[The British Museum is using VR and presence to engage audiences, and as this story from Alphr notes, this is apparently only the beginning. Find two more images in the article and the Museum‘s free Virtual Reality Weekend is August 8-9 at the Museum’s Samsung Digital Discovery Centre. –Matthew] Samsung and the British Museum bring virtual reality to the Bronze Age Visitors to the British Museum will be able to explore a virtual recreation of an ancient British home Thomas McMullan 4 Aug 2015 Standing in a field you look up at the sun. Beside you is a cluster of…

[These “follow me” photos bring the viewer into the image, creating both spatial and social presence; the story in BuzzFeed includes 18 other images. –Matthew] A Woman Is Leading Her Boyfriend Around The World In These Gorgeous Photos posted on Jul. 20, 2015 Rossalyn Warren BuzzFeed News Reporter For the past seven months, Christian LeBlanc has been travelling around Asia with a backpack, a camera, and with his girlfriend, Laura Reid, leading the way. The couple, both aged 22 and from Vancouver, Canada, travelled to 10 countries over the seven-month period. LeBlanc’s trip started in January on a school exchange…

[As a Philadelphia resident I’m depressed and embarrassed to have to relay this story of the demise of hitchBOT, the hitchhiking robot (for more information about the project see the ISPR Presence News post from August 6, 2014). The picture below from this weekend’s NPR coverage and the concern one of the creators expresses near the end of the AP/CBS News story below indicate the kind of social presence responses hitchBOT evoked. For more details about the crime see the updated story in The Philadelphia Inquirer. –Matthew] [Image: HitchBOT, a hitchhiking robot, sits with German tourists Sarah Strempel and Eric…

[This discussion of the possible applications of VR and presence for not just viewing but experiencing the Olympics includes some exciting scenarios but also addresses the challenges. It’s from The Boston Globe (even though the 2024 Olympics won’t be in Boston – details here). –Matthew] [Image: One of five shoebox-sized camera rigs that NextVR placed on the course where the 2015 US Open was played. The camera rigs captured footage used for real-time virtual reality experiences of the golf tournament.] Virtual Olympics could be a viewing option in 2024 By Shira Springer, Globe Staff July 26, 2015 The men’s 100-meter…