[Watching two recent major events in the U.S. on television reminded me of how non-interactive media can evoke a powerful sense of being there. The first was the live inauguration of President Biden and the various related activities that day, and the second is described well in this CNN story from last week about how the impeachment managers in the second trial of Donald Trump used a variety of video, audio and connecting narrative to recreate the harrowing experience of the insurrection at the Capitol. See the original story for several examples. –Matthew] [Image: An image from the security video…

[This Washington Post story reviews some of the available and soon-to-be available technologies for meeting via holograms. See the original story for an additional image and a 1:10:49 minute video of the “First Holograminar organized by WISeKey and ARHT Media Inc” on YouTube. DVE Holographics also enables holo-meetings, and for a related technology see the website of IKIN Inc. –Matthew] [Image: ARHT Media brought holographic speakers from Australia, Greece and Germany together on one stage. Credit: ARHT Media/Imverse] Will holograms be the next innovation in the post-pandemic workplace? Start-ups are introducing next-generation virtual meeting software By Dalvin Brown February 9, 2021…

[This interesting story from EdSurge explores young children’s presence responses in the context of a new, and apparently effective, application of interactive AI designed to help them learn. See the original version of the story for three more images. –Matthew] [Image: Children’s explanations of what they think lives inside a smart speaker. Left: A drawing indicates there is a person living inside the speaker. Right: A depiction of the smart speaker as a girl. Credit: Courtesy of the Digital Learning Lab.] When the Animated Bunny in the TV Show Listens for Kids’ Answers — and Answers Back By Rebecca Koenig…

[Too often we ignore the power of audio alone to evoke spatial and social presence. This story from The Verge reports on iHeart Media’s new expansion into immersive audio; the company’s press release (also available via Business Wire) makes the connection with presence clear: “Binaural, or 3D audio, creates a sense of movement, location and triggers other senses, enhancing listening experiences and providing a new way for people to hear high quality, surround sound, immersive content, and reproducing real-life experiences, much like virtual reality has done for video, right in their own homes. […] This is virtual reality for the…

[An upcoming adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream into a global, interactive real-time experience demonstrates both the evolution of presence-evoking technologies and storytelling and the creative innovation necessitated by the pandemic. The story below is from The Guardian, where it includes an additional image. More information and a video trailer are available at https://dream.online/ –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Stuart Martin/Royal Shakespeare Company] Is this an avatar I see before me? Audience takes to stage in virtual Shakespeare play Video game software enables actors to interact with viewers in real-time fantasy By Dalya Alberge 7 February 2021 Playhouses may be dark,…

[As described in the story below from The Conversation, Clubhouse is a new audio-only, real-time only (no recordings), social media platform designed to evoke social presence. Other coverage includes these additional details: From CNN: “[Founders Paul] Davison and [Rohan] Seth, who are both well connected in the tech industry from previous roles at top companies, said their goal with Clubhouse ‘”was to build a social experience that felt more human — where instead of posting, you could gather with other people and talk.’” From Vogue: “A dizzying bringing together of live podcast-style conversations, panel discussions, networking opportunities (some savvy people…