[The images of the Instagram CGI character Imma (roughly, “now”) in this story from Inverse are compellingly realistic and raise intriguing questions about the impacts of the “virtual influencer” trend. For more examples see ITP Live, and for information about a potentially important factor in the impacts see the 2014 story in Motherboard titled “Lonely People Are More Likely to Think Inanimate Objects Are Alive.” –Matthew] The Weirdest Trend on Instagram: Virtual Influencers Who Make Real Content By Danny Paez January 19, 2019 The sun may already be setting on the age of the ambiguously famous social media influencer. After…

[The RealityVirtually Hackathon at MIT sounds like a fascinating, fun and valuable event where people gather to bring creative ideas for presence applications to life. This story from The Boston Globe (where it features a different image) describes many of the projects at this year’s event; for much more information about them see the Winners page on the RealityVirtually website. –Matthew] These developers are trying to make virtual reality more useful By Scott Kirsner, Globe Correspondent January 24, 2019 If you’ve seen a set of virtual reality goggles — in person or otherwise — you may have jumped to a few…

[PoliceOne reports on a new application of VR and presence to help teens learn how to avoid conflicts with gang members in New York City. For more information see NY1’s coverage that includes a 2:07 minute video report and the official press release via PR Newswire. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Officer.com] NYPD virtual-reality program to aid children with tough situations Police are putting teens through computer simulations to help them de-escalate gang confrontations January 23, 2019 Anthony M. Destefano, Newsday NEW YORK — The NYPD is using virtual reality to help teenagers deal with real life on the street.…

[“Paradoxically, our tendency to dehumanize robots comes from the instinct to anthropomorphize them” – this interesting story from The New York Times explores the reasons for human attacks on robots and other technologies; medium-as-social-actor (MASA) presence is both a cause and apparent solution to the problem. For more about this see a June 2018 story in The Boston Globe. –Matthew] Why Do We Hurt Robots? They are like us, but unlike us, and both fearsome and easy to bully. By Jonah Engel Bromwich Jan. 19, 2019 A hitchhiking robot was beheaded in Philadelphia. A security robot was punched to the…

[While telepresence rooms, virtual and augmented reality, IMAX theaters and simulation rides, and computers, virtual assistants and robots, are more often the focus of presence scholarship, television has for decades been arguably the most common and personal presence-evoking technology. And it’s evolving to be even more effective, as illustrated in this short story from Digital Trends about Samsung’s latest models. See the original story for a 2:56 on-site video report, and coverage in Techradar for the second image below and more information including the fact that the smaller (!) 75-inch model is called “The Window.” –Matthew] Samsung’s blistering 219-inch Micro…

[This story from YES! considers the potential and the limitations of virtual reality and presence to create empathy and sympathy and thereby lead to individual and social change. See the original version for two more images; for more on “An Empathy Bridge for Autism” and the “1000 Cut Journey” experience designed to give users a better understanding of racism, see a 2018 post and a 2017 post in ISPR Presence News. –Matthew] [The materials used for “An Empathy Bridge for Autism” VR experience are mostly low-cost and utilize tranquil hues. Photo by Paul Plews.] Using Virtual Reality to Teach Empathy Walking…

[Valeo’s Voyage XR lets users “tele-transport” into a remotely located car, enabling a variety of presence experiences. See the original version of this story from the Daily Mail for a 1:38 minute video and several more images (and a sidebar and video about a self-driving car demo); the brief Valeo announcement and the Voyage XR video are on the company’s website. –Matthew] The virtual back seat driver that could be every teen driver’s worst nightmare: ‘Teleportation’ system lets parents sit in the car with their kids via a VR headset By Annie Palmer for Dailymail.Com In Las Vegas 14 January…

[VR and presence are apparently effective not only for treating but for diagnosing a variety of mental conditions, as detailed in this story from Wired (see the original for two more images). –Matthew] [Image: The “mirror test” game used in Exeter University’s schizophrenia study, where a participant is asked to reproduce the movements of an on-screen avatar. Credit: EUROMOV.EU] Virtual Reality’s Latest Use? Diagnosing Mental Illness Mon Chandler January 15, 2019 Diagnosing psychiatric and neurological conditions is tricky. Physicians have long reported that diagnoses are fraught with complications and subtleties. Anywhere from 35 percent to 85 percent of mental health…

[This project, described in UConn Today, uses presence to accomplish an important goal, and develop guidelines for similar future efforts. See the original for an additional image. –Matthew] [Image: Ken Thompson, assistant professor-in-residence of game design, taking 3D Scans of Courtroom 600 in the Justizpalast in Nuremberg, Germany. Photo courtesy of Ken Thompson.] Reviving Holocaust History with Virtual Reality Jessica McBride – Office of the Vice President for Research January 9, 2019 UConn researchers are developing an immersive learning experience using virtual reality (VR) and game design to bring to life archival materials from the Nuremberg Trials. With the help…

[Science fiction is increasingly becoming reality, as in this story from Digital Times about the Teslasuit, which offers the prospect of particularly effective multi-sensory, customized presence experiences. See the original version for a different images and a 5:00 minute video; for a first-person report see a 5:35 minute CNET video via YouTube; and for more information see the Teslasuit website. –Matthew] The Teslasuit could turn Black Mirror’s terrifying ‘Playtest’ into a reality Felicia Miranda January 13, 2019 Black Mirror is a show that takes hypothetical looks into the future of modern tech. Usually with a dark twist, the scenarios you’ll…

[You have to watch the 2:20 minute trailer at the Holoride website (or on YouTube) to fully appreciate the potential of car-based presence experiences as envisioned by Audi and Disney. This story is from The Verge, where it includes different images. For more information see the Holoride and Audi websites. NOTE: I’ll be on my own trip for a few days, but ISPR Presence News will return next Tuesday (January 15). –Matthew] Audi and Disney Want To Spice Up Your Uber Ride With VR Blasting bad guys from the back seat of an E-Tron By Sean O’Kane January 7, 2019…

[Following a new University of Warwick study demonstrating our limited ability to detect digital manipulation of photographs, the story below from The Washington Post makes clear that the warnings about the dangers of increasingly realistic and easily-created deepfake videos were all too accurate. See the original story for two images, a 3:06 video report, and links to several related stories. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Philly.com] Fake-porn videos are being weaponized to harass and humiliate women: ‘Everybody is a potential target’ ‘Deepfake’ creators are making disturbingly realistic, computer-generated videos with photos taken from the Web, and ordinary women are suffering the damage…