[This story from the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (also available via Phys.Org) describes how the knowledge that animals, in this case adult zebrafish, can experience an illusion of nonmediation can be used to study how their – and by extension, our – brains interpret and respond to the world. See the original story for a second figure and for more details see the article in Nature Methods. –Matthew] [Image: The Virtual Reality arena. The fish is positioned between the posts under the microscope objective, where it can swim as it is shown the VR projection. The illumination by…

[This story from WKYC reports on efforts to use virtual reality and presence in the training of classroom teachers; the original version includes a 1:52 minute video news report. For more information see the Kent State website, which features a 2:44 minute video about the Extended Reality Initiative. Kent State also has a story about an NEH-funded project that will use augmented reality to commemorate the tragic events of May 4, 1970. –Matthew] Training future teachers with virtual reality The National Science Foundation has awarded Kent State’s team of researchers a three-year grant for $1.48 million. By Amani Abraham February…

[The loss of life is the biggest tragedy of course, but this story from Smithsonian Magazine describes an important application of presence-evoking technologies to bring awareness to the loss of monuments and other cultural heritage structures in ancient cities destroyed in “political and military upheaval.” See the original story for seven more images and a wider version of the image below. –Matthew] [Image: The exhibition presents the possibility that 3-D models (above: a digital rendering of Aleppo following the 2012 civil war in Syria), and the information extracted from them can be used for future restoration projects. Credit: Arab World…

[I’m always looking for interesting new applications of presence to share here, and this one definitely qualifies (plus it involves my undergraduate alma mater). The story is from the University of California, Riverside’s Inside UCR and is followed by more details from the website of Groove Jones, the creator of the Virtual TasteTrek Citrus experience. The Givaudan website includes even more information and features a 2:31 minute promotional video and a 3:47 minute 360 degree interactive video (also available via YouTube here and here). –Matthew] Givaudan brings its Virtual Taste Trek to Riverside Virtual reality goggles and scent tubes recreate…

[The story below from The New York Times explores how some of today’s technologies provide a strong sense of social connection for people in quarantine due to the Coronovirus; see the original version for more images and a sidebar about the virus. For more on the value of presence-evoking technologies as the virus spreads, see these stories: Chinese property firms bank on virtual reality as virus fears hit market (Reuters) How to protect hospital assistants from coronavirus? Use robots (ThePrint) The Coronavirus Has Bigger Implications Than [now-cancelled Mobile World Congress] (Forbes) 4 Pragmatic Ways Immersive Healthcare Can Help Alleviate The…

[This short piece from TimeOut Tokyo provides information about a touring exhibition that uses floor-to-ceiling projections and corresponding sounds to immerse visitors in the paintings of Claude Monet and other Impressionists. See the original version for four different images. For more information see the website for the Florence version of the exhibition and the 3:15 minute Monet Experience Official Trailer via YouTube, and the website for the current version of the exhibition in Brussels and a 4:15 minute video visit. A 2018 post in ISPR Presence News describes an immersive VR exploration of Monet’s ‘Water Lilies.’ –Matthew] [Image: Screenshot graphic…