[This story from Artsy reports on how the pandemic has encouraged new uses of presence-evoking technologies for viewing and purchasing high-end art; see the original version of the story for 11 more images. –Matthew] [Image: ArtLab, in software installation view of Ellen Gallagher’s DeLuxe, 2004-05, and Mark Bradford’s Chicago, 2019, created in HWVR. Credit: Copyright held by the artists. Courtesy of the artists and Hauser & Wirth.] Galleries and Fairs Are Turning to Virtual Reality to Connect with Collectors Justin Kamp July 29, 2020 In the months since COVID-19 shut down most traditional in-person avenues for viewing and purchasing art,…

[NZBusiness describes a promising application of technology that can create social presence with a virtual person to help people quit smoking (note there are links to two videos at the end). Co-founder and chief business officer of the New Zealand company that created the technology, Greg Cross, comments further in other coverage: From NZHub: “We would call Florence a digital person,” Greg Cross, co-founder of Soul Machines, told Morning Report. “She’s a CGI creation just as we see in the movies, but what’s unique about Florence and other digital people like her is she is … autonomously animated by a…

[A modern version of wall murals (e.g., those sold by wall26), Roomality’s virtual windows and walls use 3D and AI to create a compelling presence illusion without obtrusive headsets or even glasses. This story is from The Irish Times, where it includes a 1:41 minute video (also available via YouTube) and two more images. For more information, including a second video (also on YouTube), see the company’s website. –Matthew] Irish entrepreneur promises VR experience without goggles or headsets John Moore’s Roomality is developing ‘virtual windows’ solution By Charlie Taylor July 21, 2020 Tech entrepreneur John Moore, who sold his former…

[This short piece from PC Gamer nicely captures both prospective benefits and significant concerns about a future saturated with presence experiences, focused in this case on a new AI-driven text-to-speech technology that creates compelling illusions. The original story includes the 4:25 minute video it describes, and the video is also available on YouTube and on Sonantic’s website. More information is in stories from Yahoo! News and The Times (the latter behind a subscriber firewall). –Matthew] Oh good, someone invented the ‘first AI capable of crying’ A company has created a text-to-speech technology that doesn’t just read words, it simulates an…

[Social distancing requirements are leading producers of sports coverage – and many others – to get creative in simulating missing audience members. This story from Variety describes how Major League Baseball is addressing the issue with digital fans (see the original version for a 19 second video). SB Nation’s coverage (“The uncanny valley is full of Fox Sports’ virtual baseball fans”) characterizes it this way: “In order to make the return of baseball feel more ‘alive’ on TV, Fox is adding full stadiums of virtual baseball fans that cheer and boo along with the action. It’s a means to make…

[New Atlas reports on an innovative wearable design with several presence applications; the original story includes a 3:18 minute video (also available via YouTube) and more information is also available from Cornell University. The new paper includes this: “Another interest[ing] application of FingerTrak in the future is to replace the glove or controller in [a] Virtual Reality setting, to free the hands in VR interaction. Moreover, FingerTrak can be used to control a robotic hand remotely and thus provide a novel means of human robot interaction where precise human hand manipulation is needed.” (p. 71:21) –Matthew] [Image: A digital model…

[If you’re in the ISPR Presence Community Facebook group you saw this clever example of inverse presence a few days ago (along with several others lately); the story about it below is from Daily Star Trek News. CNET’s coverage adds this detail: “A close-up of the fan-made holodeck interface screen says, ‘Early C21 Outdoor, Los Angeles City Park, Survival Mode, VELDT, Variation 7.’ According to [designer Arthur] Chadwick, VELDT is a nod to the short story called The Veldt by science fiction author and famous Los Angeles resident Ray Bradbury.” Both stories include tweeted reactions and several more are in…

[This New Atlas story about Eight360’s impressive virtual reality platform includes lots of references to compelling presence experiences (without using the term); see the original version for more pictures and the video mentioned at the end, and see the company’s website for more coverage and videos. –Matthew] Eight360 Nova: A crazy, untethered, fully rollable VR motion platform By Loz Blain April 23, 2020 By far the most extreme gaming and simulation platform we’ve seen, the Nova places you in a fully untethered ball that’s free to spin in any direction, creating all sorts of wild gravity effects for total immersion…

[A clever campaign to promote travel to Iceland lets people release their pandemic-related (or other) stress by having their recorded screams broadcast into the empty and beautiful Icelandic countryside, creating presence as transportation until they can “come let it out for real.” This story from CBS News includes a 1:01 video (also available via YouTube) and a 6:54 minute news report about adapting to isolation. –Matthew] Iceland is broadcasting the world’s screams to relieve coronavirus stress By Sophie Lewis July 16, 2020 People around the world are finding different ways to relieve stress during the coronavirus pandemic. Some have tried…

[The WindowSwap project lets users visit a website and “voyeuristically travel by looking out of somebody else’s window for a while.” This story from Smithsonian Magazine, where the original version includes seven more example images, also highlights other virtual travel experiences available online. The Kottke.org blog post “Let’s Go for a Stroll Outside” covers, and provides video examples of, another. –Matthew] [Image: The view from WindowSwap user Ula’s window in Doha, Qatar. Credit: Courtesy of Sonali Ranjit and Vaishnav Balasubramaniam / Coded by Maryam Touimi Benjelloun)] This Website Highlights Views Outside Windows Across The World The WindowSwap project provides a…

[Lucas Rizzotto recorded his life in first-person 3D for all of 2019 and created a VR interface that allows him to re-experience any part of it. The short description below is from PetaPixel, where the story includes his 28:11 minute video (also available via YouTube) and some interesting quotes taken from it. For information on an award-winning and thought-provoking earlier social VR project by the artist-inventor, “Where Thoughts Go,” see coverage in VRScout. –Matthew] This Guy Wore a Face Camera for a Year and Built a VR Time Machine By Michael Zhang July 11, 2020 San Francisco-based inventor Lucas Rizzotto…

[A new company is using virtual reality and the presence it evokes to give people in the workplace first-person experiences to help them understand and counter “bias, inequity, and incivility.” This story is from IEEE Spectrum, where it includes a second image. For more information see the company’s website and for related stories see these previous ISPR Presence News posts: Presence for good: “Traveling While Black” VR documentary creates impactful experience Presence for good: Changing your race in virtual reality U. of Illinois students crowdfunding VR films to increase understanding about police-minority relations Can VR and presence help stop sexual…