[Note the specific references to different types of presence in this report from by the lead author of a study that compared the effectiveness of VR-based therapy to Skype-based counselling. The results suggest valuable potential for presence-evoking technologies for remote mental health care. The story is from The Conversation; see the April 2020 article in Computers in Human Behavior for more details. –Matthew] [Image: Rural road passing through Hawker – town in South Australia at sunset. Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK.] Virtual reality may be the next frontier in remote mental health care January 13, 2020 Shiva Pedram, Associate Research Fellow, University of…

[This story from The Times of Israel about the increasing use of, and the choices involved in designing, presence-evoking simulations to educate people about the Holocaust is unfortunately timely. See the original version for five more pictures and a video. And for more on the topic see related coverage from BBC News and The Jewish News of Northern California. –Matthew] [Image: Amanda Friedeman takes a question from a student directed to Holocaust survivor Adina Sella, as she is displayed as a three-dimensional hologram at the Take A Stand Center in the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center on October 26,…

[Samsung’s introduction at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) of a new form of artificial intelligence sure to evoke medium-as-social-actor presence has garnered lots of coverage, including this concise summary from CNET. See the original version for five more pictures and a 6:22 minute video report. –Matthew] Confused about Samsung’s Neon AIs? Here’s everything you need to know Never mind weather reports and playlists — Neon promises to keep your secrets, teach you yoga and help you find a great restaurant. But can the AI deliver? Dale Smith, Shara Tibken January 11, 2020 While other companies at CES 2020 looked…

[The Charleston Post and Courier reports on an interesting use of presence to reproduce the experience of hiking a challenging nature trail in a South Carolina State Park. See the original story for two different pictures and a 2:14 minute 360 video (a larger version is available via YouTube), and see the website of WYFF TV for a 0:45 minute news report. –Matthew] [Image: Source: GoUpstate.com] SC State Parks using virtual reality so more people can experience mountain’s summit By Emily Williams January 2, 2020 A new virtual reality experience — the first, but likely not the last, of its…

[The Kickstarter page for MarsCat calls it “a robotic pet to comfort you and surprise you.” The story below from The Verge has some of the details (and two different images); see the Elephant Robotics website and the Kickstarter page for many more details including images and videos. As of this writing the campaign has raised 3.5 times the $20,000 USD sought. –Matthew] There’s a robot cat you can back on Kickstarter It’s actually kind of cute By Jay Peters December 26, 2019 You may have heard of Aibo, Sony’s robot dog, but if a robot cat is what you’ve…