[One of the best uses of presence is to delight – here’s a great example; it’s from Projection Mapping Central, where you can watch the 3:04 minute video. –Matthew]

Le Petit Chef: Projection Mapping on your Dinner Plate!

Rajinder Sodhi
May 27, 2015

Projection mapping could be coming to a restaurant near you! It’s always a treat to see designers go that extra mile to create beautiful projection mapping content and this piece is no exception. Filip Sterckx and Antoon Verbeek over at SkullMapping put on a wonderful show for their dinner guests. [Watch the video] to see the mini-chef in action.

As you sit down, preparing to gobble down your meal, a mini chef arrives at your plate ready to serve! In the author’s own words:

“For this project, we experimented with projection onto a dinner table.… read more. “Presence delights: Le Petit Chef brings projection mapping to your dinner plate”

[The Huffington Post story below is all about the possible evolution of theme parks as they incorporate the latest presence-evoking VR and AR technologies. For more on what Landmark is planning, see coverage in the Washington Post Innovations blog, and for a related story see this ISPR Presence News post from last month. –Matthew]

Will the Next Great Theme Park Be On Your Face?

Posted: 06/08/2015
By Noah J. Nelson

As we’ve been watching the Virtual Reality market spin up over the past few years the spotlight has almost entirely been on hardware. When you consider that the first heavy-duty consumer hardware isn’t on store shelves yet this makes a lot of sense.

Back in January we hit the point in the hype cycle where the content going into all these head mounted displays became important. In fact, as CES opened it was feeling downright sparse.… read more. “Theme parks evolve: Landmark to open mixed reality entertainment centers”

[Impressive how much can be accomplished, and how users adapt, when remote telepresence offers audio and visual channels and the ability to move but no haptics or teleoperation. This press release is from Indiana State University. –Matthew]

[Image: Scott Kelemen (on iPad screen) participates in a nursing research presentation April 17, 2015 via a telepresence robot. (ISU/Rachel Keyes)]

Robots give Jersey student, Oregon prof virtual presence at Indiana State

June 3, 2015

Scott Kelemen had a busy few months during his final semester as an Indiana State University nursing student.

He attended a research seminar, trained with human patient simulators and took part in a mass casualty drill at Terre Haute Regional Hospital. And he did it all from his home in Tom’s River, N.J.

Kelemen had a virtual presence on the Indiana State campus and elsewhere in Terre Haute thanks to robotics.… read more. “TP robots give Jersey student, Oregon professor virtual presence at Indiana State”

[This AR art event in Long Beach, California is just an example of new ways we’ll be able to experience art via presence-evoking technology; the story is from the Long Beach Post and includes more images. –Matthew ]

Smartphone Users Can Access Virtual, Open-Air Art Gallery in DTLB This Weekend

By Asia Morris
June 15 2015

Bryan Amburgey’s goal is to make Long Beach the first augmented city of the future using a technology called Augmented Reality (AR), where a smartphone’s camera can be used to see interactive digital images superimposed on top of the real world.

“We are now in a transition toward the next Internet, the Heads Up Internet, where instead of looking down into a device we will be looking through a device to experience the Internet all around us,” he told the Post.

Enter Walls: An ARt Walk, created by Augmented Reality Long Beach (ARLB) and Assignment Creative, two locally-founded technological entities focused on advancing the AR platform for local creatives.… read more. “A virtual, open-air art gallery in Long Beach, California”

[Here’s another of a seemingly increasing number of projects that purposefully use presence experiences to motivate and persuade media users; the story from Collectively includes more images. –Matthew]

Now Anyone Can Swim Through Australia’s Coral Reefs With DIY Virtual Reality Goggles

Scott Pierce
June 12th, 2015

This week, the World Wildlife Fund launched Virtual Reality Reef Goggles, an unbelievable way to explore the Great Barrier Reef, one of Australia’s most diverse, sensitive ecosystems.

All you need is a smartphone with a cardboard viewer, which you can easily learn to make here, and visit It’s Your Reef. Don’t have a smartphone or cardboard viewer? No worries. Just click here and view it on your computer.

There, you’ll have a 360˚ underwater view, and swim virtually through Lady Elliot Island, the Yongala Wreck, North Broken Passage and Myrmidon Reef. Not only will you see it.… read more. “WWF’s Reef Goggles: Swim Australia’s Coral Reefs in VR and then help save them”