[Without using the term explicitly, this essay from Psyche elegantly describes (tele)presence experiences, including the requirement that they begin with an external stimulus and that they involve a subtle dual awareness of mediated and nonmediated realities. See the original version for a second image and a video. –Matthew] [Image: Detail of The Hunters in the Snow (1565), by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Credit: Courtesy the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna] When art transports us, where do we actually go? By Harri Mäcklin, a postdoctoral researcher of aesthetics at the University of Helsinki in Finland. His research interests include phenomenology, hermeneutics, and the…

[Here’s an interesting first person report on what it’s like to regularly do one’s work in virtual reality. It’s from Wired, where the original story includes a second image. –Matthew] [Image: The author’s virtual desktop, floating in orbit above Southeast Asia at night, inside of Immersed, a VR virtual work environment. Credit: Ben Klemens] I Spent Hundreds of Hours Working in VR. Here’s What I Learned This is how it feels in the future Mark Zuckerberg promised—disembodied and unaware of my surroundings. By Ben Klemens January 6, 2022 Hello from low Earth orbit! I have spent hundreds of hours working here…

[Although I’d assumed they’re already an integral part of pilot training, this article from FLYING magazine notes resistance to, argues for, and predicts, greater use of virtual reality and other immersive technologies in the training of new pilots. See the original version of the story for a second image and two videos. –Matthew] [Image: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Reserve Officer Training Corps Cadet Preston Tower looks behind him at two jets flown by fellow MIT cadets in a mixed reality environment during a flying training session with the 80th Flying Training Wing at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas. Credit: U.S.…

[Two recent stories from Campus Technology describe partnerships between GigXR and universities to expand the development of presence-evoking, safe-to-fail holographic simulations for medical training. The original version of the first story below includes a one-minute video (also available via YouTube). For more details, a 37 minute December 2020 GigXR Holographic Standardized Patients webinar from HealthySimulation.com is available via YouTube. –Matthew] [From Campus Technology] University of Cambridge, Cambridge Hospitals Partner with GigXR to Co-Create Holographic Simulation Medical Training By Kristal Kuykendall January 6, 2022 GigXR, a global provider of extended reality (XR) solutions for instructor-led teaching and training, has partnered with…

[The first video of the humanoid robot Ameca went viral at the end of 2021 (see a summary of coverage from a December 3 ISPR Presence News post). Now Ameca has appeared for the first time in public at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show, where the author of this story from CNET interviewed both the robot and the director of operations of the company that created it, Engineered Arts. See the original story to watch the nine minute interview (also available on YouTube) and search online for other videos. While the company purposely made Ameca look less like a human…

[Disney’s new “Virtual World Simulator” patent describes a sophisticated projection mapping system that can track multiple users and project personalized three-dimensional images to create augmented reality illusions without the need for a headset, phone or other user device. This story from SiliconValley.com provides details and context (and the original version includes two different images). IGN’s coverage adds this: “In addition to creating immersive theme park experiences, Disney’s patent also appears to note that the technology could be adapted for home use. The patent states that the virtual world simulator could be used to enable the transformation of a real-world venue,…