[NASA and Google have launched a new presence experience; here’s a key quote from the NASA news release below: “More than anything, Access Mars offers a visceral impression of what it would be like to walk alongside [the rover] Curiosity, wandering through the lonely, red desert.” The original release includes more images and a 1:11 minute video; see related coverage at GeekWire. –Matthew]

Take a Walk on Mars — in Your Own Living Room

Oct. 19, 2017

When NASA scientists want to follow the path of the Curiosity rover on Mars, they can don a mixed-reality headset and virtually explore the Martian landscape.

Starting today, everyone can get a taste of what that feels like. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, collaborated with Google to produce Access Mars, a free immersive experience. It’s available for use on all desktop and mobile devices and virtual reality/augmented reality (VR/AR) headsets.… read more. “Take a walk on Mars — in your own living room”

[This story from KQED highlights some of the challenges of establishing and telling stories with presence (even though it never uses the term). See the original version for 5 images and 3 videos. –Matthew]

[Image: Lily Baldwin directing Amari Cheatom, Marni Wood on set of Through You, photo by Cameron Bertron. Source: San Francisco Dance Film Festival.]

Is Virtual Reality the Future of Dance?

By Carla Escoda
October 16, 2017

Those who think virtual reality (VR) is solely the province of gamers, adventure-seekers, and simulation builders may be startled to see how dance-makers are employing the technology on screen. For the first time, the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, which opens on Thursday, Oct. 19 at San Francisco’s Brava Theater, will be screening a handful of 360° and VR dance films that play around with a variety of effects designed to yank the viewer into another world.… read more. “Is virtual reality the future of dance?”

[The new technology described in this story from PetaPixel represents another expansion of presence illusions in our lives (and toward traversing the uncanny valley) – note the predicted applications for Facebook near the end. To watch many examples of the technology in action see the Supplementary Materials page of the project’s website. –Matthew]

This Tech Can Turn Portraits Into Photo-Realistic Videos of Facial Expressions

Will Nicholls
October 10, 2017

Researchers at Facebook and Tel Aviv University in Israel have teamed up to bring your selfies to “life.” Using a single still photo of a person’s face, their new technology is able to animate it and introduce different expressions.

The study has developed a technique that will “automatically animate” a still portrait, even a painting, creating various emotions that were not present in the original single frame.

Using a “driving video” (a video of someone performing different expressions), the technology replicates the expressions it observes onto the still image it is provided with.… read more. “New tech turns portraits into photo-realistic videos of facial expressions”

[Two interesting presence-related videos are highlighted in recent entries in Jason Kottke‘s excellent kottke.org blog. The details are below… –Matthew]

Goodbye Uncanny Valley

Oct 17, 2017

[Also see the comments posted with the video on Vimeo. –Matthew]

For years, the idea of the uncanny valley has dominated computer graphics. Computers were powerful enough to produce real-ish looking people, places, or things but not quite powerful enough to make audiences believe they were actually real…to the point where they’re actually kind of creepy. In this excellent video essay, Alan Warburton argues that the uncanny valley is behind us and previews where CG is headed next.

It’s 2017 and computer graphics have conquered the Uncanny Valley, that strange place where things are almost real… but not quite. After decades of innovation, we’re at the point where we can conjure just about anything with software.… read more. “Presence videos: “Goodbye Uncanny Valley” and “How David Fincher Steals Your Eyes””

[This story from Forbes describes how a technology created to evoke spatial presence is being used to train artificial intelligence and thereby make agents and robots more competent and able to more effectively evoke social and medium-as-social-actor presence. –Matthew]

Virtual Reality is the Next Training Ground for Artificial Intelligence

Simon Solotko , Contributor
October 11, 2017

Virtual reality was imagined as a human simulation technology long before the most recent wave of innovation that brought us the Oculus RIFT and the wave of innovation that followed. Now, rendering high framerate graphics using multiple, stereoscopic points in virtual reality is matching the speed and accuracy of robotic sensors and cameras. By modeling physics, motion, and material interactions, virtual reality is poised to become a simulation tool for training automatons – robots, drones, and diagnostic gear – before they need to perform in the real world.… read more. “VR as training ground for AI: Using spatial presence tech to enhance social/medium-as-social-actor presence”