[As a cyclist with poor vision even with corrective glasses, I’m particularly interested in this post about using presence to reduce accidents by increasing driver-cyclist empathy. A report in Australia’s Nyngan Observer about how the government there is using VR to reduce accidents with quad bikes on farms led me to the short story below from Campaign that describes a Ford program that uses VR to give motorists the experience of bicyclists and vice versa. For much more information including videos, see Ford’s Share the Road website and the Ford Europe blog. For a recent published study on this topic,…

[This story from Hyperallergic explores current dating sims, “a sub-genre of video games which center around the user forming and maintaining romantic relationships with digital partners through the use of VR/AR and (for now) rudimentary AI” and considers some of their positive and negative implications. Designers and scholars need to consider the implications since the (presence-evoking) technologies are evolving quickly. Note that the author plans a follow-up report on gender roles and sexual preferences in the sims. The original version of the story below includes four additional images. –Matthew] [Image: Screenshot of the game VR Kanogo. Credit: The author for…

[This first person report and evaluation of a new mixed reality art exhibit in New York City from TechRadar describes both the promise and current limitations of presence-evoking technologies. See the original story for six additional images and a 2:59 minute behind-the-scenes video. For more information see Microsoft’s coverage, the exhibit’s website (which features a nice interactive rippling water illusion), a 2:04 minute video report from CNET, and another first person report from Engadget. –Matthew] Microsoft HoloLens and Times Square prove an odd mix for an underwater AR exhibit Tourists’ first introduction to augmented reality may underwhelm By Michael Hicks…

[Here’s a new and surprising use of presence-evoking technology for summer fun. The story is from Digital Trends, where it includes a 1:06 minute video. More information from coverage in Gearbrain follows below and see the Ballast website for more on VRSlide and the company’s larger vision for underwater applications of VR and presence. –Matthew] World’s first VR-augmented waterslide is totally unnecessary, but also amazing Luke Dormehl July 18, 2018 Let’s face it: We live in a pretty jaded society. In such a “been there, seen that” environment, the promise of a regular ole’ waterpark wouldn’t be enough to prompt…

[When racial bias has been considered in the context of presence it usually has involved virtual environments (e.g., search for the phrase in the archives of ISPR Presence News), but this story from IEEE Spectrum describes a new study that examined this bias in the context of medium-as-social-actor presence, along with the controversy the work has generated. The original version of the story includes a second image. If the link in the story doesn’t work, the study itself is available (at this writing) in a pdf file here. –Matthew] [Image: Example of image that researchers from the University of Canterbury,…

[Evermore is a new form of smart experience theme park opening soon in Utah; this abridged story from Blooloop describes the vision for the park that “blurs the line between video games, fantasy, and real life.” See the original version for several more images and two videos and see the Evermore website for more information. –Matthew] Evermore – how Utah’s new smart park is imagineered for fantasy gaming Lalla Merlin 12th June 2018 Imagine a theme park without rides or IP, but with live action role playing (LARP), dragons, quests, pirates, and midnight costume parties. This is Evermore, opening in…