[This Reuters story describes a new effort to reduce concussions from playing soccer by training in virtual reality. See the original story for a 2:03 minute video and four more images, and for a first-person review of the previous version of the VR software see Engadget. –Matthew] [Image: Journalist Pete Hall checks the virtual reality headset “Player 22” by Rezzil, used by pro footballers to combat the risks of concussion from heading, in Manchester, Britain, August 24, 2021. Credit: Reuters/Peter Powell] How virtual reality could help reduce brain injuries By Peter Hall September 1, 2021 MANCHESTER, England, Aug 27 (Reuters)…

[In the Forbes story below Bernard Marr considers the implications of the recent announcement that the group ABBA is reuniting after 40 years for a new album and a concert series in which the members’ recorded de-aged digital avatars will perform with a live band. For more about the concert see coverage in VRScout and a segment (beginning at 23:15) in the official announcement video on YouTube, and for more about ABBA and the album and concert see The Independent. –Matthew] [Image: Source: VRScout] ABBA’s Virtual Concert, The Metaverse And The Future Of Entertainment By Bernard Marr September 6, 2021…

[This Road to VR story describes how physicists and philosophers think we can, and whether we should, gather evidence for the simulation hypothesis. See also a Space.com interview with Rodney Ascher, the director of the new documentary A Glitch in the Matrix that “tackles the theory head-on”; that story includes the film’s trailer (also available via YouTube); here’s an interview excerpt: “SPACE.COM: How did making this film either confirm your belief in simulation theory or make you question it? RODNEY ASCHER: Well there are two ways of looking at simulation theory, either as a scientific possibility that changes everything we…

[In another story that raises questions about the ethics of presence, this report from SoraNews24 takes a sarcastic approach to describe a new product from Japanese toy maker Takara Tomy intended to evoke medium-as-social-actor presence; the original story includes more pictures and watch the video there or via YouTube to get the full impact. –Matthew] Electronic grandchild “Ami-chan” developed by Takara Tomy The future of grandparenting is now! By Master Blaster August 21, 2021 It’s time we faced some hard truths, grandchildren are inefficient drains on our time and money. Sure they have their moments and will sometimes produce goods…

[This TechCrunch story weighs the ethical implications of new software that uses real-time speech recognition and synthesis to create the illusion that a person is speaking with a different accent. The company’s press release is available via AccessWire. What do you think about the promise and peril of this presence-evoking technology? –Matthew] Sanas aims to convert one accent to another in real time for smoother customer service calls By Devin Coldewey August 31, 2021 In the customer service industry, your accent dictates many aspects of your job. It shouldn’t be the case that there’s a “better” or “worse” accent, but…

[Short stories from The Verge and Reuters provide details on a new presence-enhancing feature in the Clubhouse audio chat app. See a February 2021 ISPR Presence News post for more about Clubhouse. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Engadget. Credit: Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images] Clubhouse embraces spatial audio for more lifelike conversations Speakers are distributed in 3D space just like the real world By Thomas Ricker August 30, 2021 Clubhouse began rolling out a iOS app update on Sunday that enables spatial audio support. The Android update is “coming soon,” according to the company. The feature works by introducing subtle spatial cues…