[The pandemic is hastening Facebook’s development of presence-evoking technologies designed to enhance remote work in the years ahead, as demonstrated in a new, very short video featured and discussed in this story from The Verge. The story notes that “Facebook and Oculus’ joint work on hand tracking, more realistic avatars, spatial audio, and more powerful wireless technology illustrate how seriously the company is committed to the idea of virtual presence and making it as powerful as possible.” It also reports on how Facebook is moving toward remote work for its own employees. For more information see coverage in Upload and the Facebook‘s blog post. –Matthew]

[Image: Source: Upload]

Facebook teases a vision of remote work using augmented and virtual reality

The future of work post-pandemic might look something like this

By Nick Statt
May 21, 2020

Facebook has long believed in the promise of virtual and augmented reality extending well beyond entertainment, and we’re now getting a clearer glimpse at what that future might look like now that the current pandemic is reshaping how companies everywhere think about remote work.… read more. “Facebook teases a vision of remote work using augmented and virtual reality”

[A first-person report on the latest iteration of Spatial holographic virtual reality experiences has new importance with our unexpected reliance on 2D video meeting systems like Zoom. This story is from VentureBeat and for more details see a second story from the same publication (which explicitly praises the “sense of collective presence” of Spatial VR and provides information on free access) and a 2018 post in ISPR Presence News. –Matthew]

Holographic VR meetings just became real, whether you’re ready or not

Jeremy Horwitz
May 20, 2020

I’m not often at a loss for words, but as I re-entered the real world after my second holographic media briefing this month, I realized that I was struggling to speak or type. Mentally, the sensation was awe — my sincere belief that I had just experienced the future of remote work and meetings.… read more. “Holographic VR meetings just became real, whether you’re ready or not”

[The New York Times has compiled short stories from people who have lost a loved one during the pandemic about their experiences of mourning. Many of the stories highlight the abilities, and limitations, of media technology to overcome physical isolation from other people at an extremely difficult time. Warning: Reading these stories may evoke intense emotions; they did for me. See the original version for two more images, and a related story, “A 24-Hour Virtual Vigil Will Mourn Americans Who Have Died Of Coronavirus,” from Gothamist (that event is scheduled for today, Wednesday May 20, 2020). –Matthew]

[Image: A family sits shiva remotely on Zoom for an elderly relative who died of heart failure in New Canaan, Conn. Credit: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis, via Getty Images]

After Real Loss, Virtual Comfort Must Do

Readers talk about mourning loved ones from afar.

By Rachel L.… read more. “After real loss, virtual comfort must do”

[As the need to stay physically apart during the pandemic continues to motivate more uses of presence-evoking technologies, a Texas courtroom is conducting what is said to be the first jury trial via videoconferencing. The story below from Reuters provides some key details; Law.com reports on what happened during the jury selection process; the NBC station in Dallas-Fort Worth has a 1:56 minute news report; and the ABA Journal considers more of the challenges related to presence, including this:

“Video can be distancing and distorting. As courts come to grips with virtual hearings, they will need to consider how framing, lighting, camera angle and location might make jurors question the credibility of a witness or create bias. A jury could view defendants differently if they are seated in jail, wearing an orange jumpsuit and 10 feet away from a camera, or if they are framed from a low angle or have shadows on their faces.… read more. “Texas tries a pandemic first: A jury trial by Zoom”

[The new realistic robot dolphin in this report from Radio New Zealand clearly evokes medium-as-social-actor presence, with volunteers who swim with it believing it’s a real dolphin until being told the truth. The story describes a myriad of practical applications of the technology along with the creators’ plans to develop robots for other marine species. –Matthew]

[Image: Credit: Katie Todd]

Robotic dolphin causing stir in aquariums while solving ethical dilemma

11 May 2020
Katie Todd, Reporter

As Chinese zoos and aquariums grapple with new bans on wildlife trade, a New Zealand tech entrepreneur is seeing unexpected interest in her latest project.

Melanie Langlotz has helped build a life-sized robot dolphin that looks and swims just like a real bottlenose and can react to human gestures.

As well as offering an ethical alternative to keeping dolphins in captivity and a novel tool for movie-making and wildlife education, it could end up plugging the gap for the struggling Chinese businesses.… read more. “Robotic dolphin causing stir in aquariums while solving ethical dilemma”