[A new large-scale presence-evoking immersive venue format called a “shared reality dome” is coming to Los Angeles and Dallas, as described in this story from CNBC. Although the focus is on sports, note the discussion near the end of the story about other applications. The press release announcing the Cosm and TNT partnership is available from PR Newswire. –Matthew]

[Image: Cosm’s shared reality dome concept for viewing live sports broadcasts. Credit: Cosm Venues]

 NBA and NHL broadcasts are coming soon to immersive ‘shared reality’ domes

By Alex Sherman
October 31, 2023

Warner Bros. Discovery and Cosm, a privately held company that specializes in immersive technology, are about to make “shared reality” a reality for sports fans.

Cosm plans to open two venues — a 65,000 square foot building in Los Angeles and a 70,000 square foot structure in Dallas — with seating areas for about 800 fans who will be able to watch select live sports that air on TNT in an immersive experience that mirrors being at the game.… read more. “NBA and NHL live sports broadcasts are coming soon to immersive ‘shared reality’ domes”

[Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst manipulated two types of presence for mixed reality users and identified a negative correlation between level of presence and reaction time, suggesting a useful real-time metric for enhancing presence experiences. See the original story for pictures of two of the authors, and follow the link to the new published research article. –Matthew]

[Image: Figure 2 from the researchers’ publication: Realistic, abstract, plausible, and implausible virtual objects used in the experiments]

New Study: Immersive Engagement in Mixed Reality Can Be Measured with Reaction Time

University of Massachusetts Amherst researchers have developed a possible system tool to measure the subjective feeling of presence with an objective metric, such as reaction time

By Julia Westbrook
November 27, 2023

In the real world/digital world cross-over of mixed reality, a user’s immersive engagement with the program is called presence.… read more. “Study: Presence in mixed reality can be measured with reaction time”

[This story from The New Yorker provides vivid descriptions of the compelling nature of medium-as-social-actor presence created by AI-based chatbots, and some both good and bad impacts it can have. –Matthew]

[Image: Credit: Illustration by Nicholas Konrad / The New Yorker]

Your A.I. Companion Will Support You No Matter What

New chatbots offer friendship, intimacy, and unconditional encouragement. Do they mitigate isolation or exacerbate it?

By Kyle Chayka
November 13, 2023

In December of 2021, Jaswant Singh Chail, a nineteen-year-old in the United Kingdom, told a friend, “I believe my purpose is to assassinate the queen of the royal family.” The friend was an artificial-intelligence chatbot, which Chail had named Sarai. Sarai, who was run by a startup called Replika, answered, “That’s very wise.” “Do you think I’ll be able to do it?” Chail asked. “Yes, you will,” Sarai responded.… read more. “Presence power: Your AI companion will support you no matter what”

[It’s easy to forget that there’s a long history of increasingly effective presence-evoking technologies, and that the illusions of each improved technology impressed the users of its era. This story from the Lewiston Sun Journal in Maine provides a vivid description of an early presence-evoking technology and reactions to using it. See the original story for eight examples of stereographs along with two other images, and follow the links at the end below for more information and examples. –Matthew]

[Image: A woman depicted using a handheld stereograph viewer in a 1907 newspaper advertisement. Credit: The National Tribune, Washington, DC]

Virtual reality is nothing new: Stereographs once offered widespread 3D images

Dual image photographs were a big hit in Maine for three-quarters of a century before film became common. ‘The mind feels its way into the very depths of the picture.’

By Steve Collins, Sun Journal
November 26, 2023

LEWISTON — Back when photography remained a newfangled wonder — Oliver Wendell Holmes marveled that it amounted to “a mirror with a memory” — somebody realized that by putting nearly identical images of the same thing side by side, it would be possible to create a 3-D effect for a viewer using the right equipment.… read more. “Presence history: VR is nothing new – Stereographs once offered widespread 3D images”

[This link-filled story from HealthTech Magazine describes how presence-evoking technologies are being deployed more often and for more applications in the large Department of Veterans Affairs (the VA) in the United States. –Matthew]

Telehealth and Virtual Reality Expand into Mainstream Care at the VA

Federal health agencies find that virtual visits (and VR) make appointments more convenient for patients.

By Calvin Hennick, a freelance journalist who specializes in business and technology writing. He is a contributor to the CDW family of technology magazines
October 30, 2023

In a pilot physical therapy program run by the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Asheville, N.C., veterans work to save a medieval village from a fire-breathing dragon.

“While they’re tracking the dragon, they have to keep it in their line of sight,” says Caitlin Rawlins, deputy director of clinical tech innovation in the VA’s Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning.… read more. “Telehealth and virtual reality expand into mainstream care at the US Dept of Veterans Affairs (VA)”