[This story from the University of California, Davis includes lots of interesting comments about the principles behind the design of, and first-person reports about presence and learning from students in, a UC Davis course called “Interactive Shakespeare: From VR to AI.” See the original version for five more pictures and a 2:18 minute video (also on YouTube). For more context, see the July 2022 ISPR Presence News post ”Two forms of ‘Shakespeare Karaoke’ illustrate immersion and isolation issues in EdTech and beyond.” –Matthew] To Be or Not To Be … in Virtual Reality How VR Is Changing the Way Shakespeare…

[In a recent interview the modern philosopher who popularized the Simulation Argument (that we’re all experiencing the ultimate form of presence) commented that prominent people, especially “extreme cases” like Donald Trump and Elon Musk, have more reason to give credence to the possibility that they and we are living inside a simulation. This report from IFLScience does a nice job of summarizing the argument itself and relaying the new comments; it includes links to both the interview with Nick Bostrom and an earlier IFLScience report on whether and how we might or might not want to escape such a simulation.…

[A growing network of hospitals in Kenya are using the Proximie telepresence system to improve obstetric surgical care, as reported in this story from Health Business (the original version includes a second picture). For more information and context, see an April 2021 ISPR Presence News post and the Proximie website (and specifically the August 2022 blog post “The Obstetric Safe Surgery (OSS) Program in Kenya: Co-designing surgical training and mentoring programmes with local teams”). –Matthew] Inside Proximie: How telepresence is transforming surgery and maternal care in Kenya By Pauline Achieng TomJune 3, 2026 In Kibwezi Makueni County, a mother suffers…

[A new tool developed by researchers at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in South Korea provides a way to preserve sensory immersion and presence during a virtual reality experience while allowing the user to interact with objects in their physical environment, a potentially valuable alternative to image passthrough and removing the VR headset. Basic details are in this story from the Chosun Daily (the English edition of the Chosun Ilbo); more information is available in this published article: Elsharkawy, A., Gim, B., Ataya, A., & Kim, S. (2026). SelfBlending: Artificial Intelligence-Driven Augmentation with Hand Interactions for Seamless…

[A new humanoid robot named Codey is designed to use embodied decentralized artificial general intelligence (AGI) to autonomously interact with humans in ways that evoke social presence in a variety of public and private environments. This story from Interesting Engineering describes the robot and its current and planned capabilities; see the original version for a 4:07 minute video (also available on YouTube). The excerpts from coverage in USA Today that follow below provide additional context, including comments on how children and adults respond to Codey and concerns about the prospect of similar robots becoming a regular part of our lives…

[Researchers at South Korea’s Pohang University of Science & Technology (POSTECH) devised a way to produce effective and coordinated haptic stimuli for a person using an fMRI-compatible projection and sound virtual reality system, with intriguing results indicating the role of haptics in generating presence responses. See details below (or via EurekAlert!) and in the researchers’ new publication. –Matthew] “Fingertip Immersion” in Virtual Reality with Brain Activity Measurement POSTECH Professor Keehoon Kim’s Team Develops Multi-Finger Haptic Display that Operates Inside MRI June 5, 2026 What if virtual reality could go beyond sight and sound—and truly let users feel the digital world…

[A new presence-evoking attraction has opened at Niagara Falls, as reported in this news release from hospitality and entertainment company Delaware North; see the original version for five more pictures. A few admittedly biased first-person reports from coverage by Buffalo Toronto Public Media follow below; see the original version of that story for five different pictures (there’s also a 1:07 minute video version on YouTube). For more information and images, visit the Niagara Falls State Park website. It’s interesting that this and other presence-evoking attractions are installed at or near the site they reproduce for visitors (e.g., the IMAX Theater…

[This is a long but interesting story from VFX Voice, the magazine of the Visual Effects Society, that uses quotes from leaders of companies involved in the creation of location-based entertainment (LBE) experiences at theme parks and other attractions. The leaders all describe how they’re using increasingly rich and varied combinations of technologies to evoke multiple types of presence for consumers. See the original version of the story for 17 more pictures (note that I added the section headings in the version here). –Matthew] [Image: Meow Wolf Grapevine’s The Real Unreal exhibition near Dallas. Credit: Paul Torres. Courtesy of Meow…

[After a decade of development, Snap has announced a consumer AR glasses product for consumers. This story from Tech Radar includes a rare first-person report: the author describes an experience of “true AR that feels positively science fiction.” Unfortunately, the cost of the Snap Specs and other factors seem likely to limit the prospects for commercial success, but the story’s author, and long-time expert observer of the XR world Skarredghost (Antony Vitillo) in his The Ghost Howls blog, express hope for price reductions as the technology evolves further. For more details see coverage in Wired, which quotes Snap CEO Evan…

[An intriguing trend in South Korea has young people spending time on websites that offer simulated rather than actual shopping and shared work or study breaks. Most of the press coverage of the sites and their appeal is based on this story from the Korea Times; the original version includes four different images, including screenshots of websites and social media posts. For more information, see coverage from Fast Company and an examination of what lessons the sites offer from Li Solutions. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Li Solutions] Gen Z turn to ‘dopamine sites’ for quick comfort Young Koreans find relief in…

[This story from Samsung about the use of its glasses-free 3D Spatial Signage technology as visitors wait in line for the Safari World attraction at the largest theme park in Korea is promotional, but note the many indirect references to visitors’ presence experiences. The original version of the story includes six more images, two of them animated gifs, and a 1:48 minute video (also available on YouTube). –Matthew] [Image: Visitors take photos with the animals on Spatial Signage, turning time spent waiting into part of the overall experience] How Samsung’s Spatial Signage Transforms the Attraction Queue Into an Immersive Safari…

[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…