[There were several presence-related announcements at this week’s Facebook Connect conference and this story from The Verge touches on them, but it’s particularly interesting because it focuses on how CEO Mark Zuckerberg views the future, including this: “The thing that excites me about virtual and augmented reality is the feeling of presence. The idea that this is the first computing platform in the history of computing, where you really feel like you’re there with another person. Right? Delivering a sense of presence is the thing that I care about. And VR and AR are going to be the technologies that…

[The project described in this story from Rowan University in New Jersey represents a potentially very valuable application of presence-evoking technology.  –Matthew] Bringing STEM careers to rural students: NSF grant will use virtual reality videos to expose high schoolers to in-demand technical careers August 17, 2020 A $496,963 grant from the National Science Foundation will help Rowan University researchers from two colleges introduce STEM careers to high school students in rural South Jersey. Led by professors Sarah Ferguson and Kara Ieva from the College of Education and Christopher Winkler from the Ric Edelman College of Communication & Creative Arts, the…

[The two stories below, from Auganix and Business Up North, describe different efforts to use presence-evoking technology to recreate aspects of the sailing of the English ship Mayflower from England to the New World in 1620 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the iconic journey. –Matthew] University of Birmingham team creates Virtual Reality reconstruction of the Mayflower pilgrim vessel for 400th anniversary of sailing September 16, 2020 By Sam Sprigg, Managing Editor Experts from the University of Birmingham have developed a virtual reality (VR) reconstruction of the Mayflower, one of the earliest pilgrim vessels and a cultural icon in the…

[We usually assume that photographs, especially modern high-resolution ones, reveal reality and are therefore most likely to evoke presence, but as Ian Bogost points out in The Atlantic, cameras “’make’ images—they don’t ‘capture’ them”; of course the same can be said of our sensory and perceptual apparatus, adding another layer of differences between what exists and what we see (particularly significant ones for those of us with limited vision). It’s only in extreme cases like the many wildfires in California and other West Coast states that the limitations of photographic technology break our normal experience of presence with technology-generated images.…

[When Donald Trump was elected President in 2016 some of us mused that it represented support for the Simulation Argument, that unknown creators of our simulated world had thrown a disruption into the plot for research or entertainment purposes. In the context of the 2020 election amid numerous crises the CounterPunch column below revisits that idea with colorful political rhetoric. As with inverse presence, where the nonmediated seems mediated, it seems likely that these questions about the nature of reality are more prevalent when events and experiences are either unusually negative and disturbing or positive and beautiful. For more on…

[This column from Inside Higher Ed states that we are entering the “Fourth Industrial Revolution…, a way of describing the blurring of boundaries between the physical, digital, and biological worlds,” a movement “from the information age to the experience age.” And it argues that higher education needs to keep up. For specific examples of institutions and people meeting that challenge see the EdTech Magazine story that contains the “experience age” quote, as well as related stories from The Hill and Vox. –Matthew] [Image: With 100 headsets, Colorado State University’s virtual reality space provides both immersion and interaction. Source: EdTech Magazine]…

[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…