[Presence may be a powerful force for addressing the timely and much too common problem of sexual harassment. This story is from Los Angeles Magazine, where the original includes three other pictures; more information is available on the Vantage Point Indiegogo page and in coverage available via the Press page on the company’s website. –Matthew] Can Virtual Reality Help Stop Sexual Harassment in the Workplace? An L.A.-based entrepreneur and sexual violence-survivor is bringing a fresh solution to life March 19, 2018 Liz Ohanesian I’m a silent presence inside a tidy office, observing as one woman and two men work into…

[This story from Asahi Shimbun describes a very positive and meaningful use of presence. The original story includes a second image. –Matthew] [Image: A virtual reality device used in the clinical study is demonstrated at the Ashiya Municipal Hospital in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture. The image shown on the personal computer screen is also displayed inside the goggle. (Credit: Akiyoshi Abe)] Virtual reality takes terminal cancer patients to dream places By AKIYOSHI ABE/ Staff Writer March 19, 2018 ASHIYA, Hyogo Prefecture–Cancer patients in a palliative care unit at a hospital here are ticking off their “bucket list” destinations or attending events that…

[A major competition has been launched to accomplish a “grand challenge” for presence, as reported in this story from Fast Company. For more information see an interview with the XPrize founder in Fortune, and of course the website for the Avatar XPrize. –Matthew] The Latest XPrize Is For Building Remote-Controlled Humanoid Robots From caring for distant parents to entering burning buildings, there are lots of ways that people might use robot avatars to be in places they can’t go themselves. The XPrize Foundation is offering $8 million if someone can build one by 2021. By Ben Schiller March 12, 2018…

[Light field cameras aren’t new (see The Verge) but Google may be the company that brings them affordably to VR. This story is from MIT Technology Review, where the original includes more images. For more information see the Google blog post by Paul Debevec. –Matthew] VR is still a novelty, but Google’s light-field technology could make it serious art A new VR app lets you explore worlds with surprising depth and detail. by Rachel Metz March 14, 2018 I recently got a private tour of a NASA space shuttle’s cockpit, a quirky mosaic-covered LA home, and a peaceful chapel with…

[In most cases organizations use a presence-evoking technology for a single purpose, for example for entertaining consumers or for training employees; this story from The Asahi Shimbun describes an interesting case in which the same technology is used for both. The original version of the story includes a second image. –Matthew] [Image: Wearing VR headsets, riders prepare for a horror-filled ride at the Toshimaen amusement park in Tokyo. Credit: Odaka Chiba] Virtual reality horror ride could help train actual railway workers By Odaka Chiba/ Staff Writer March 11, 2018 The Seibu Group has devised two virtual-reality (VR) projects with entirely…

[A recent series of reports of Amazon’s Alexa spontaneously laughing has raised questions about whether machines should be designed to emulate humans. This story from Popular Science argues yes. A counter view can be found in “Alexa’s Creepy Laughter Is A Bigger Problem Than Amazon Admits” in Co.Design: “Alexa’s recent case of the ‘Ha Ha Has’ underlines the uncanny valley between Amazon’s Alexa and any real human. It’s why Star Trek poked at the inabilities of the logic-based aliens known as Spock and Data to understand humor. Humor is an insanely complicated topic considered intrinsic to human evolution. It’s why…

[Museums are still figuring out how to best utilize, and fund, virtual reality and the presence experiences it creates, but are impressed with its wide appeal. The director of HTC’s VIVE Arts “says VR will soon be just as important to a museum as its website.” This story is from The New York Times – see the original for several more images. –Matthew] [Image: A staff member at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris demonstrating a new permanent virtual reality installation about evolution. Credit: Dmitry Kostyukov for The New York Times] European Museums Get Adventurous With Virtual Reality By…