[If you’re away from loved ones this holiday weekend, there’s always the Kissenger (!). This story is from IEEE Spectrum, where it features a second image. By the way, don’t confuse this Kissenger with the closely related Lovatics robot Kissenger. Here’s wishing all of us a healthy, safe, productive, and most of all, happy 2017. –Matthew] [Image: With the Kissenger, video chats could be sealed with a kiss. Photo: Emma Yann Zhang.] Robotic Kiss Transmitter Lets You Smooch a Loved One From Afar By Eliza Strickland Posted 23 Dec 2016 If you can’t be with your loved ones this holiday season, perhaps…

[Dimitri Williams argues that social presence is more important than spatial presence in this opinion column from the Los Angeles Times. –Matthew] [Image: Mark Zuckerberg on a Facebook Messenger phone call with his wife Priscilla Chan while in VR. From the October 2016 story “Facebook Shows Us The Future of Social VR” in 3D VR Central.] Op-Ed Community is the ‘killer app’ missing from virtual reality By Dmitri Williams (Associate Professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism specializing in games, communities and data) December 27, 2016 I have played with several virtual reality systems over the last…

[This story from WPTV is about a variation on the increasingly well-regarded idea of using distraction via presence to ease the experience of pain (e.g., see Kenney and Milling’s recent meta-analysis). The original story features two videos including the 2:35 minute news report, which is also available on YouTube. –Matthew] Boca Raton pediatrician’s office offers ‘flinch free vaccine experience’ Stephanie Susskind Dec 27, 2016 BOCA RATON, Fla. – Imagine being transported off the ground or even out of this world, all while sitting in your doctor’s office. That’s what one Palm Beach County pediatrician is doing for his patients to…

[As much potential as they have for good, the diffusion of VR and other presence-evoking technologies in society raises critically important ethical issues; this story is from The Intercept and includes a quote from our colleague Andrea Stevenson Won; the original version features a series of eerie animations. –Matthew] [Image: From an animation by Scott Gelber for The Intercept] THE DARK SIDE OF VR Virtual Reality Allows the Most Detailed, Intimate Digital Surveillance Yet December 23 2016 Joshua Kopstein (additional research: Jeremiah Johnson) “WHY DO I look like Justin Timberlake?” Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was on stage wearing a virtual reality…

[This story from The Atlantic explores a fascinating after-effect of VR and presence (or possibly of an incomplete presence illusion) akin to Timmins and Lombard’s concept of inverse presence; following Frederick Aardema’s 2006 finding that “VR increases dissociative experiences and lessens people’s sense of presence in actual reality,” it’s described as “post VR sadness” and “derealization.” Have you ever had anything like the experiences described here? Let us know in the online comments or let me know directly (at lombard@temple.edu). –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Eugene Hoshiko / AP] Virtual Reality Can Leave You With an Existential Hangover After exploring a virtual…

[Although this story from ZDNet doesn’t mention it, much of the press coverage of the new use of VR (and presence) to ease the loneliness of patients in Australia hospitals notes that it should be especially valuable during the holiday season, so it seems like a good story for our last post before Christmas. A 1:27 minute video about the project is available on YouTube and a press release is available from MediaBank. –Matthew]   [Image: Source: Liminal] Medibank launches VR for Australian hospitals on Google Daydream View Virtual reality developer Liminal’s ‘Joy’ experience will alleviate loneliness and isolation for…