courageous forVolvo and integrate 2018 Volvo XC60s specially outfitted with advanced 360 cameras. The groundbreaking live 360 content by Volvo will spotlight four influencers in different locations, sharing their unique perspective and excitement for the future as they witness the solar eclipse from helicopters and road tours along the narrow path of totality. For more on Volvos partnership with CNN centered on the 2017 total solar eclipse, visitwww.RacingTheSun.com.

Additionally, on television, CNNmeteorologistChad Myerswill explain the science behind the solar eclipse, its course and timing; and CNN correspondentAlex Marquardtwill profile the excitement around the historical event. CNN correspondents will report live from locations across the path of the solar eclipse, with Marquardt in Oregon for the start,Stephanie Elamin Missouri,Martin Savidgein Tennessee, andKaylee Hartungin South Carolina.

For more information visitCNN.com/eclipse, and tune in to experience the event on August 21, 2017 at 1pm ET.

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CNN and Volvo Present the Solar Eclipse in an Unprecedented 360 Virtual Reality Live-Stream - CNN (blog)

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VERNON -- It is "game on" in Vernon where two recent college grads have taken their idea to another dimension.

Matt McGivern and Joe Eilert lived across the hall from each other at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and were always avid gamers. These days the games they play are in virtual reality -- their new venture, Spark VR, opened in Vernon in May.

Spark showcases four bays (think indoor golf) where players can put elaborate headsets on and can immerse themselves in about 15 different games. McGivern, who works at Pratt and Whitney said"the technology has come such a long way in such a short period of time." Eilert, who works as an engineer by day at Electric Boat added, "you can fight zombies, swim with fish, or defend the castle, anything you want."

Both McGivern and Eilert bill Spark VR as the first virtual reality arcade in Connecticut and say the experience is a memorable one. "We love when people come in after using their little glasses at home because this blow their mind every time," McGivern said.

After demonstrating a zombie game called the Brookhaven Experiment, Eilert said, "the bigger picture is touse social virtual reality and see how far we can take it."

To learn more click here.

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Virtual Reality a real venture in Vernon - FOX 61

Chico >> Library patrons looking to escape reality now have more than just books to turn to for an adventure.

The Chico library now offers the opportunity to try the Oculus virtual reality headset, which the Butte County Library acquired through a virtual reality grant.

On Tuesday, about six people got acquainted with the headset during the second of three planned sessions this month to provide the community with a virtual reality experience.

During the program, participants played games such as Oculus First Contact and Blocks by Google. The games are meant to serve as an introduction on how to use the equipment and let people become acquainted to interacting with the system.

Library assistant Alex Chen said he wants people to keep an open mind about future possibilities on how the headset can be used.

Virtual reality can be an extremely interactive and immersive learning environment. Imagine traveling through your anatomy or stepping onto the International Space Station to learn how things operate. Ways to treat patients with posttraumatic stress disorder and anxiety orders are also being explored.

Most of the people at the library Tuesday said they couldnt wait for the Google Earth Virtual Reality game to be set up. The idea of being able to travel places anywhere in the world, places they otherwise would not have been able to go to, thrilled them.

The library will be hosting another virtual reality session 12:30-2 p.m. Aug. 29, for people 13 years or older. From there, the hope is to bring the headset out once a week and incorporate it in the new makerspace that should be completed later this year.

For more information visit buttecounty.net/bclibrary.

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Virtual reality experience offered at Chico library - Chico Enterprise-Record

Running until Sunday, 27 August, the idea is to use virtual reality (VR) technologies to bring to life the history of Colossus the first electronic computer.

The web and mobile company Entropy Reality, which specialises in advanced content management using Ruby on Rails, iOS, Android, Windows, HTML5 and more, is based in the Bletchley Park Science and Innovation Centre.

It has worked with the management at the Bletchley Park museum to create a virtual reality experience in the Colossus and Tunny galleries, where users can walk around the galleries and immerse themselves in the story of how code breakers shortened the Second World War by unravelling Lorenz, the most complex enemy cipher, used in communications by the German High Command.

Margaret Sale, a trustee at the NMC, said the VR experience is astonishingly good and pushes the boundaries of current technology in homage to the worlds first computer. It brings a whole new dimension to the possibilities of computer conservation and for the outreach display of Museum artefacts, she said.

Eddie Vassallo, CEO of Entropy Reality, described the challenge of creating the VR representation of Colossus. Its size and detail are mind-blowing in real life, he said.

For the virtual world, we required massive servers to process its 65 million points of data. Each shot took 31 hours to process and export. Then we had the huge post-production task of stitching together all our images and deploy various tricks of the trade, just like a magician, to make sure the viewer looks where we want them to.

The National Museum of Computing, Summer Bytesspecial opening times are from Thursdays to Sundays from 12 noon to 5pm, until 27 August.

You can view the full details of opening times and guided tours over the next few weeks.

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Picture of the Day: Summer Bytes presents Colossus in virtual reality - Electronics Weekly (blog)

The Stanford Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is hosting its third-annual Innovations in Psychiatry and Behavioral Health conference on the Stanford campus at the Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledge at Stanford, CA on October 6 and 7.

The main focus of the conference will be using virtual and augmented reality as applied to treating anxiety, addiction, psychosis, pain, depression, PTSD, psychosomatic illness and other psychological disorders.

Speakers this year include Walter Greenleaf, Giuseppe Riva, Skip Rizzo, Pat Bordnick, JoAnn Difede, Diane Gromala, Hunter Hoffman, David Thomas, Jacob Ballon, Kim Bullock, Tom Caruso, Anne Dubin, Kate Hardy, Hadi Hosseini, Alan Louie, Sean Mackey, Elizabeth McMahon, Laura Roberts, Sam Rodriguez, Nina Vasan and Leanne Williams, among others.

Stanford is also putting out a call for VR Poster Abstracts due August 21, 2017 and Brainstorm VR Innovation Lab Entries, which are due September 1, 2017. You can submit your abstracts and ideas on the Stanford Medicine website.

For more information about the conference and to register, please visit the official Innovations in Psychiatry and Behavioral Health: Virtual Reality and Behavior Change site.

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Stanford Hosting Innovations In Psychiatry And Behavioral Health: Virtual Reality And Behavior Change Conference - UploadVR

In a world where borders seem to be valued more than pathways, we are hindered in the pursuit of not just physical liberalities, but mental ones as well. Forming walls around creative expression itself, Donald Trump and his travel bans have constricted many individuals of their freedoms, including Ash Koosha, the Iranian-born London-based music producer and virtual reality advocate that scheduled a United States tour far before the travel bans went into action. When one door was shut, a whole world of possibilities opened. The minds behind TheWaveVR set out to collaborate with Ash Koosha, creating a virtual concert where boundaries are dissolved into a fusion of psychedelically inspired audio and visual synesthesia to audiences currently restricted from seeing the performance. Watch the trailer below to witness a sneak peak of the groundbreaking show.

TheWaveVR CCO and Co-Founder Aaron Lemke stated, There are no borders inside VR. Weve been working hard to develop a community thats both positive and inclusive, where all are welcome. Soon artists will be able to use our platform to reach all their fans at once, and these physical, man-made boundaries wont have so much power. Ash Koosha, a rebellious political activist in nature, was imprisoned and blacklisted by his home country for creating rock music and films. Wanting to push beyond the boundaries of governmental legislation,VR allows an inimitable gateway to deeper dimensions of Ashs vision, interweaving art and sound with infinite frontiers.Virtual reality has pioneered an era of mankind where we can connect to each other in an authentically impactful way, regardless of your location.

The show, titled AKTUAL, debuts on TheWaveVR concert platform on August 16 at 7pm pacific time, when fans with an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift can be transported to the show to interact as avatars in a shared virtual space in real-time. Ash Koosha will be manipulating both the music and visuals from London, all done in his HTC Vive virtual reality headset, transporting each viewer into the live TheWaveVRs virtual realm. TheWaveVR platform is in pursuit to redefine what live concerts can be, pushing the political, artistic, and musical agenda of our current reality.

The show will be streaming on TheWaveVRs Facebook page and Twitch page live.

TheWaveVR is the worlds first interactive music concert platform in VR and is currently in beta on Steam Early Access.

Connect with Ash Koosha: Instagram | Twitter | Soundcloud

Connect with TheWaveVR: Instagram | Twitter| Facebook

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Ash Koosha x TheWaveVR Host Live Virtual Reality Concert Beyond Political Borders - EARMILK (blog)

By Peter Funt | August 14, 2017 | 3:30 p.m.

Will football someday become the worlds first virtual professional sport?

With the NFLs preseason underway, high school and college players back on the practice fields, and tens of thousands of fantasy leagues conducting their annual drafts, lets put the question another way:

Which will happen first: the collapse of the NFL due to a shortage of players willing to risk injury? Or the development of computer-based football so compelling and unpredictable that it actually replaces the pro game loved by millions of fans?

For now, both scenarios seem far fetched but somethings gotta give. Football is being jolted as never before by both scientific and anecdotal evidence about the effects of repeated blows to the head.

What could the long-term future possibly be for a sport in which, for example, 40 former pros conduct a charity golf tournament (in California this summer) to raise money for research on traumatic brain injuries?

For a game in which more than 2,000 women turn to a Facebook page devoted to the health consequences faced by their loved ones employed as pro players?

The Federation of State High School Associations tabulates that participation in football has fallen for the fourth straight year with the latest seasonal drop totaling roughly 26,000 players. If the pipeline of human pro players eventually dries up, perhaps replacements will emerge from computer labs.

In fact, pro football has been inching toward virtual status for more than three decades. The crude computer efforts of the early 1980s, developed by companies such as Nintendo, have evolved into modern, high-definition versions so life-like that they are played by many NFL pros in their spare time.

The NFL has enthusiastically supported this in large part because of the license fees, but also, I believe, with an eye toward the future. The league also backs fantasy football, which continues to grow in popularity as more and more fans create and manage their own teams in computer-based leagues.

The problem, of course, is that computer games and fantasy leagues depend, at least for now, on real players and real on-field results. But that might someday change.

Consider what two of my acquaintances one a former pro player, the other an armchair fanatic say when asked about the state of football today.

The fan explains that he never goes to games anymore theyre too expensive, too rowdy and, moreover, not as enjoyable as watching on a large-screen, high-def television. He prefers a comfy chair, with reasonably priced snacks at hand and a computer propped on his lap to track multiple fantasy squads.

The former pro explains that if the average fan were ever to stand on the field during an NFL game he would be so sickened by the sounds of collisions and screams of pain that he would cease loving the sport. What you see on TV, he adds, are guys in helmets and pads looking very much like avatars in a video game.

Football is the only sport in which you can watch a player for several seasons yet very possibly have no clue whatsoever about what he looks like in person.

To my mind, these two insightful fellows are describing the foundation for totally virtual football. The NFL could control it, the networks would cover it, and gamblers might even support it.

Given the pace at which computer science is advancing, a truly equivalent virtual game can likely be crafted in a decades time.

Personally, Im finding it increasingly difficult to rationalize my passion for a sport that is so clearly proving to cause lifelong suffering for its participants. Im tired of all the dirty looks from my wife as she wonders why I so stubbornly support this game.

Ive grown used to getting the scores and stats from Siri and Alexa. I suppose Id be willing to have their colleagues play the game as well.

Peter Funt is a writer, speaker and author of the book, Cautiously Optimistic. He is syndicated by Cagle Cartoons and can be contacted at http://www.candidcamera.com. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.

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Peter Funt: Is Football's Future a Virtual Reality? - Noozhawk

GOSHEN The monthly Creative Kids Day occurred Saturday at the Old Bag Factory in Goshen, offering stimulating activities from molding clay and exploring virtual reality to mixed media projects and more.

On the main level, Mark Goertzen, of Goertzen Pottery, had his pottery wheel spinning while he molded small clay cups. In the entry sat a table, a little lower for younger artists, with clay ready to work and mold.

"We have clay available for them to build to their own imagination," said Goertzen. "So we've had people making turtles. Someone did a pinch pot, and there have been other creatures made today. It's mainly exploring how clay is wonderfully malleable that you can form into shapes and things, to your imagination's content. It's just trying to get kids' hands dirty, and making something on their own."

While children can be a little timid in their approach, Goertzen said that doesn't usually last long.

"Kids naturally gravitate to clay, because you can just pinch it into any form they want," he said. "There's no right way to do it, and so conversely there's no wrong way to do it, so you don't have to worry about messing up just get messy."

On the second level in the complex, the Elkhart Art League, Second Song, The Train Exhibit and the Robotics Club were ready to interact with curious kids.

"Today's project is charcoals on tar paper, tar paper art," said Vice President of the Elkhart Art League Ellen Ridenour. "You have to start out with a circle, and you can go from there."

A few shop fronts down, a shop front with massage chairs and a virtual reality setup drew inquisitive minds.

Josh Ridenour heads the monthly Robotics Club on site at the Old Bag Factory during the last Saturday of each month, from 10 a.m. to noon. Leading with the virtual reality headset, the projects of the club go beyond designing robotics and navigating digital realities.

"These kids, and a bunch of other kids, have built this computer, this 3-D printer set, and we're starting to get into virtual reality," said Josh.

The virtual reality program allows users to explore the surface of Mars on the Mars Rover, disassemble and reassemble a jet engine and tour the International Space Station. One of the programs Josh uses to demo new users is an underwater exploration, where the user is beneath the sea near a shipwreck, getting acquainted with the wildlife nearby.

"Every kid should have access to this stuff. We make it available to all kids so nobody is left behind," said Josh.

Creative Kids Day is a monthly event at the Old Bag Factory, taking place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. the second Saturday of each month.

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Creative Kids Day activities span clay to virtual reality - Goshen News

There are good signs that 2016 would really be the year that virtual reality will be adopted widely, or at the very least the year that people star to see the development of a continuously expanding base of consumers and use cases. In the education industry, virtual reality would revolutionize how students learn, and the reason is simple. VR is not just a technology, it is a medium. Moreover, it will not only educate students about the past but also prepare them for the future, in particular jobs.

In the old days, textbooks were the only teaching tools that are used in transporting students to foreign lands or the solar system. Computers and tablets opened more opportunities, and even some video games. Now, virtual reality is letting kids experience historical places and planets like never before. For educators, virtual reality offers not only a chance to free students from the confines of school desks, exams and rote memorization, but helps improve their learning, via active participation and experience.

Education has not changed for years when it comes to teaching methods and approaches. These days, millennials feel pretty much comfortable with online learning, doing research on the web and resorting to instructional videos and distance learning that is provided by video technology. Virtual reality is obviously the next trend that will revolutionize the industry. Some VR projects used in schools and higher educational institutions are already under way. Education and technology are interconnected and this synergy could transform the world that people live in. The contradictory phenomenon is that even though an early adopter of technology, education is also one of the last sectors that is fully transformed by it, because of institutional inertia and several other reasons.

Virtual headsets and platforms are the new tools to inspire creative learning. Furthermore, the technology creates a world of imagination, which could break the boundaries in traditional learning. Nevertheless, its adoption needs not just time and effort, but completely elaborated methods to adjust the technology for the purposes of learning. Virtual game-based experience boosts students motivation. Keep in mind that motivation and engagement are major factors of game-based learning, and VR takes these to the next level. The very purpose of education is basically a key to self-knowledge. It is a tool to get a job as well as an experience that should be positive and engaging, given the many years that people spend on it. A game-based experience is motivating since it is fun. Nowadays, educators use games as a daily practice. While VR games arent the only source of engagement and fun in class, they could create a substantial difference. A lot of things could be accomplished in a virtual environment that will not be possible in real life. Moreover, it is memorable and contributes to ones ability to learn.

VR introduces a new approach to rewards. The assessment of academic achievements and the progress of student reports are used in education for centuries. Nonetheless, VR will transform the traditional incentives concept in the learning process. Success is acknowledged, with rewards for achievements. In general, failures are ignored. This is the contrast of much education, wherein success is neutral and failure is punished. This type of rewards engage the brain and keep the students looking for more. Also, emotional reward could not be ignored. It creates a huge impact on the desire of a student to learn. While there always is a risk of discouragement, let alone competition. Its not easy, there are challenges that could not be accomplished the first time and there is increasing complexity as well. Taking risks and trying other methods are good strategies. The rewards that students get for the challenges that VR provides are individual and collective. Players have to work together and benefit for various skills and specializations of the members of the team. Everyone on the team is vital.

Collaboration in VR classroom boosts social integration of learners. Students that struggle to be part of the class group were able to be accepted by their peers due to their technology skills. With the technology, shy learners will come out of their shells and the kids, lacking in confidence previously in their math abilities, became confident technology experts. Virtual reality is apt to students with various needs and styles of learning. Furthermore, it provides a lot of opportunities for peer teaching and group work. What is impossible in reality is possible in virtual reality. The pedagogies of game-based and constructivism learning shows that students learn best by doing or being. They shouldnt just read about history, but they should be historians as well. They shouldnt just study archaeology but should be archaeologists themselves. The capacity to introduce practical knowledge to a classroom without actually leaving the space makes educational experience invaluable. Instead of simply listening to lectures, kids could put words underneath a headset and get real experience but in a virtual wrapper.

RiteshMehta

TatvaSoft Australia Pty Ltd.

Ritesh Mehta works as a senior Technical Account Manager in a software development company named TatvaSoft Australia based in Melbourne. He specializes in Agile Scrum methodology, Marketing Ops (MRM) application development, SAAS & SOA application development, Offshore & Vendor team management. Also, he is knowledgeable and well-experienced in conducting business analysis, product development, team management and client relationship management.

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How will Virtual Reality revolutionize Education? - Customer Think

Jonathan Edwards jumped and dodged as masked soldiers fired assault rifles at him.

Though it might have seemed to the 14-year-old from Costa Mesa that he was in a war zone, the soldiers, fortunately, werent real.

They were part of a virtual reality video game that Jonathan was playing at the iBuyPower GameFest on Saturday at the Orange County Fair.

The festival, billed as a digital carnival meant to introduce PC gaming to casual fans, is being held through Sunday at The Hangar at the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa.

One of the highlights is a virtual reality village presented by Oculus, the company known for the Oculus Rift, a VR headset that immerses users in whatever game theyre playing.

Dozens of people tried their hand at the headset Saturday morning. Some became so enveloped in the digital reality that they had to be led back into place by event workers after straying from the game screen with their headsets on, presumably trying to chase down an enemy alien or escape the pursuit of pirates.

Ramiro Martinez, 25, of Fontana said that when he dropped something in the game, it actually felt like an object had fallen from his grasp. Martinez said he plays a lot of PC games but had never tried virtual reality before.

Elaine Lin, 50, of Irvine said she likes old-school games like Super Mario Bros., but she found the headset to be interactive and immersive.

The event also offers several other attractions.

Spectators watched as gamers dueled in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive in a long row of computers.

Other tournaments are being held throughout the weekend. Some will be shown on a big screen above The Hangar stage.

Throughout the day Saturday, the screen showed the World Cup tournament of the popular game Overwatch. A viewing area was set up in front of the screen for visitors who wanted to watch.

In addition, a row of 75 computers and various gaming stations were set up for people to try their hand at Rocket League, Overwatch and other titles.

This is iBuyPowers first event during the fair, though it held a gaming tournament at The Hangar last year that brought out thousands of people over a few days, said Tyrone Wang, development manager for the Industry-based gaming PC company.

That led the fair and the company to partner for GameFest, he said.

The event is free between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. with paid admission to the fair, which costs $14 for adults and $7 for children and senior citizens.

For tickets for access to the festival after 7 p.m., visit ibuypower.com/Site/Event/IBP-GameFest.

The fair will be open from 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday, the final day of its month-long run.

benjamin.brazil@latimes.com

Twitter:@benbrazilpilot

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OC Fair's GameFest gives players a dose of virtual reality - Los Angeles Times

Those who tune in live will be able to hear Coldplay's music and experience the show's pyrotechnics and laser lights as they happen. Pictured is Chris Martin of Coldplay performing during Super Bowl 50. AFP Relaxnews

Coldplay's show at Chicago's Soldier Field will be broacast live in virtual reality to fans in 50 countries provided they have a Samsung Gear VR headset and compatible phone.

The band's show, part of their A Head Full of Dreamstour, is scheduled for Aug 17 and will be available through the Samsung VR service starting at 8:30pm CST (9:30am Aug 18 in Malaysia).

Those who tune in live will be able to hear Coldplay's music and experience the show's pyrotechnics and laser lights as they happen. Following the show, a concert replay will be available via Samsung VR for a limited time.

Virtual reality has increasingly been used to bring an enhanced music experience to fans. During the 2016 MTV Europe Music Awards, an accompanying app allowed users everywhere to livestream a 360 virtual reality view of the show.

A newly launched concert film from English rock band Queen called VR The Championsoffers an immersive, 360 3D performance available for iPhone, Android and on most web browsers, and compatible with all VR viewing systems. AFP Relaxnews

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Coldplay and Samsung team up on virtual reality livestream - The Star Online

By Marlene Cimons By Marlene Cimons August 13 at 7:06 AM

Virtual reality in which people wearing headsets and other equipment experience computer-generated environments as if they were real is helping obesity researchers better understand peoples responses to their personal genetic information.

Its important to put people in a setting that is as close to real life as possible, says Susan Persky, a scientist with the National Human Genome Research Institutes social and behavioral research branch. For example, you really will feel much more like you are in a doctors office. You feel present within the system. At the same time, we control everything.

Persky and her colleagues have conducted several studies using VR to gauge how obese individuals react in clinical settings and at other sites when presented with genetic information about their weight.

In one, she found that telling overweight women about the likely genetic basis for their obesity reduced the womens feelings that they were blamed for their weight. Other research has found that women who feel stigmatized by their doctors may avoid medical treatment to the detriment of their health.

The scientists recruited 200 women unhappy about their weight and gave them a 10-minute appointment with a virtual doctor. The virtual clinician gave each woman one of four presentations. One stressed genetic factors, delivered in a supportive style. A second also emphasized genomics, but it was given in a directive, doctor-knows-best manner. A third was supportive but focused only on personal behavior. The fourth stressed behavior but in a directive manner.

Not surprisingly, the volunteers liked the supportive virtual clinician best, especially when the doctor also offered genetic information, saying this approach made them feel less stigmatized and better about themselves. People feel less blame when doctors talk about genetic factors, Persky says. In obesity, we find this idea of genetic predisposition resonates with people.

Researchers also looked at guilt among overweight mothers of 4- and 5-year-old children, providing information about the influence of lifestyle to one group and the effects of genetic factors and lifestyle to a second group. Mothers told about genetic factors felt guiltier than the others, presumably because they felt they were passing obesity along to their offspring.

The parents then were asked to select a meal for their children from a virtual food buffet offering choices that were more healthy (grilled chicken, steamed carrots, peas and green beans) and less healthy (chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese).

Why use a virtual buffet rather than a real one? Its an assessment of actual parent behavior that can be measured in the controlled, sterile lab, while it actually looks and feels like a real-world environment where parents actually make feeding choices, Persky says.

Mothers who chose the healthier options felt less guilt afterward about the possibility of passing down genetic obesity risk factors to their children, even those in the group who werent explicitly told about genetic influences, according to the study. Most parents have some sense that there are genetic factors involved in weight, Persky says. This isnt a totally new concept for them.

The findings suggest that parents are inclined to change how they feed their children thus feeling less guilt about passing on their genetic risks while still reluctant to change their own eating behavior. Parents are often willing to do things for their children that they wouldnt do for themselves, Persky says.

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You're heavy, and your doctor makes you feel bad about it. That's not good. - Washington Post

Nights out have certainly changed, as I found out a few months ago in a basement in London Fields. At 11pm, as the DJs were warming up, I saw a young lad tire of dancing, turn to his phone and open up Pokmon Go. He then spent most of the night trying, with little success, to catch a Pidgey by the decks.

Pokmon Go ruined many activities last year (shopping, walking, going outside generally), but clubbing's a new one - not that the augmented-reality game is entirely to blame for clubs across the country shutting down. Since 2005, the number of nightclubs in Britain has almost halved, down from 3,144 to 1,733.

Personally, I blame hygge. The Danish art of living cosily involves nuzzling in comfort and wellbeing, and I'm guilty of it too, sort of. Just instead of luxe Scandi design and Jo Malone candles, my nights have paid more homage to American entrepreneur and renowned recluse Howard Hughes - they involve seeing as few people as possible, while watching as many Netflix series as I can humanly manage. Which seems all well and good, but it does leave clubbing looking a bit neglected.

Boiler Room, the platform that live-streams DJ sets and gigs around the world, may have the solution as it launches the world's first virtual-reality music venue in London. The physical club, due to open this year, will be rigged with cameras, which will allow fans to watch gigs and go clubbing in real time, via virtual-reality headsets. In short, you'll soon be able to rave from your bedroom in a more immersive way than just turning the speakers up until your neighbour calls time on your homemade Haienda.

Over the five years I've worked as a DJ, I've seen a lot of things - from punters at the start of the night awkwardly stomping around as though they'd watched YouTube dance tutorials from C-3PO, then a couple of pints later swaggering away like Liam Gallagher listening to "Supersonic", to people vehemently refusing to leave until their record request gets a play (it never does) and grown-ups in the early hours having a bit of a moment to Toto's "Africa" (who hasn't?). I've played at venues about to crumble - one memorable December in Leeds, I spent an entire set with a portable heater next to my decks because the club's windows were smashed in as I attempted to warm up the frostbitten crowd with some Prince. I'm intrigued to see how any of that can be replicated.

At Boiler Room's headquarters in Hackney, I try out a few of the virtual experiences on offer - it isn't live and the technology has now been updated, but it's a rough guide to how it will be. The virtual-reality headset I try on is an older Samsung model that looks like a pair of futuristic ski goggles. It's heavy and bulky, almost like the VR equivalent of getting your first Nokia 3310 (I'm told that a good-quality headset is around 100, which seems quite pricey for the odd bit of bedroom dancing). When I pair the headset with some noise-cancelling headphones, I resemble a budgetBlack Mirrorepisode, or an early draft ofThe Jetsons.

I try out a VR club night with grime MC Kano, which feels a lot like being in the computer gameDoom. It's like a wonky Nineties video game, with Kano towering over me, shouting beats in my face. There's a DJ hovering over the decks looking incredibly serious; young kids are dancing - others bob their heads stoically - while a few are taking pictures on their phones. So far, so authentically east London.

I'm squashed in the middle of the crowd, without the sweat and beer flying around, unable to interact with anyone. It's quite cold and soulless, a bit like being inside a gif, and it leaves me feeling like a very sober voyeur intruding on a good night out. In reality, I'm swivelling around the conference room of a hip young company in unflattering apparel, trying not to knock coffee over expensive tech.

Like Glastonbury, the idea of watching the highlights from afar on a couch, with indoor plumbing, can be pretty appealing - smugness-inducing, even - when you miss out on getting resale tickets or you happen upon images that year of humans swallowed whole by mud - although it can never really replace the experience, long drops and all.

There's certainly an appeal to the virtual-reality venue. This could be the solution for when you can't make it to a night out (if you're full of cold, skint or just a bit lazy), a way for fans in far-flung places to watch their favourite DJs without having to spend a fortune. But then clubbing was never meant to be virtual, or even convenient. While virtual-reality clubbing is exciting and looks set to be the next best thing to going out, it's certainly no substitute for actually going out.

Clubbing (in real life) is the anti-hygge. It's cumbersome, an effort to get everyone out and, rather than revelling in warming Scandi accents, can feel more like having the flu: sweaty but somehow always freezing. And yet all these things are important, because you're young and things aren't meant to feel like a bubble. Everything as a twentysomething feels aspirational and unattainable - except for clubbing, which is real. And that's why it should probably stay exactly how it is. Like this? Now read:

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Will virtual reality clubbing make staying in the new going out? - British GQ

SAN JOSE As technology advances in the ever-changing Silicon Valley, citizens can now enjoy the thrill of virtual reality at the library.

At a launch event on Friday at Martin Luther King Jr. public library downtown, adults and teens were able to test out Oculus Rift Systems a headset combined with a virtual reality screen so passersby could see in 2-D what users in the headset were experiencing in 3-D.

I played a Haunted Mansion game that had surround sound, said San Jose 18 year-old Brandon Lau. It felt so real, it was scary but extremely worth it.

The San Jose public library is offering the virtual reality headsets through a state library grant. Virtual reality headsets are available at TeenHQ in the downtown library and at the Evergreen branch library. Its part of a partnership with the California Library Association and Oculus VR.

We want to be relevant and innovative, which means keeping up to date with technology, and we wanted to make it available not only to kids but to adults, said library spokesperson Nancy Macias. Digital inclusion is huge, regardless of age or background, VR should be available to you.

The headsets come with hand controllers so that users can actually grab and interact with objects in the virtual world.TeenHQ offers other forms as technology as well, such as a recording studio and 3-D printers.

We have a game where you can build sculptures in the virtual reality, said Cindy Ball, the program manager of Oculus Education, the company that provided the headsets. And with that design, here at the library they have 3-D printers, so maybe what you design in the virtual space you can actually bring to life with the 3-D printers.

The downtown library and Evergreen branch are two of ninety state libraries to launch virtual reality through Oculus VR and the California Library Association this year. The SPJL VR headsets are open to the public at no cost. Ball said Oculus hopes this initiative helps people who may not otherwise be able to experience virtual reality due to their economic and social circumstances.

We really want people who havent been able to experience VR before to use it for the first time, Ball said, so someday, people who are interested can move from being consumers to creators of VR.

Oculus provided 20 educational applications through the headsets, including an exploration of the International Space Station and a rock climbing experience.

On top of those games, the library has some applications that they downloaded themselves. Librarian Erik Berman said games are used to get teens at TeenHQ in motion through Fruit Ninja and sports games as well as learning about the world through explorations of foreign lands. He said he was excited to mix the virtual reality with the physical world through programs that expand on some of the experiences.

The VR is the gateway to learning about different things, Berman said. We have a French immersion experience that we actually will run programming around. We will show a documentary and then teach teens here about French culture in a program later on.

Berman said one goal of offering the virtual reality experience at TeenHQ will be to design their own such game at the library.

The first virtual reality open house will be held 3 p.m. Monday at TeenHQ at the downtown library. TeenHQ has programs and specific times when the virtual reality headsets are available.

Although the TeenHQ is only available to teens, adults are encouraged to use virtual reality headset at the librarys Evergreen branch. Seventy two year-old Judith Fields came to the launch with her friend 67 year-old Jackie Snell and were excited as they sliced fruit in Fruit Ninja, designed butterflies with virtual robots and visited national parks.

I loved experiencing Yosemite, it was my favorite, Fields said. I loved feeling like I was visiting and exploring the park it was beautiful.

Youre never too old to use VR, Snell said. Its actually easier, you can experience the world and you dont have to go anywhere you can check it out at the library.

More information on the SJPLs virtual reality collection can be found atwww.sjpl.org/blog/virtual-reality-library.

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Virtual reality headsets bring stories to life at San Jose public libraries - The Mercury News