[In non-pandemic presence news, researchers at Stanford have developed a new system for augmented reality that makes virtual objects appear more solid, as reported in this story from IEEE Spectrum. For more information including images and a video, see the website of the study’s lead author, Brooke Krajancich. And in an at-least-peripherally related development, an international group of researchers has developed “a learning-based approach for removing unwanted obstructions, such as window reflections, fence occlusions or raindrops, from a short sequence of images captured by a moving camera” – for full details and impressive demonstrations see the project’s website; for a quick video demo see co-author Bia-Bin Huang’s Twitter account. –Matthew]

[Image: Abridged version of Figure 5 from the new study: Left: “Unable to block light from the scene, a conventional beamsplitter configuration produces largely transparent renderings.”… read more. “Mirror arrays make augmented reality more realistic”

[Even if virtual meetings could fully replicate nonmediated communication they wouldn’t solve the many problems with human interactions, but as this story in The New York Times explains, the reduced experience of presence in meetings via video conferencing can amplify gender and personality-based inequities. –Matthew]

[Image: Credit: Shannon May]

It’s Not Just You: Virtual Meetings Aren’t All That Great

Overlapping chatter. Interruptions. Gaffes on camera. And for women, possibly not being heard at all.

By Alisha Haridasani Gupta
April 14, 2020

“Everything that we think is going to be an equalizer turns out not to be.”
— Deborah Tannen, professor of linguistics at Georgetown University

Last week, Mita Mallick tried to share an opinion during an online meeting but her voice was drowned out.

“I’m interrupted, like, three times and then I try to speak again and then two other people are speaking at the same time interrupting each other,” said Mallick, head of diversity and inclusion at the consumer goods company Unilever.… read more. “Virtual meetings amplify inequities of human communication”

[There are still significant practical and technical issues to resolve, but this story from IEEE Spectrum explains why virtual reality will increasingly provide rich social presence experiences superior to today’s commonly used video conferencing systems (e.g., Zoom). See the original story for a second image. –Matthew]

[Image: Virtual meeting on the Engage platform. Credit: Immersive VR Education]

Forget Video Conferencing—Host Your Next Meeting in VR

Recent advances have made VR the superior technology for conferences and meetings, some experts claim

By Edd Gent
13 April 2020

With workers confined to their homes by the coronavirus pandemic, video conferencing is providing a vital lifeline for businesses. But people are quickly realising that video chats can be a poor substitute for in-person meetings.

A viral video from filmmaker H.P. Mendoza perfectly captured the awkwardness of video conferences: people frequently talk over each other, someone seems to always have microphone or camera issues, and there’s often lag.… read more. “Why VR meetings are increasingly superior to video conferencing”

[While Zoom and other video conferencing tools provide social presence during the pandemic, stationary webcams and drone footage let us leave our homes and experience the now mostly-empty spaces of the world. This short story from Washington, D.C.’s WTOP highlights some of the “virtual escapes” that have become more popular in these strange days (the original version includes a brief audio news report). For more examples that include photos and videos see:

• As world quarantines, webcams and satellites quietly watch (AccuWeather)
• What the world looks like on lockdown: Webcams at popular tourist spots (OZY)
• Visit the Grand Canyon, Eiffel Tower and Niagara Falls from your couch (The Baltimore Sun)
• Check out these webcams from eerily empty tourist destinations (TimeOut)
• Coronavirus: How to see the world without leaving your home (BBC News)
• The haunting, beautiful drone footage of cities under quarantine (Futurism)
• Watch: Drone footage shows an empty Philadelphia amid Coronavirus (MSN)

–Matthew]

[Image: St Mark’s Square in Venice.… read more. “Webcams and drone footage let you visit empty places around the world”

[Another activity now only available in mediated form is yoga classes; this first person story from SFGate describes the (presence) experience it offers. See the original story for six more images and a video, and see a story in The Spaces for a picture and link filled “peek inside some of the world’s most striking yoga studios” offering virtual classes.  –Matthew]

[Image: Credit: Madeline Wells]

I tried virtual yoga. Here’s why it may be better than the real thing

By Madeline Wells, SFGATE
March 21, 2020

A few months ago, I finally caved into purchasing a membership at a small yoga studio just a few blocks from my apartment. For the first time in my entire life, I made a commitment to exercise two to three times a week — and I was even excited about going.

Then coronavirus came and upended basically every routine I’d carefully constructed over the past year.… read more. “”I tried virtual yoga. Here’s why it may be better than the real thing””