[This is an important first-person report from Medium by an experienced presence-creator about the dangers of moving beyond the “uncanny valley” to the point where we lose the ability to suspend the belief that our experience is real (i.e., not created/mediated by technology). See the original version for a larger version of the figure below, 7 more images and 2 videos. –Matthew] There is a second valley past the Uncanny Valley or How developing an AR horror game put me in the hospital. Bryan Mitchell February 12, 2019 Background: I have been developing mobile games for 10 years. I have…

[The negative reaction to a San Francisco hospital’s use of a telepresence robot to deliver sensitive medical news is receiving international coverage; this story from The New York Times recounts the situation and considers some of the ethical issues. Hopefully the case will prompt both users and designers of the technology to figure out ways to avoid situations like this. An important question we should consider is whether even a future technology that could perfectly transmit all, or at least all visual and aural, social cues would be acceptable.  –Matthew] [Image: A doctor on a video conference explained to Ernest…

[As a railway enthusiast, I particularly like the example of presence in this story from The Telegraph & Argus. The original version includes a 0:46 minute video and 7 more images, and more information including pictures and resident reactions can be found in coverage by Carehome.co.uk and The Mirror. A 1:04 minute BBC video is available too – thanks to colleague Amela Sadagic for posting it in the ISPR Presence Community Facebook group! -Matthew] Gateway Care Home, Sticker Lane, unveils railway room for residents 23 February 2019 By David Jagger A dementia care home has unveiled a brand new room…

[Two recent stories highlight efforts to create more effective presence illusions based on the human voice; the first is from GeekWire, where the original version includes three 3 more videos that compare the WellSaid technology to reading by voice actors. The second, a Digital Trends story about Modulate’s “voice skins,” follows below and also includes a demonstration video. –Matthew] [Image: A screenshot illustrates how WellSaid’s voice synthesis platform could be used. Credit: WellSaid Illustration] AI2 gives birth to WellSaid, a startup that synthesizes amazingly realistic voices By Alan Boyle March 7, 2019 We’ve got Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, Amazon’s Alexa…

[It’s adapted from a press release, but this story from designboom describes several presence-evoking elements of a new exhibition at the American Museum of Natural History and the original version includes many captioned images and a 2:26 minute video (also available via Vimeo). A trailer for the T. rex: Skeleton Crew VR experience is available on YouTube. For more information see the exhibition website. –Matthew] [Image: Visitors encounter a massive animated projection of a T. rex and its offspring in a late Cretaceous setting. The huge dinosaur will react to visitors, leaving them to wonder, “Did that T.…

[Medium-as-social-actor presence extends to the richly human context of religion in this story from The Diplomat (where the original includes two more images). A 1:42 minute video of the “android deity” is available from SankeiNews via YouTube. –Matthew] An Ancient Japanese Shrine Debuts a Buddhist Robot A high-tech twist hopes to offer Buddhist wisdom that’s easily understood by younger generations in Japan. By Thisanka Siripala March 05, 2019 Kyoto, Japan’s ancient former capital, is home to temples, shrines, and imperial gardens. As the birthplace of Japanese tradition, the city attracts some 53 million tourists every year. Recently, the famed 400-year…