[SoraNews24 and Japan Today report that a second location of OrySNACK — a bar where customers are served by and converse with robots teleoperated by workers from home — will join the original location in Tokyo. For more details see coverage in Japan News that includes six images and a 54 second video (also available on YouTube); additional information and reservations are available directly from the OrySNACK website. –Matthew] [Image: An OriHime-D avatar robot toasts with customers at OrySnack in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, on Sept. 9. People who have difficulty working outside the home serve customers by remotely operating the…

[K-pop artists are the subject of increasingly large, ambitious, and “more immersive projects incorporating media art, holograms, virtual reality and interactive installations” to evoke presence and engage fans. This story is from the Korea Herald, where the original version includes three more pictures. –Matthew] [Image: Ive members Yujin and Wonyoung’s exhibition “An-Young” at The Seouliteum in eastern Seoul. Credit: Mut] K-pop exhibitions turn fandom into immersive experience Exhibitions become new fixtures in K-pop promotions for fans to step inside artists’ worlds By Lee Jung-jooSeptember 30, 2026 Immersive media exhibitions are becoming increasingly common in K-pop promotions, as artists and agencies…

[Here’s another application of presence-evoking virtual reality I’d never thought of, described in a PepsiCo press release. See the original version for three more vivid images. –Matthew] Inside the virtual potato harvester: How PepsiCo and Grimme are helping growers protect quality and reduce waste A new digital twin and virtual reality (VR) training platform gives operators a safer, faster way to learn best practices while significantly reducing waste and supporting farmer livelihoods and PepsiCo Positive (pep+). October 1, 2026 Every harvest, millions of potatoes begin their journey underground only to lose their value before they even get peeled to become…

[In this story from TechCrunch, senior venture capital and startup reporter Dominic-Madori Davis describes the experience of having a digital avatar of herself created, how she and others reacted to it, and her thoughts and predictions about similar avatars being used in corporations and in journalism. –Matthew] [Image: Digital avatar of author Dominic-Madori Davis created by Synthesia] I created an interactive digital avatar of myself — and you can talk to it By Dominic-Madori DavisSeptember 26, 2026 When Alexandru Voica, head of corporate affairs at the video-generation startup Synthesia, sent me a link this summer to the newest addition to…

[As this story from Gadget Review (also available via Yahoo! News) notes, the court hasn’t yet ruled on the matter, but the Attorney General of Florida is arguing that OpenAI should be required to change the design of its ChatGPT AI to stop “pretending to be human,” i.e., prevent it from evoking medium-as-social-actor presence. The last paragraph in the story summarizes the situation: “The case is forcing a question the industry has largely avoided. Should an AI that sounds like a person be required to make unmistakably clear that it is not one? How courts answer that question will have…

[You’re likely to have heard about Meta’s announcement of new virtual reality glasses, due in spring 2027 with a lighter form factor than VR headsets. As this story from The Hollywood Reporter notes, it’s designed to be “a ‘cinema’ a ‘computer’ and a [gaming] ‘console’ all in one.” The focus here is on how the device will provide a new form of presence-evoking immersive entertainment, with some reasons to be both optimistic and skeptical about its appeal and likely success. –Matthew] Can Imax, Dolby and New VR Glasses Help Meta Reboot Its Immersive Entertainment Ambitions? Mark Zuckerberg unveiled a major…

[There’s no explicit mention of presence in this press release from ophthalmic technology company GreenMan Vision via Business Wire, but it’s certainly implicated in the results of the reported study about the effectiveness of a virtual reality platform used to educate, and provide simulated post-operative outcomes for, patients before surgery for cataracts. Follow the link within the release for more details. –Matthew] [Image: InSightVR headset with text: “A breakthrough VR platform that lets patients preview their vision – before they choose a lens.” Source: InsightVR] Peer-Reviewed Multi-Center Study Links GreenMan’s InSightVR to Greater Cataract Patient Understanding, Advanced-Technology IOL Selection and…

[An innovative immersive media experience called “Uncanny Alley: A New Day” recently won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Emerging Media Program. Excerpts from coverage by VR.org directly below are followed by a first-person report from The Hollywood Times on what the experience is like – including clear references to presence. See the original version of the latter story for eight more images; more details are available in a press release via EIN Presswire; the trailer for “Uncanny Alley” is available on YouTube. –Matthew] [From VR.org] A Live VRChat Show Won the Emerging Media Emmy Over Blumhouse and Fallout By Nina…

[An expanded, dome-based immersive 25th anniversary version of the film Shrek is said to signal a “potential trend towards more Shared Reality experiences,” as reported in this story from ScreenRant. Excerpts from other coverage follow below. Short promotional videos are available on YouTube and TikTok. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Cosm on Instagram] New Version Of Shrek Movie Officially Releasing 25 Years Later By Hannah GearanSeptember 17, 2026 Shrek is getting new life in a re-release, but in an unexpected format. The fantasy series kicked off a quarter-century ago in 2001. The original movie earned strong critical reviews and a hefty box…

[This analysis from a story in Medscape highlights the many factors involved in successfully adopting new presence-evoking technologies in an application where there’s little margin for error. For related information see the “Dive deeper” feature in the original version. For earlier coverage on this topic see “With innovation of Medical Vision Goggles, no cancer cells left behind” from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and “The future of surgery: Using augmented reality goggles in the operating room” from UC Davis Health. –Matthew] [Image: Source: UC Davis Health] Will Immersive Goggles Change the Way Surgeons Operate? By Silvia C. CarpalloSeptember…

[The description and review of a new presence-evoking virtual reality experience called “Everest: First Ascent” below is from the Immersive Rumours website (see the original review for four different images). More information is available from a press release via EIN Presswire, including this: “Developed with guidance from a scientific advisory board of Himalayan, mountaineering and cultural specialists, Everest: The First Ascent goes beyond the iconic photographs and documentaries that have carried the story across generations.  … Antoine Lieutaud, Founder and CEO of Eclipso, said: ‘Audiences no longer just have to hear or watch the story of the first ever ascent…

[In this essay from blooploop (“the world’s most read news source for visitor attractions professionals”), experts in designing and creating presence-evoking immersive media attractions describe some of the many complex and interacting decisions involved. They argue that the criterion for successful design should not be a single technical specification like image resolution but a system that will produce the desired outcome for the user, “what guests actually experience.” Although it’s not mentioned by name, they make clear that presence is a big part of that outcome. See the original version of the essay for five more images. –Matthew] [Image: Odyssey…