[“Would you like a clone robot of yourself” or another person? Interesting Engineering reports on a Russian startup making it possible. Follow the links for more information about Robo-C, and for more on Russia and robots see recent coverage by BBC News. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Promobot website] Russian Firm Sells Autonomous Robot Clones of Real People The androids are both for professional and personal use. By Loukia Papadopoulos November 03, 2019 Russian startup Promobot is now selling autonomous robot clones of any real person. This is the key selling point of their robot called Robo-C as their website states: “Order…

[A new TimeRide attraction in Berlin recreates the fall of the Wall 30 years ago; the story below from The Local Germany via AFP, which includes more pictures and a 3:48 minute video, describes the VR-based experience and its purpose, using many presence-related terms. The Boston Globe adds that “tourists at Checkpoint Charlie can [also] wander through a vast panorama designed to evoke the city at the height of its division” and “[o]utside of Vilnius, Lithuania, for a modest price, visitors can experience a kind of Soviet-era theme park, an underground bunker complete with barking German shepherds. Apparently, you are handed a tattered coat,…

[Mashable reports on a 14-year-old’s clever invention that uses presence to improve auto safety by removing drivers’ blind spots; see the original version of the story for 2 short videos. More information is available from a press release via PR Newswire. –Matthew] Teen girl invents simple, yet innovative way to remove blind spots in cars By Sasha Lekach October 31, 2019 I’ll admit it: I’ve had a pedestrian enter the crosswalk without me immediately noticing because they were blocked by the right side of my car. But what if your car frame didn’t block your line of sight while driving?…

[A team at the National University of Singapore has developed a virtual reality game that incorporates heat, smell and touch in a novel way likely to evoke more intense and engaging presence experiences. The story below is from NUS News, where it features a different picture and a 1:54 minute video; more information including images and a second video is available at the CUTE Center website. –Matthew] NUS team creates interactive, multisensory VR game 14 October 2019 A team of researchers and developers from the Keio-NUS CUTE (Connective Ubiquitous Technology for Embodiments) Center at NUS has developed a novel mixed…

[A new app created at the University of Southern California augments 2D printed graphics with interactive 3D images to provide users a presence experience that more effectively communicates scientific data. This story from USC News is followed by an excerpt from subsequent coverage in USC’s Annenberg Media. A 1:33 minute demonstration video is available via YouTube and you can download the app (and soon the companion app for creators) here. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Courtesy of Tyler Ard and Arthur Toga] Augmented reality app adds interactive enhancements to scientific posters, presentations A new smartphone app created by USC scientists uses augmented…

[This story from Aeon describes new research that demonstrates changes in the brain when actors and others play a role. It’s not hard to read this from the conclusion and extend the logic to vivid, presence-evoking, mediated experiences: “By roleplaying or acting out the kind of person we would like to become, or merely by thinking about and spending time with people who embody the kind of attributes we would like to see in ourselves, we can find that our sense of self changes in desirable ways. ‘As each of us chooses who to befriend, who to model, and who…

[With echoes of The Lonesome Gal, here’s a fascinating modern example of parasocial interaction (social-actor-within-medium presence) from The New York Times. See the original story for 3 more pictures and 3 videos, and for more information listen to a 10 minute KCRW interview with the story’s author. –Matthew] What Does Having a Boyfriend Have to Do With Sleep? On YouTube, young men role-play as kindly romantic partners — all in service of a better night’s rest. By Kaitlyn Wylde October 2, 2019 Owen Dennis Riley, 17, has never had a girlfriend. But he plays a boyfriend to at least half…

[A new virtual gun range in Medina, Ohio offers valuable training for law enforcement and the public, as well as entertainment and friendly competition – all without the danger of real firearms. This story from Cleveland.com provides the details. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Mary Jane Brewer] Engage Virtual Range provides serious gun training or adrenaline rushing entertainment — you choose By Mary Jane Brewer, special to cleveland.com Posted October 24, 2019 MEDINA, Ohio — Engage Virtual Range — a virtual gun range for building skills, accuracy and confidence — opened in August at 5035 Beach Road in Medina. The three simulators…

[The New York Times reports on a new way to experience the Mona Lisa (and other art). See the original version of the story for 6 different pictures as well as coverage in ArtNet and a 4:49 minute video from HTC Vive via YouTube. –Matthew] [Image: Source: RFI] Meeting the ‘Mona Lisa’ for an Intimate (Virtual) Rendezvous Visitors to the Louvre will experience Leonardo da Vinci’s world through a virtual-reality tour that brings them closer to the masterpiece than ever before. By Doreen Carvajal October 15, 2019 PARIS — Mona Lisa’s lingering smile remains the same, but she is getting…

[This post from the Microsoft Research Blog is featured in new press coverage of the company’s DreamWalker system as well as other innovations. DreamWalker uses VR to substitute the experience of walking through a real world environment with a parallel walk through a virtual one (which of course raises some important safety concerns). See the original blog post for several more images and 3 videos. –Matthew] [Image: Source: VentureBeat] A new era of spatial computing brings fresh challenges—and solutions—to VR October 21, 2019 By Microsoft blog editor Virtual reality (VR) has continually pushed the boundaries of how we perceive, from its…

[Products featured on home shopping channels, and various other objects in other genres, will be entering TV viewers’ living rooms thanks to LG and Eyecandylab, as described in this story from Next Reality. See the original version for 3 more pictures and a 1:46 minute video; for more information see the press release via PR Newswire. –Matthew] LG Enhances South Korean TV Sets with Shoppable Augmented Reality Ads By Cristina Brooks October 21, 2019 Best known for its mobile phones and television sets, South Korea’s LG has had a quieter presence in the US compared to the country’s homegrown efforts.…

[This is a wonderfully vivid description of what it might be like for both the biological and simulated versions of a person when technology allows digital duplication of minds and the presence after death that that suggests. The story is from The Guardian, where the original includes 4 more pictures. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: James Melaugh] What happens if your mind lives for ever on the internet? It may be some way off, but mind uploading, the digital duplication of your mental essence, could expand human experience into a virtual afterlife Michael Graziano, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Princeton University…