[This story from the January-February 2019 ABA Journal magazine describes some of the ways Law Schools are incorporating presence into their training; the original version includes different pictures, and see a May 10 story in the OU Daily for more about how one Law School is using virtual crime scenes. –Matthew] [Image: Source: VRrOOm – “Virtual Reality Is Coming To A Courtroom Near You”] How are law schools using virtual reality tools in classrooms? By Anna Stolley Persky January 1, 2019 This past summer at the University of North Texas Dallas College of Law, a small team of law students…

[The augmented reality experience “Pilgrim” described in this story from Adweek is a reminder of how powerful audio, including audio without video, can be in evoking presence. See the original story for more pictures, and the Voices of VR podcast for a 26 minute interview with co-creator/director Lauren Hutchinson. –Matthew] [Image: The Camino de Santiago is now the setting for a new AR audio podcast. Credit: Getty Images.] This Augmented Reality Audio Podcast Brings the Camino De Santiago to Life Everywhere Pilgrim was made for Bose Frames By Marty Swant April 17, 2019 For centuries, the Camino de Santiago in…

[A new ArchDaily story about 9 augmented reality technologies “transforming civil construction” led me to this short story about an intriguing specific use of AR and presence. It’s from Curbed, where you can watch a 2:45 minute video. More coverage is available from Fast Company, and for more information including videos, and the app itself, follow the link to at the very end of the story. –Matthew] [Image: Bricklayers using Fologram with AR headsets. Credit: Fologram.] AR app turns 3D models into life-size building instructions The blueprint comes to life By Liz Stinson January 7, 2019 Augmented reality has given…

[Google has announced several presence-related improvements in its products, from a more responsive and personalized Google Assistant to the addition of augmented reality to Google Search and Google Maps. This story from The Sydney Morning Herald covers the new “magic” feature in Google Maps (see the original story for more pictures). For more on the next generation of Assistant see Engadget‘s story and for in-depth coverage go to CNET, where the story includes a 4:19 minute video (also available via YouTube). –Matthew] Google Maps’ AR navigation makes walking directions foolproof By Tim Biggs May 9, 2019 Google’s latest addition to…

[Presence-evoking simulations can measure and improve users’ abilities in the realms of both sports and business, as described in this post from the strategy+business blog. As with nearly every application of presence, though, one can imagine drawbacks as well (see Keiichi Matsuda’s short film Merger and many episodes of Black Mirror. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Illustration by FabioBalbi] How virtual reality is improving decisions in soccer and in business A 3D simulation is changing the behaviors of the world’s best soccer players — and the business world is catching on. by Ben Lyttleton May 7, 2019 I am standing in a…

[Much of the coverage of the latest advancement in the ability of AI to generate presence-evoking images – this time of fashion models who don’t exist – points to the potential dangers. The story below is from Futurism (where you can watch the 0:44 minute demo video), and here’s a quote from BGR’s coverage:  “This technology is impressive, but at the same time it also seems to herald something that humanity still has not fully come to grips with yet. It’s only a matter of time before AI masters the creation of fake human speech and other things that, along…

[For a wide variety of emerging technologies (including virtual assistants, IoT devices, and robots) to evoke convincing social presence illusions will require a spark of human creativity (or at least the appearance of it). This story from Wired explores the progress and challenges in the context of humor and storytelling; see the original for a second picture. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Elena Lacey; Getty Images] The Comedian Is In The Machine. AI Is Now Learning Puns Gregory Barber May 3 2019 Here’s a groaner for you: The greyhound stopped to get a hare cut. Don’t blame dad for this one. Blame…

[I recommend watching the new four-minute 360-degree film Merger on Vimeo before you read this story from Dezeen about Keiichi Matsuda’s thought-provoking new and previous films. See the original story for two more images and a 3:13 minute video interview with Matsuda about the future of augmented reality. –Matthew] [Image: A workplace in Merger: Interfaces are projected onto the surfaces and change throughout the day.] Keiichi Matsuda explores dystopian future of the workplace in new film Merger Anna Winston 17 January 2019 London-based designer Keiichi Matsuda suggests how augmented reality will define the workstation of the future, in a short…

[This short story from Forbes by an advertising industry expert describes how a clever new campaign for Coke evokes a vivid sensory presence illusion using only still images and the viewer’s experience. See the original story for larger images of the ad below and two others in the campaign. –Matthew] ‘Listen’ To These New Print Ads From Coca-Cola Will Burns, an advertising veteran and current CEO of Ideasicle.com. April 26, 2019 You don’t typically think a print ad can be audible. But Coca-Cola recently launched a print/outdoor campaign in Europe that, despite trying your best, you’ll very likely hear.…

[The “virtual beings” company Fable Studio is developing innovative AI-based immersive storytelling experiences that emphasize interaction and empathy with characters. The story below from Engadget provides details and includes the video trailer for the new chapter of ‘Wolves in the Walls.’ I especially like the comment here by director Pete Billington about the need to maintain the [presence] illusion by not letting the user “see the edges.” For more information see coverage in Variety and Forbes, and a guest column in Entrepreneur by Fable Co-Founder Edward Saatchi where he argues that in the future our Operating Systems will be “characters.”…

[This press release from Qualisys describes what looks like a clever use of presence to enhance a traditional amusement park attraction; follow the link below for pictures and videos, and there are more videos on YouTube here and here. –Matthew] Qualisys and HolodeckVR join forces to produce the world’s first Virtual Reality bumper cars The “Steampunk VR Scooter” attraction at Erlebnispark Schloss Thurn in Germany gives visitors a unique, futuristic VR experience with all the interactive fun of traditional fairground bumper cars April 29, 2019 Gothenburg, 29 April 2019 —Qualisys, the leading provider of precision motion capture technology and 3D…

[This short story from IndieWire describes a clever use of presence-evoking VR in the process of creating the new animated film version of The Lion King. See the Entertainment Weekly story for more details and images, and a 2015 post in ISPR Presence News about the use of VR for an earlier version of The Lion King. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Entertainment Weekly] The Insane Way Jon Favreau Directed ‘The Lion King’ on a Virtual Reality Set Making “The Lion King” fused together filmmaking, virtual reality, and video games. Zack Sharf Apr 26, 2019 Jon Favreau’s upcoming “The Lion King” is…