[Presence experiences are increasingly being used to combat and aid recovery from the all-too-common scourge of sexual harassment and violence. This story from Reuters via Canadian HR Reporter highlights the work of some of our colleagues; for more information about Vantage Point, see a March 2018 ISPR Presence News post. –Matthew] Virtual reality tackles real-life sex abuse Umberto Bacchi September 10, 2018 Your boss ends a meeting by grabbing a colleague and asking her to “pack something fitting” for the party you’re all planning after an out-of-town conference. Do you a) say something or b) let it pass? That’s the…

[The creators of a new child robot for training medical students have purposely adjusted the level of presence it evokes for its users by making it as realistic as possible in function but not maximally realistic in appearance. Note the comments in the story from Wired about breaks in presence (without using that term) and the observation that even plain rubber dummies can evoke intense responses. For much more information including images and videos, see the Gaumard website, and see NBC Bay Area for a 3:48 minute video news report and a 9:33 minute 360 video. –Matthew] This Hyper-Real Robot…

[This story from the University of Rochester Medical Center describes a new tool that creates presence illusions to study how the brain and body are affected by neurological diseases and disorders. See the original version for a 3:46 minute video. –Matthew] Researchers Harness Virtual Reality, Motion Capture to Study Neurological Disorders September 05, 2018 Neuroscientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) have a powerful new state-of-the-art tool at their disposal to study diseases like Autism, Alzheimer’s, and traumatic brain injury. The Mobile Brain/Body Imaging system, or MoBI, combines virtual reality, brain monitoring, and Hollywood-inspired motion capture technology, enabling…

[This story about the Nuclear Dissent “immersive website” highlights the personal nature of effective presence experiences; it’s from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. See what the author means by visiting the new website. –Matthew] A virtual visit to a nuclear test site By Thomas Gaulkin September 14, 2018 It can be difficult to grasp how nuclear weapons shape world events without confronting the cold, hard facts. There are an estimated 15,000 nuclear warheads on Earth, and the nine nuclear states that have them ran some 2,000 nuclear tests to produce them. Sky-high numbers like that get you part of…

[Some of the most valuable applications of presence are in the human aspects of medical care; this story by the creator of the My MRI Journey app is from The Guardian. An earlier King’s College Hospital press release adds some detail and a user’s reaction: “The VR technology allows children to feel as though they are inside an MRI scanner and experience what it will be like on the day. Children have the opportunity to get accustomed to the loud tapping noises that happen during the scan (this is the electric current in the scanner coils being turned on and…

[Presence-evoking technologies are being used to reproduce important buildings to learn about and allow more people to experience them. This story is from Smithsonian, where it includes a 6:25 minute video; for more details see the links within the story and new coverage in Designboom that features more pictures and a different video. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Designboom] Take a 3D Tour Through Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin West New state-of-the-art scans allow virtual visits to the architect’s winter home and gives conservators detailed blueprints By Jason Daley June 21, 2018 As he aged, architect Frank Lloyd Wright became a snowbird.…