[This story from ZDNet describes efforts to create presence experiences of original art in people’s homes, an especially useful prospect during the social distancing required by a pandemic. Follow the link (and submit your email address) to read the sponsored study comparing EEG and self-reported memory for art presented in four formats: “Augmented reality, virtual reality, a 2-dimensional image on an iPad, and a real painting hung in [a] museum’s gallery.” Find the new free Cuseum AR app by searching for Cuseum or the app name, [AR]T Museum.” And for more details see coverage from ARPost and a story in…

[The telepresence produced with Microsoft’s HoloLens headsets is being used to protect doctors, as reported in this story from Business Insider. For more information, a large photo gallery and a 1:00 minute video, see the Microsoft News Centre UK. –Matthew] Doctors in London hospitals are using headsets from Microsoft to reduce the amount of staff coming into contact with COVID-19 patients Isobel Asher Hamilton May 25, 2020 Doctors in London hospitals are using mixed-reality headsets from Microsoft to reduce the amount of staff coming into contact with COVID-19 patients. The headsets look like a visor that encircles the head, and…

[Escape the travails of 2020 on earth with a new virtual reality visualization from NASA; more details, images, and multiple videos are available in the original version of this story from NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory. –Matthew] A New Galactic Center Adventure in Virtual Reality A new visualization, “Galactic Center VR,” features simulations of material streaming toward the Milky Way’s supermassive black hole known as Sgr A*. Users can experience the last 500 years of cosmic evolution in this area in a free virtual reality program. Blue and cyan show the simulation’s X-ray emission from hot gas due to the supersonic…

[If (tele)presence is the illusion that mediated experience is nonmediated reality, inverse presence is the illusion that the nonmediated experience of reality is mediated. As Lydia Timmins and I found, it’s particularly likely to occur during extremely negative or positive events. DesignTAXI is one of several publications reporting on a clever mock ad that illustrates this phenomenon. Designboom adds this: The mock-up of the outdoor advertising campaign sees Madrid’s bus stops fitted with a mirrored surface that reads: “BLACK MIRROR: 6th Season. Live Now, everywhere.” Citizens wearing masks, face shields and gloves are portrayed in the pictures, adding an extra…

[Until, and then after, it’s safe to have large crowds attend sporting events, technology can help create the illusion of being part at the event together, as reported in this story from CBS Los Angeles (see the original version for a 1:20 minute video). Note the explicit reference to presence in the last paragraph. –Matthew] [Image: Source: “Sports VR Innovator Closes $2.36m Seed Round” in BusinessCloud] Can Virtual Reality Help Sports Fans Experience Game Day In A Post COVID-19 World? May 27, 2020 Ryan Mayer (CBS Local/CBSLA)- “If I really do want to establish a feeling that I’m there, then…

[Since social distancing requirements were imposed, I’ve been fascinated by how talk and comedy programs in the U.S. have adjusted to the lack of a live audience that adds energy and feedback to the performers and creates the impression for the viewer that they’re with other audience members. The story below from BBC News describes a radio program’s innovative use of audience members who are present via Zoom (see the original version for two more images and a 1:49 minute video). A related story from BBC News describes how UK programs have adapted and TVLine has a similar story (filled…