[Hyperrealistic art can evoke intense and thought-provoking presence responses. This story from The Creators Project makes clear that some of the works can be quite unsettling (the original includes 16 images, I’ve purposely included only a mild example here). For more on this theme see the links at the end of this story and another recent piece in The Creators Project about the hyperrealistic paintings of Matt Story (“Unbelievable Realist Paintings of Women Underwater Look Like Photo”). –Matthew] [Image: Cornered. By Marc Sijan] Hyperrealistic Sculptures Blur the Line Between Clay and Flesh By Anna Marks — Feb 4 2016 Victor…

[This hasn’t gotten a lot of press coverage, but could be an important step toward more effective presence illusions. The story is from Engadget, which features a 0:13 minute demo video using the avatar pictured below; a second video using an animated robot is available on YouTube. More details from Oculus via Geeky Gadgets are included below. –Matthew] [Image: From Geeky Gadgets] Oculus wants to help VR avatars look normal when they talk It’s all thanks to a clever Unity plugin Chris Velazco 02.14.16 Remember all those Hong Kong kung-fu movies with really poor dubbing so the actors’ mouths would keep…

[Here’s another sign that VR, because of its ability to evoke presence, is heading for the mainstream; this story is from Fast Company, where it features more images and two videos. –Matthew] Sports Illustrated Swimsuit VR Couldn’t Be More “Intimate” You can strap on a headset for the articles Daniel Terdiman February 15, 2016 Supermodel Hannah Davis is used to doing photo shoots with tons of people around, surrounded by crew members fixing her makeup, hair, and eyelashes and giving her all manner of direction about what to do while the camera clicks. But when the 2015 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit…

[Chatbots are increasingly capable of passing the Turing Test, with users not able to distinguish them from humans, but I find it particularly interesting that even when users are aware that they’re conversing with an AI they don’t care and still treat it as they would a human. This story is from Nautilus, where it includes other images. According to The Daily Dot, “There’s no English counterpart for Xiaoice yet, but if you speak Mandarin, you can test her out on this website.” –Matthew] Your Next New Best Friend Might Be a Robot Meet Xiaoice. She’s empathic, caring, and always…

[Here’s yet another way we’re trying to increase presence in our mediated experiences; this one is interesting in part because it works with both TV sets and VR headsets. The story is from Engadget, where it includes more images and a 3:53 minute video. –Matthew] Immersit’s crazy 4D motion sofa kit hits Kickstarter Turn your couch into a bucking bronco for around $750. Steve Dent February 11, 2016 Immersit thinks that your gaming, virtual reality or home cinema experience could be a little more dynamic. To fix that, it just launched its Immersit 4D motion sim for your sofa on…

[This simple and elegant presence-evoking installation could be a model for one way to help users move between nonmediated and mediated realities; the original version of the story from Fast Company features a 1:21 minute video and more images. –Matthew] This Magical Door Lets You Explore The Virtual World Without Putting On A Headset There’s a chasm between our physical and virtual worlds. This captivating installation offers one way to bridge them. Mark Wilson February 10, 2016 It should feel like a cliché. Doors, a project by interactive studio The Ortiz, is something we’ve seen 1,000 times before: a portal…