[It may be necessary to watch the 1:14 minute video from the story below (or via YouTube) to appreciate the likelihood that the new “robot cat waiter” BellaBot will evoke medium-as-social-actor presence. The short story from YellRobot is followed by excerpts from a press release from the company that created her, er, it. –Matthew] BellaBot is a Cat-Like Robot Waiter January 12, 2020 We’ve seen robot waiters before. Whether a novelty to get more customers or a necessity to battle staff shortages, robots have been becoming increasingly more common in the restaurant industry. The newest robot waiter from Shenzhen, China-based…

[This article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is full of inspiring personal stories about different uses of presence-evoking technology to improve the lives of paralyzed military veterans. See the original version for four more pictures. –Matthew] [Image: Recreational therapist Matt Luitjohan, center, helps veteran Mike Erbe use a virtual reality head set in the Recreational Therapy Department of the Spinal Cord Unit at the Jefferson Barracks Division of Veterans Affairs in St. Louis on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. Credit: David Carson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch.] Skydiving, kayaking, fly fishing: Virtual reality therapy is taking paralyzed veterans to new places Michele Munz…

[There are still many challenges ahead but a company called Mojo Vision is developing technologies that increase the prospect of practical and safe contact lenses that augment our view of the world with virtual images, as described in this story from Fast Company (where it includes seven more images). Note that it’s not just the user of the AR lenses that would experience presence illusions but the people who interact with the user and aren’t aware of the technology-based source of that person’s augmented perception and knowledge. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Mojo] The making of Mojo, AR contact lenses that give…

[The Japan Times reports on reactions to a televised New Year’s Eve performance of a new song by an AI-based holographic simulation of a famous singer who died in 1989. The reactions raise complex questions about both the presence illusions and the ethics involved in these efforts. For more on the technology behind the simulation see a story in audioXpress (based on a press release available from Business Wire); here’s an excerpt: “Yamaha Corporation announces that it has succeeded in reproducing the singing of the late Hibari Misora, a legendary Japanese vocalist, using its own VOCALOID:AI singing synthesis technology in…

[Note the specific references to different types of presence in this report from by the lead author of a study that compared the effectiveness of VR-based therapy to Skype-based counselling. The results suggest valuable potential for presence-evoking technologies for remote mental health care. The story is from The Conversation; see the April 2020 article in Computers in Human Behavior for more details. –Matthew] [Image: Rural road passing through Hawker – town in South Australia at sunset. Credit: SHUTTERSTOCK.] Virtual reality may be the next frontier in remote mental health care January 13, 2020 Shiva Pedram, Associate Research Fellow, University of…

[This story from The Times of Israel about the increasing use of, and the choices involved in designing, presence-evoking simulations to educate people about the Holocaust is unfortunately timely. See the original version for five more pictures and a video. And for more on the topic see related coverage from BBC News and The Jewish News of Northern California. –Matthew] [Image: Amanda Friedeman takes a question from a student directed to Holocaust survivor Adina Sella, as she is displayed as a three-dimensional hologram at the Take A Stand Center in the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center on October 26,…

[Samsung’s introduction at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) of a new form of artificial intelligence sure to evoke medium-as-social-actor presence has garnered lots of coverage, including this concise summary from CNET. See the original version for five more pictures and a 6:22 minute video report. –Matthew] Confused about Samsung’s Neon AIs? Here’s everything you need to know Never mind weather reports and playlists — Neon promises to keep your secrets, teach you yoga and help you find a great restaurant. But can the AI deliver? Dale Smith, Shara Tibken January 11, 2020 While other companies at CES 2020 looked…

[The Charleston Post and Courier reports on an interesting use of presence to reproduce the experience of hiking a challenging nature trail in a South Carolina State Park. See the original story for two different pictures and a 2:14 minute 360 video (a larger version is available via YouTube), and see the website of WYFF TV for a 0:45 minute news report. –Matthew] [Image: Source: GoUpstate.com] SC State Parks using virtual reality so more people can experience mountain’s summit By Emily Williams January 2, 2020 A new virtual reality experience — the first, but likely not the last, of its…

[The Kickstarter page for MarsCat calls it “a robotic pet to comfort you and surprise you.” The story below from The Verge has some of the details (and two different images); see the Elephant Robotics website and the Kickstarter page for many more details including images and videos. As of this writing the campaign has raised 3.5 times the $20,000 USD sought. –Matthew] There’s a robot cat you can back on Kickstarter It’s actually kind of cute By Jay Peters December 26, 2019 You may have heard of Aibo, Sony’s robot dog, but if a robot cat is what you’ve…

[For this last day of 2019, we have The Motley Fool’s optimistic review of the prospects for advances in virtual and augmented reality in the year ahead, led by Facebook. It’s followed by links to and excerpts from several other forecasts regarding presence-evoking technologies, which I can safely predict will continue to change our lives and provide new opportunities for interesting and important scholarship. Look here early in the new year for news about some exciting developments at ISPR, including the PRESENCE 2020 conference in Orlando, Florida in October and the formal launch of the International Journal of Telepresence (IJT).…

[Next Avenue provides a nice summary of innovative technology gifts designed to provide users with a sense of presence with distant loved ones; see the original story for three more images. –Matthew] [Image: Friendship Lamps (left), Pillow Talk (center) and Hug Shirts (right) are high-tech gadgets that keep loved ones connected. Credit: Credit: Filimin | Little Riot | Cute Circuit] Put These Tech Gifts Under the Tree Fun new technology items can bring you closer to your loved ones By Brette Sember December 18, 2019 Staying in touch with the people you love can be challenging if they’re far away.…

[This story from Artnet describes a new Microsoft-sponsored exhibit that demonstrates some of the potential of the company’s presence-evoking technologies for enhancing education, and more important, notes earlier missteps before outlining new promising efforts to expand the use of the technologies to advance social justice. See the original story for four more pictures and the Knight Foundation website for more on that organization’s funding of new projects “to engage audiences through immersive experiences.” –Matthew] [Image: The Hololens 2 at work at the Museum of History and Industry in Seattle. Credit: Microsoft] Museums Have Yet to Embrace Augmented Reality. But Microsoft…