[The original version of this story from CNN includes four more images of artist KAWS’ Companion character hovering over different locations in the new “Companion (Expanded)” mixed reality art exhibit (the story also includes a 1:54 minute video featuring a large, inflatable Companion floating in Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong). For more information see the Acute Art website. –Matthew] [Image: Users can lease the AR ‘At This Time (Expanded)’ for 7 to 30 days, so they can choose their own backdrop for the floating KAWS design. Credit: Courtesy KAWS and Acute Art] Large augmented-reality figures hover over Times Square By…

[Robots may be a valuable resource in treating Coronavirus (and other) patients, protecting human caregivers while offering remote care and evoking medium-as-social-actor presence. The short story below is from BBC Newsround (where it features three different images); the Global Times adds this detail: “Medical assistant robots can even help patients with dancing or exercising. A medical assistant robot named Ginger was seen leading patients to dance in the hospital in a video sent to the Global Times by the robot’s developer, CloudMinds, a cloud intelligent robot operator headquartered in Beijing. Ginger can also offer information consultation and other services, which…

[The story below from the radio program Marketplace Tech examines current limitations in the use of virtual and augmented reality as tools for remote work; the original version includes the 7:46 minute audio segment and for two other useful considerations of the topic follow the links near the end to coverage in Wired and the Los Angeles Times. –Matthew] [Image: A Zoom webinar being accessed via laptop computer. Credit: Zoom.] In a world of remote work, virtual reality is still pretty much MIA If working from home is not a perk but a requirement, will VR become a useful job…

[This post from the co-founder and CEO of Looking Glass Factory, a company “committed to building the headset-free hologram-powered future we were all promised in science fiction growing up” highlights four “killer apps” for holograms; the original post includes 17 more images and for much more information follow the links near the end. –Matthew] The Killer Apps of the Hologram Killer apps are hard to spot at first. But now that holographic displays are hitting the market, the killer apps for this new medium are coming into focus. By Shawn Frayne, co-founder and CEO of Looking Glass Factory March 3rd,…

[The short post below from Inside Higher Education describes the challenges in replicating an in-person conference using presence-evoking technologies, a concern obviously heightened in light of the Coronavirus. In the case of ISPR’s PRESENCE 2020 conference this October, we’re not planning to cancel or postpone the in-person event but we’ll offer a virtual component for those who can’t attend (see the Coronavirus note in the Call for Papers). For more on presence-evoking technologies as the virus spreads, see these stories: Latest developments: The Coronavirus Threatens to Upend Higher Ed. Here Are the Latest Developments (Chronicle of Higher Education) Coronavirus Industry…

[As this story from Apartment Therapy notes, artificial plants often look like their organic counterparts, which caused one woman to mistake the technology-created for the ‘real’ (see the original story for more pictures and the Late Show with Stephen Colbert video segment). Coverage in The Manc, and comments on the viral Facebook post in the story, make clear that many people experience this type of presence illusion. –Matthew] This Woman Watered a Fake Succulent for Two Years Because It Looked So Real—And the Story Went Viral By Nicoletta Richardson March 5, 2020 Some fake plants are so good at looking…

[A new three-minute ad in the UK is an entertaining, fast-paced portrayal of a presence-filled future; this story from Next Reality describes it as “an ambitious and undeniably fun approach to 5G marketing [that] might help consumers understand that they’re about to enter a new realm of connectivity, blanketed by the AR cloud and a million AR and holographic experiences that will change the very fabric of our daily reality.” See the original story for five animated gifs and the ad itself, which is also available on YouTube. –Matthew] UK Wireless Giant Three Promos 5G for AR, VR, & Smartphones…