[The press release below from Toyohashi University of Technology via EurekAlert! describes an interesting new study of human behavior while sharing control of an avatar. The original version includes a second image and a 32 second video; the full paper is available from iScience and includes a 1:40 minute version of the same video. –Matthew] [Image: Movements of two participants were averaged into a shared avatar. The participants observed the shard avatar in a head-mounted display as their own body. When they reached for a target using the avatar’s hand, the avatar’s movement was observed as straighter and less jerky…

[An NSF funded interdisciplinary project is using presence to help people better understand the impacts of climate change by simulating the experience of walking through a forest at different points in time. See the original story from Penn State University for two short videos (also available from YouTube here and here). Science Times adds this: “Aside from forests, which are Earth’s natural carbon sinks, the model can also be used to create other global-warming related events such as bushfires, floods, droughts, melting glaciers, and loss of biodiversity. Another goal would be to communicate how the Earth has evolved not only…

[Cornell University reports on a new method of adding haptics to presence experiences, both in virtual and augmented reality and for teleoperated robots. See the original story for a second picture and a one-minute video (also available via YouTube). For a different approach to haptics involving “wrist-worn hammers” by Microsoft Research see a recent story from Gizmodo. –Matthew] [Image: Cornell researchers in the Organic Robotics Lab designed a 3D-printed glove lined with stretchable fiber-optic sensors that use light to detect a range of deformations in real time.] Stretchable sensor gives robots and VR a human touch By David Nutt November…

[The project described in this story from the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences at the University of Southern California is designed to evoke presence and accomplish timely broader goals; note especially the last four paragraphs. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Courtesy of Sabina Zonno] Virtual reality takes users back to a 15th-century community of religious women USC Dornsife’s Sabina Zonno and Lynn Dodd receive a National Endowment for the Humanities grant to develop an immersive experience around a Renaissance-era manuscript. By Meredith McGroarty November 10, 2020 When you first pick up the 15th-century book of hours, it may feel heavy.…

[Much of this report from VRScout uses text from media artist Elyne Legarnisson to describe her award-winning work (un)Balanced, which apparently produces a very vivid and thought-provoking presence experience. The original story includes several more pictures and a 2:02 minute “teaser” video; for more about the artist and this work you can watch the 2020 Lumen XR Award Programme at the Lumen Prize website (go to 22:13 for a description of the award and 24:43 for the presentation). There’s even more information including a 4:47 minute “making of” video and many more images on Elyne Legarnisson’s website and a detailed…

[The Guardian reports on the advancing ability of technology to create deepfake simulations of ‘original’ music from particular genres and by particular artists, technology that has reached the eeriness of the uncanny valley. The story considers some of the implications and larger questions raised by the technology. The original version includes a second picture and an audio example; more information and many more examples are available on the OpenAI Jukebox website. –Matthew] [Image: A ghost in the machine? … Frank Sinatra. Credit: Guardian Design/Getty Images] ‘It’s the screams of the damned!’ The eerie AI world of deepfake music Artificial intelligence…

[Reuters reports on a new pop art show that allows viewers to be present via robot. See the original story for a 1:36 minute video, coverage in CGTN for a different 1:56 minute video, and Gulf News for 12 more pictures (including one with a Pepper robot welcoming visitors). Tatler adds this interesting detail about the artist: “‘I became an artist when I became a lobster,’ was something artist Philip Colbert – variously described as ‘the Crown Prince of pop art’ and ‘the godson of Andy Warhol’ – once said.” For more on the use of telepresence robots to view…

[The quest to evoke medium-as-social-actor presence continues with a new robot hand that lets users feel like they’re walking while holding hands with their girlfriend. The story is from SoraNews24, where it includes two different pictures and a one-minute video (also available via YouTube); follow the links at the end for more information (in Japanese). –Matthew] [Image: Source: Tech Times] Japanese inventors create robot girlfriend hand for lonely people to hold and walk with [Video] By Casey Baseel November 3, 2020 A ton of thought went into the clever device, which actually has some heartwarming goals. Few things in life…

[Here’s a short summary of a new Ericsson report on the future of presence-evoking technologies in the workplace; follow the link at the end to read the full 16-page, graphics-filled report. –Matthew] New report puts spotlight on the future workplace of 2030 The latest Ericsson IndustryLab report, The Dematerialized Office, brings insights about the sentiments of white-collar employees and their expectations for their future workplace. October 28, 2020 Before the COVID-19 pandemic emerged in early 2020, the idea of working and socializing from home was mainly a theoretical proposition. But less than a year later, that reality is suddenly the…

[This short story from ARPost argues for more research on the negative effects of experiencing violence in virtual reality, especially as the technology becomes more effective at evoking presence. For more on this topic, see: ‘Real’ violence: Coming to grips with the ethics of virtual reality brutality (The Guardian, June 2019) Empathy and nausea: Virtual reality and Jordan Wolfson’s Real Violence (Journal of Visual Culture, April 2020) Death and violence ‘too intense’ in VR, developers admit (Wired, October 2015) Violent video games in virtual reality: Re-evaluating the impact and rating of interactive experiences (CHI PLAY ’18 Proceedings) Virtual reality will…

[This story from BBC News describes how virtual tourism is emerging as an important solution to the challenges created by travel restrictions during the pandemic as well as its value in easing our return to travel when the pandemic ends. See the original version of the story for seven more pictures. –Matthew] [Image: Microsoft Hololens VR glasses can show potential visitors six of Germany’s most famous castles. Credit: Microsoft/German National Tourist Board (GNTB)] Coronavirus: Is virtual reality tourism about to take off? Bernd Debusmann – Business reporter October 30, 2020 For many people, a trip to Germany’s fairytale-like Neuschwanstein castle,…

[As this BBC News story says, watching the streaming Bot Battle between Pandorabots’ Kuki and Facebook’s Blenderbot, running continuously through November 3, demonstrates the limitations of current AI, but we’ll likely look back on it as an early-days version of an even more ubiquitous and successful presence-evoking technology. See the original story for four more images and related links, watch the battle and read the press release on the Pandorabots website, and see a related CNN story from August 2020 titled “Robot friends: Why people talk to chatbots in times of trouble.” –Matthew] Robot Bores: AI-powered awkward first date By Jane…