[Although scary, potentially dangerous incidents like the one described in this story from Kotaku are unusual, as one of the commenters on the original version of the story notes, it’s best to not leave lithium batteries including those in VR headsets charging when one is away. More safety advice can be found on the website of energy company ACE Battery. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Frankfort Volunteer Fire Department] Firefighters Investigating Explosion Caused By Meta Quest 3 In Maine Home The Frankfort fire department is warning owners of the ‘VR Goggles’ after footage shows debris flying and dogs in a panic By…

[The impacts of using presence-evoking technologies to recreate loved ones who have died are complex and poorly understood, even more so in the political context discussed in this story from BBC News. See the original version of the story for a second image. Two episodes of the CBS series Matlock recently explored some of the issues surrounding the “grief Bot” phenomenon in a compelling way; you can find (spoiler-filled) descriptions of “The Future is Nigh” and “Day One” on the Hidden Remote website. –Matthew] [Image: “The Special Military Operation has ended” and “Our heroes are coming home,” read the billboards…

[MIT researchers are creating a promising application of presence-evoking technologies that converts complex and difficult-to-interpret two-dimensional data to a “more intuitive and more understandable” three-dimensional version that better matches human perception. The original version of this story includes a 3:36 minute video (which is also available on YouTube). –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Courtesy of the researchers] Augmented reality system could make medical ultrasounds easier to interpret MIT researchers have designed an ultrasound system that creates a real-time 3D representation of the object being imaged. By Anne Trafton, MIT NewsJune 10, 2026 Interpreting medical ultrasound images is a difficult task, requiring a…

[It’s a shame that war is often the motivation behind advances in presence-evoking technology. This story from United24 Media reports that a Ukrainian company has introduced a software feature that automatically turns two-dimensional building plans into three-dimensional models that can be navigated in virtual reality, allowing soldiers to practice assaults on the actual building. See the link in the last paragraph (or the ISPR Presence News post) to learn more about another company’s related software that lets users train to destroy enemy drones. –Matthew] [Image: A screenshot from Farsight Vision’s Floor Plan feature shows a 3D training environment used to…

[A robot developed over several years by a diverse team of relevant stakeholders including engineers, clinicians and patients, and now capable of both telepresence and semi-autonomous or autonomous operation, is being tested in a clinical trial. The story below from the University of Pisa provides details and context (see the original version for two more images). For more information visit these websites: clinicaltrials.gov, SoftBots Lab of the Italian Institute of Technology, and the Natural Machine Motion Initiative; a 4:22 minute video of the robot from Liguria Notizie is available on YouTube. –Matthew] Maugeri, the Italian Institute of Technology and the…

[An innovative “collaborative online international learning, or COIL” course in food science at the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign uses a variety of presence-evoking and other technologies to provide students vivid and impactful experiences in international settings. Note this quote from UIUC professor Toni Gist: “Virtual reality allowed students to step into these environments and compare them directly to their own experiences in the U.S. That level of immersion creates a different kind of learning experience that moves beyond reading or watching something that isn’t interactive and reflective.” Follow the links within the story below, and the one to her YouTube…

[This story from PreventionWeb, a website of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, describes the use of presence-evoking technologies to help people visualize, understand the risk of, and begin to prepare to respond to, rare but dangerous flooding events in France. See the original version of the story for two more images, bios of the three authors, and a 10 minute video (also available on YouTube; the video is in French but you can read English subtitles by clicking on Settings Subtitles/CC Auto-translate English). –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Peter Scholl] Virtual reality for flood risk communication: Making rare events tangible…