[An interesting new study described in USC News contributes to the Computers/Media Are Social Actors literature by exploring the roles of heuristic thinking and faith in technology in how people behave toward computers in the context of the pandemic; see the iScience article for much more information and a 1:29 minute video of the stimuli. –Matthew] [Image: Screenshot of the stimuli video in which a study participant chooses how many tokens to return to the computer player in one of the experiment trials.] People affected by COVID-19 are being nicer to machines The pandemic has forced many to increasingly rely…

[The University of California San Francisco reports on a program of research investigating the potential benefits of immersive media and presence to improve memory in older adults. See the original story for three different images and a looping video. –Matthew] [Image: Game movement was effected by a participant’s ambulation, which was co-registered into the game map from ankle-mounted tracking sensors. Source: Figure 2B from the Scientific Reports article] Playing Virtual Reality Video Game May Boost Seniors’ Memory By Emily Hayes March 22, 2021 A decline in memory is a harsh reality for some people as they age and may even…

[All of the news stories about William Shatner teaming with the company StoryFile to create a version of himself that future generations can interact with are based on the company’s press release below via GlobeNewswire (which for some reason doesn’t mention its work with astronauts, Civil Rights leaders and Holocaust survivors – see the StoryFile website for more details). Here’s how the company promotes their service: “StoryFile uses a mobile native cloud-based AI-driven conversational video technology. THIS is what differentiates StoryFile from everything else! Have you ever interacted with a life-sized hologram of an astronaut and asked him what it’s…

[As all the coverage including this Scientific American story makes clear, IBM’s newest AI isn’t as persuasive as the best human debaters, but it’s getting close (and represents a big step toward effective medium-as-social-actor presence). ExtremeTech notes that “The question of who wins a debate will always be subjective, and humans still clearly outperform IBM’s Project Debater. For now, we’re still a long way from Data — but we’ve come a long way from Eliza, too.” See the original Scientific American story for a different image and watch the nearly one hour debate video on YouTube. The Jerusalem Post provides…

[This and the two related Brain Awareness Week stories from Cleveland.com it mentions describe the evolution of technologies that together enhance presence and help neurosurgeons obtain greater success in locating the source of brain conditions and practicing for and performing surgeries that help improve and save patients’ lives. See the original version of the story for a second image. –Matthew] [Image: MetroHealth neurosurgeon Dr. Deven Reddy uses a virtual reality system developed by the Chicago company ImmersiveTouch to view and work on a virtual model of a patient’s brain to prepare for a complex surgery. Credit: Evan MacDonald, cleveland.com] Virtual…

[I’ve always been particularly interested in the ‘big questions’ presence raises; this story from Inverse describes an intriguing new study that suggests even today’s immersive media can be used to evoke a sense or emotion philosophers and other scholars have labelled the sublime, and that presence plays a role. See the original story for a third image and see coverage in The Academic Times for more details and comments from the first author, including this: “’Nature and art are equally god at evoking or bringing about the experience of the sublime,’” [first author] Clewis told The Academic Times. ‘But [in…

[This BBC News story describes how and why many contemporary artists are using augmented reality to let viewers experience their creations in their own homes (and elsewhere) during the pandemic; see the original story for 10 more images of the virtual works and a video. –Matthew] Augmented reality art: Where your home becomes the gallery By Anna Bailey, Reporter, The Cultural Frontline, BBC World Service 23 February 2021 Ever dreamed of hanging artworks by leading artists around your home? Well now you can for free, thanks to augmented reality or AR as it is known. Images such as Olafur Eliasson’s…

[A new technology developed at ETH Zurich has the potential to expand and enrich presence experiences, as reported in Tech Xplore. For more information and a 2:19 minute video (also available via YouTube), see the IEEE VR 2021 link at the end of this post. –Matthew] Virtual reality at your fingertips By Leo Herrmann, ETH Zurich March 16, 2021 When a person taps with their fingers, each finger generates a different vibration profile propagating to the wrist through bones. ETH Zurich researchers have now leveraged this discovery in the development of a dual-sensor wristband that brings intuitive free-hand interaction to…

[A new campaign from Cadbury lets people hide a virtual chocolate Easter egg using Google Maps Street View for loved ones to find, after which they can receive a delivered physical one. This short story about it from Campaign provides details that suggest the goals include both social and spatial presence; the original story includes a 30 second campaign ad (also available via YouTube) and the press release at NET Imperative has more details and includes these additional quotes from the campaign creators: “We’re so pleased to be able to play a role in bringing people together in a safe…

[The U.S. Military’s Space Force branch is using presence-evoking technology to train for satellite missions, as reported in this story from The Washington Post; for more information see a December 2020 story in National Defense magazine. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: SAIC] Space Force is using virtual-reality headsets to train its Guardians to work on satellites The newest branch of the military uses virtual reality software to simulate national security scenarios By Dalvin Brown March 12, 2021 The U.S. Space Force is using virtual reality headsets to launch satellite mission operators into places they’ve never been before. The military branch, started under…

[This interesting and timely first-person report by actress Tessa Albertson in American Theater touches, sometimes indirectly, on several related meanings of presence, illustrating both the richness and some of the challenges of studying the concept. See the original story for a second image. –Matthew] [Image: ‘Happy Days,’ presented by New York’s wild project and the Princeton University Fund for Irish Studies.] Winnie for the Win: How a Virtual ‘Happy Days’ Conveys Presence Beckett’s play about a woman living moment to moment in a pile of dirt is a natural fit, and a great lesson, for our pandemic isolation. By Tessa…

[The beginning of a Fox Business story excerpted below quotes Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg talking about presence and refers to a new Tech@Facebook blog post (also below) that outlines the company’s efforts and plans to develop AI- and AR-based presence-evoking technologies. See the original post for two more images and two videos and for related new stories see: Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg thinks smart glasses could help combat climate change (CNBC) Mark Zuckerberg says realistic avatars are Facebook’s next big VR bet (The Verge) Facebook is considering a creepy new feature for its smart glasses (BGR) –Matthew] Facebook reveals more details…