[Here are some informed assessments and predictions about the increasingly prominent role of presence-evoking technologies in retail. The story is from Nielsen where it includes three charts; for some concrete examples see a related story from Trade Only Today. –Matthew] Augmented Retail: The New Consumer Reality By John Tavolieri, Chief Product & Technology Officer, Nielsen Global Connect CPG, FMCG & RETAIL December 12, 2019 Consumers today are increasingly craving immersive, real-life experiences. But they want these experiences without foregoing time or effort. The solution? Augmented and virtual reality (A/VR) technology, coming to a “store” near you. Many of us feel…

[If you’re a member of the ISPR Presence Community Facebook group you may have seen the impressive 48 second YouTube video that demonstrates the clever use of mixed reality described in this story from Fast Company. For more information see Greg Madison’s Twitter post. –Matthew] In the home of the future, every surface is an interface A UX magician maps a VR world over his apartment to create an entirely new interactive environment. Could your home be next? By Mark Wilson January 22, 2020 Virtual reality is still in its infancy. But thanks to Greg Madison, who is both a…

[This personal story from The Guardian (where the original features several more photos) thoughtfully captures some of the changing nature of, and the benefits and concerns raised by, how our presence continues via technology after we die. It also inadvertently provides a contrast to the world-wide remembrances and mourning of Kobe Bryant. –Matthew] [Image: The last post: Martyn Hett, 29, who died in the Manchester Arena bombing. ‘The mixed-media self-portrait that Martyn created is, in many ways, the real him.’ Credit: PA.] Love, loss and virtual memorials: my brother’s digital legacy When Martyn Hett was killed in the Manchester terror…

[Abundary reports on an interesting presence experience that can be customized for consumers in different locations. Earlier coverage by VRFocus adds these details: “For that immersive feeling guests are strapped into a paragliding harness where they can hold onto two handles to control their direction, moving up and down depending on air currents. A sense of speed is created as jets blow air into the face of the rider as they steer their paraglider around the buildings.” For more information see the 1:05 minute video in the Abundary story or via YouTube, and the Frontgrid website, which features a different…

[It’s easy to forget how quickly technologies, including media technologies that evoke presence, have evolved and changed our daily lives. We can’t know exactly what will happen next, but as this story from Vanity Fair safely predicts, “a decade from now, on the eve of 2030, we’ll look back at today in astonishment at how primitive life was in 2019.” –Matthew] [Image: From the Everett Collection.] “IT WON’T BE PRETTY”: HOW THE NEXT DECADE’S TECHNOLOGICAL TSUNAMI WILL CHANGE LIFE AS WE KNOW IT Self-driving cars, iPads, Uber: The technological advances of this decade have happened so quickly that their breadth…

[For a touching example of presence, watch the viral video of Lee Loechler’s creative December 30 wedding proposal as described in this story from CNN. The original story includes more pictures and the full 3:23 minute video is available on YouTube. For more information, see coverage in Boston Magazine and Yahoo! –Matthew] [Image: Source: Good Morning America] A man re-animated ‘Sleeping Beauty’ to create an unforgettable wedding proposal By Mallory Hughes, CNN January 11, 2020 An illustrator, a self-described hopeless romantic and a room full of Redditors made one man’s proposal to his high school sweetheart quite literally picture perfect.…

[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,…