International Society
for Presence Research

Author: Matthew Lombard

  • Can AI companions redefine how we connect?

    Published:

    [Although it highlights only a particular platform, this article from FindArticles provides an interesting perspective on the evolution of communication media and specifically AI companions (note use of the term presence in the first paragraph). See also a story titled “Feeling Lonely? An Attentive Listener Is an AI Prompt Away” from the Harvard Business School. –Matthew] Can AI Companions Redefine How We Connect? By Kathlyn JacobsonDecember 20, 2025 By 2025 the intersection of artificial intelligence and emotion has moved from niche curiosity to cultural phenomenon. What began as simple chatbots responding to commands has evolved into a new market built…

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  • Call: “New Challenges of Interactivity in Narrative Creation” issue of Aniki: Portuguese Journal of the Moving Image

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    Call for Papers: New Challenges of Interactivity in Narrative CreationSpecial issue of Aniki: Portuguese Journal of the Moving Imagehttps://aim.org.pt/ojs/index.php/revista/announcement/view/79 Deadline for submissions: February 15, 2026 Narrative as a form of communication is one of the most important modes of human cognitive perception and understanding. In recent years, emerging media have significantly shaped that process, leading to new developments, opportunities, and challenges for the narrative form and its creation. In history, with each new media technology innovation—from the invention of writing to the printing press, and from the mass distribution of video to digital games—the relationship between narrative form and its…

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  • Sentient’s Escents device that brings scents into VR and AR is available for pre-order

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    [It’ll be expensive, but a device called Escents that adds smells to the presence experiences provided by virtual and augmented reality is now available for pre-order, with delivery early next year. Details, including some of the applications suggested by the creators. are in the story from Heise below. More context is available in the August 2023 ISPR Presence News post titled “UK startup Scentient will help you smell your way out of the uncanny valley,” the Scentient website, and an 8:12 minute 2024 video report from Great Big Story on YouTube. –Matthew] Smelling for more immersion: “Escents” brings scents into…

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  • Call: Fourth International Digital Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference (DMHW 2026)

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    Call for Abstracts: Fourth International Digital Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference (DMHW 2026)June 17-19, 2026University of Glasgow (United Kingdom)https://dmhw.net/ Deadline for submissions: March 30, 2026 DMHW is the venue for all actors interested in technologies revolving around mental health, from patients to clinicians, from entrepreneurs to researchers. Glasgow will host the fourth edition of the event, following those of Belfast 2023, Derry 2024 and Granada 2025. The event is hosted by the UKRI Centre for Doctoral Training in Socially Intelligent Artificial Agents. — Mental ill health is prevalent, and citizens need more support to prevent mental ill health as well…

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  • Penn State bird researchers use VR to bring fieldwork experience to classroom

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    [This story from Penn State University provides another example of how presence is being usefully applied across diverse topic areas. See the original story for 11 more pictures, a 40 second video of the VRmirova environment, and a 1:30 minute video report (also on YouTube here and here). –Matthew] Bird researchers use virtual reality to bring fieldwork experience to classroom By Marina NaumovaDecember 16, 2025 UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A flutter of blue and yellow darts through a field in late May. Trees, shrubs and summer flowers fill the landscape. A blue-winged warbler is just within reach, with one swift…

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  • Call: CEEGS 2026 – Digital Earths | Material Realities: Sustainability of/in Video Games

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    Call for Papers: CEEGS (Central and Eastern European Game Studies) Conference 2026Digital Earths | Material Realities: Sustainability of/in Video GamesNovember 20-22, 2026Warszawa, Polandhttps://ceegs.fsv.cuni.cz/ceegs-2026/ Deadline for submission of abstracts: February 14, 2026Deadline for submission of workshop proposals: May 30, 2026 ABOUT THE CONFERENCE CEEGS, the Central and Eastern European Games Studies Conference, is the annual conference of the DiGRA Central and Eastern Europe chapter dedicated to exploring various aspects of games, including digital, analog, and hybrid formats, as well as the cultural and social contexts in which they exist. CEEGS aims to promote and advance game research, particularly in Central and…

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  • The intersections of dance and virtual reality

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    [This story from Dance Magazine describes how “a growing number of dance artists and companies are exploring—and, in some cases, redefining—what [virtual reality] can do.” Note the many indirect references to presence and see the original version of the story for 12 more vivid pictures. For more details, see the Kinetic Light website. –Matthew] [Image: Laurel Lawson and Alice Sheppard during the territory filming process. Credit: Photo by Cherylynn Tsushima, Courtesy Kinetic Light.] The Intersections of Dance and Virtual Reality By Sophie BressNovember 21, 2025 Kinetic Light’s territory, which premiered this summer, uses technology to place each audience member right…

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  • Call: Mediatization Conference 7 – Mediatization and Al: Values, Principles, and Practices of AI-zation?

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    Call for Papers: Mediatization Conference 7, 2026Mediatization and Artificial Intelligence: Values, Principles, and Practices of AI-zation?March 19-20, 2026Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland, and onlineOrganizers: Institute of Social Communication and Media Science and Polish Communication Association, Mediatization Sectionhttps://www.umcs.pl/en/ms-cfp.htm/ Deadline for submission of abstracts: January 20, 2026 When observing the constant deepening of the mediatization process, one can ask what comes after mediatization? Is this term still relevant or should we look for an alternative, such as ‘AI-zation’, to describe and explain the transformations driven by Large Language Models witnessed by people in different fields and sectors of their private and…

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  • High School students join characters in Shakespeare plays in new VR experience

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    [Note the many indirect references to the nature and benefits of presence experiences in this CBC News story about an immersive VR tool that makes users part of the world of Shakespeare’s plays. See the original version of the story for a second image and 4:43 minute video. For more on Shakespeare and presence, see ISPR Presence News posts from February 4, 2019, February 9, 2021, February 16, 2021, and February 8, 2023. –Matthew] [Image: “Stepping Inside Shakespeare,” won the University of Guelph’s 2025 Innovation of the Year Award for its creative approach to education. Co-designed by Dr.…

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  • Call: Communicating (with) Non-Humans. Animals and Machines as Interlocutors (conference)

    Published:

    Call for Papers: Communicating (with) Non-Humans. Animals and Machines as InterlocutorsJune 11-12, 2026European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder), Germanyhttps://www.kuwi.europa-uni.de/de/professuren-mitarbeitende/sprachpraktiken-medienkulturen/communicating-nonhumans/index.htmlPDF: https://discourseanalysis.net/sites/default/files/2025-11/CfP_CommunicatingWithNonHumans.pdf Deadline for submissions: January 31, 2026 From voice assistants and generative AI to the evolving relationships between humans and their animal companions, language-based communication with non-humans is becoming an increasingly common feature of the everyday. In response, we are seeing a surge in research from linguistics to philosophy to the social sciences, investigating the meanings, quandaries, and realities of this new communicative terrain. This conference aims to build a bridge between the predominantly distinct fields of human–animal and human–machine communication in…

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  • Protecting presence in VR design: Killing the loading screen

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    [In this guest article in Road to VR, an expert developer and programmer of VR games describes, and provides examples of, some of the many “high-level” ways game designers avoid breaking presence for players. See the original version of the article for eight more images and a video. –Matthew] [Image: In Into The Radius, you manage your inventory by pulling items out of a physical backpack rather than an inventory menu] The Seamless Dream: Killing The VR Loading Screen A guest article by Charlie Cochrane, a solo VR dev running Crooks Peak studio. With a background in robotics, programming, and…

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  • Call: The Cinematography of Today Conference Lisbon

    Published:

    Call for Papers: The Cinematography of Today Conference LisbonJune 24–26, 2026Universidade LusófonaLisbon, Portugalhttps://cinematographyinprogress.com/index.php/cito/announcement/view/32 Deadline for submission of abstracts: March 24, 2026 The Cinematography of Today conference invites scholars, educators, researchers, and practitioners to explore the evolving art, craft, and theory of cinematography. This three-day event seeks to foster dialogue between academic research and professional practice, addressing the aesthetic, technical, educational, and ethical dimensions that shape contemporary image-making. As digital and analog practices, immersive technologies, and artificial intelligence redefine the cinematographic landscape, this conference offers a space for reflection, experimentation, and exchange among cinematographers, educators, students, and researchers from around the…

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