[I’ve long thought that this kind of use of telepresence-evoking technology has powerful potential to do good in the world. This is from Quartz, where the story features more images and videos; see the Shared Studios website for much more. -Matthew] [Image: The “wormhole” was a success with children–-and now maybe for world leaders? (Shared Studios)] Empathy Tech The UN is using virtual reality and an immersive “wormhole” to connect diplomats with Syrian refugees Written by Hanna Kozlowska September 21, 2015 On their way to this month’s 70th United Nation’s General Assembly, the organization’s annual high-level meeting in New York,…

[Digital cameras brought one revolution to photography; will VR and presence bring another? This is from The Washington Post, where the story includes other images and a video. –Matthew] Why virtual reality could be the future of viewing photographs By Dominic Basulto September 17, 2015 Years from now, we might view today’s process of viewing photographs — by flipping through individual still photos that were printed out at the corner drugstore, or scrolling through 2D digital photo collections online — as remarkably quaint. Photos are coming to life in new ways, thanks to advances in virtual reality enabling more immersive…

[VR and presence can influence our thought processes in fascinating ways, as demonstrated in the research described in the press release below from the International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA) via EurekAlert!; the full study is published in Scientific Reports, a 2:13 minute video is available on YouTube, and co-author Mel Slater comments on the project in his Presence Blog. –Matthew] ‘Being Sigmund Freud’ … and giving oneself excellent advice: Embodiment modifies thought process International School of Advanced Studies (SISSA) Public Release: 17-Sep-2015 The volunteers participating in Sofia Adelaide Osimo’s experiments may have felt as if they were inside a…

[It’s early days but there’s great potential in applying VR and presence to news reporting; this story is from Re/code; for more information see the ABC News press release and an interview with the Jaunt CEO from KPCC. –Matthew] ABC News Says It’s Taking Virtual Reality Seriously By Eric Johnson September 16, 2015 ABC News is hopping on the virtual reality bandwagon. In a release timed to coincide with a story on “Nightline” this evening, ABC released a special 360-degree video companion piece, intended to be viewed on a mobile phone with a Google Cardboard-style headset. It’s said to be…

[AltspaceVR is taking us closer to achieving a ‘grand challenge’ for presence: distributed, multi-platform, real-time social interaction in a virtual environment with spatial audio. This story is from Wired, where it features more images; there’s more first person reporting in coverage by Fast Company and The Verge, and a 2:50 minute video is available on YouTube. –Matthew] Thanks to VR, Your Next Meeting Might Be With Robots Peter Rubin 09.15.15 If you’ve seen one slide deck in a meeting, you’ve seen them all. Unless, that is, you’re a featureless robot, and everyone else in the room is a featureless robot,…

[This interesting, resource-filled piece from Slate suggests that people experience unexpectedly rich social presence via ‘low bandwidth’ media and that we should question the long-held view that face-to-face is the ‘gold standard’ for emotion-laden communication. –Matthew] Constant Connection We used to believe technology made us lonely. A whole new body of research says it doesn’t. By Amanda Hess September 10, 2015 Recently a group of Indiana University undergrads volunteered as test subjects in a modern love experiment. Researchers placed electrodes on their faces and feet, asked them to name their current romantic companion or crush, then led them through a…