[The project described in this story from Treehugger is about “the world’s first-ever forest soundmap,”a presence-evoking audio experience many of us can really use right now. Coverage from the Kottke.org blog suggests the reader “[s]ee also the work of Gordon Hempton, who is trying to capture the sounds of the very few places left in the world without human noise”; that link leads to an earlier post titled “Silence Is the Presence of Everything.” And my hometown newspaper, The Philadelphia Inquirer, has a related story about TrailOff, [a] soon-to-launch free app that offers GPS-activated audio storytelling for 10 trails in…

[Here’s another practical application of presence-evoking technology – an efficient way (especially during a pandemic) to train not just health care experts but members of the public in how to save a life. This story is from The Philadelphia Inquirer. The new published study is available from Science Direct; see also an earlier related ISPR Presence News post. –Matthew] Penn researchers use virtual reality to train bystanders to respond to overdoses By Aubrey Whelan September 7, 2020 Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a virtual-reality video that trains people to give overdose victims naloxone, the lifesaving opioid-reversal medicine.…

[Though it’s hard on consumer AR generally, this story from Fast Company is among the many with positive assessments after Nintendo’s recent announcement of a new augmented reality version of the game Mario Kart, which seems sure to evoke presence for players. See the original story for the 1:47 minute trailer (also available via YouTube), a different image and three looping videos. The press release is available from Business Wire, pre-order details are available from Inverse, and a five minute narrated video report from TheGamer is available on YouTube. –Matthew] Nintendo’s newest Mario Kart is the best video game you…

[Despite some self-promotion, definitional issues and vagueness, this story from Facebook provides intriguing insights into the company’s efforts to create audio technologies that not only reproduce normal perception but enhance it beyond unaided human capabilities (which, when the user habituates, would become a ‘new normal’ and continue to evoke presence). It also addresses ethical issues raised by the technologies. See the original story for eight more images and three videos. –Matthew] Inside Facebook Reality Labs Research: The Future of Audio September 3, 2020 By Lisa Brown Jaloza, Technology Communications Manager The audio team at Facebook Reality Labs Research is working…

[This VentureBeat report describes a potentially valuable application of presence, especially now: Alcove, a new virtual reality platform designed by AARP to combat loneliness and isolation among older (and all) people. The original story includes three more images; a 2:55 minute video is available on YouTube; VR Fitness Insider has an extended interview with Alcove’s product lead; and all of the technologies profiled in the Fast Company story “We’re feeling more lonely than ever—here are 5 ways technology can help” involve one or more forms of presence. –Matthew] Alcove for Oculus Quest entertains pandemic-bound seniors with VR Dean Takahashi August…

[A new study from Tohoku University demonstrates the benefits of just the (presence) illusion of physical exercise. Follow the link at the bottom to read the study and learn more about co-author Professor Kawashima, creator of the Brain Age games, in BrainWorld Magazine. –Matthew] [Image: A schematic theoretical interpretation of the virtual illusion, leading to measurable physiological effects on the person’s body. Credit: Tohoku University] From Virtual to Reality! Virtual Training Improves Physical and Cognitive Functions August 31, 2020 Researchers at the Smart-Aging Research Center (IDAC) at Tohoku University have developed an innovative training protocol that, utilizing immersive virtual reality…

[ZDNet has more details about the PORTL hologram machine and a new partnership that will add AI to its capabilities, but I chose to post this TechRepublic story about the technology for its broader discussion, and because the company’s CEO-founder is quoted in it saying “We almost called this technology Presence, because it really does bring a real-life presence into the room.” A four minute demonstration video of the PORTL, and a thirty second video of the MINI PORTL, are available via YouTube. More information and many more videos can be found on the company’s website. –Matthew] Hologram virtual meetings?…

[It’s not unusual to speak of having a form of relationship with one’s car but the Chinese car company Nio embodies that relationship with the Nomi Mate smart digital assistant, as described in this short story from Electric Vehicle News. For more information, see: A 1:33 minute demo video from Nio via YouTube A (copy-protected) interview with the developer of Nomi Mate from Just Auto (with lots of indirect references to presence) A 3:23 minute video interview with Nio’s Engineering Director for Machine Learning from Auto Futures A 13 minute user demonstration video of interactions with Nomi via YouTube The…

[As the first, short story below from UploadVR reports, four VR experiences are nominated for Emmy Awards (from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences) this year. One is the particularly timely “The Messy Truth VR,” the focus of the second story, from Yahoo Entertainment. Note the comments of actor/producer Brie Larson about VR as “a step further” beyond film’s ability to create what sounds like presence. The original Yahoo story includes a 2:58 minute trailer and a 5:09 minute interview, and for more information see USA Today for a different short video and Deadline for another interview (which includes…

[This summary of how the pandemic has accelerated the “virtual experience economy,” which relies in great part on presence, comes from CNBC. Note: I’ve corrected a few typos and added some of the links. –Matthew] Op-ed: The “Experience Economy” is dead, driving a boom in virtual reality August 27, 2020 By Vikas Gupta, co-founder and CEO of the augmented reality company AVARA Media and a member of YPO It wasn’t long ago that many companies were doubling down on the “Experience Economy.” There was plenty of money to be made helping people check off items on their bucket list. Seventy-six…

[A new program based on virtual reality (and presence) is being launched to help women during their third trimester and the first two months after their baby is born. This story about it is from MobiHealthNews; the press release (“statement”) it refers to is available from Business Wire, and more information including a 1:19 minute video (also available via Vimeo) is available from the BehaVR website. –Matthew] Hoag Memorial Hospital and BehaVR launch VR program for expecting mothers NurtureVR was designed to be used at home as future moms enter their third trimesters to receive prenatal education, pain and stress…

[The US Army is developing technology to create robot-soldier teams for the battlefield; this story from the Army describes research on how an autonomous robot can detect changes in the environment and communicate them to a soldier via augmented reality. SyFy’s coverage summarizes it this way: “In a move that could’ve been cribbed straight from Hideo Kojima ‘s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, the U.S. Army is exploring a human-robot buddy system that, like Snake’s setup in MGS4, will let soldiers voyeuristically spy from afar the more immediate dangers that lurk around their robot sidekick’s next corner.”…