[Digital Commerce 360 reports on how the Macy’s department store chain is using presence-evoking technologies to enhance customer experience, increase sales, reduce returns, and save space while increasing its offerings. For more information, see a press release via Business Wire, a CNBC interview with the CEO of Marxent Labs, an earlier story and video from Marxent, Marxent’s Products page, and a report in PYMNTS on both Macy’s and Walmart’s recent adoption of VR and AR. –Matthew] Virtual reality increases furniture AOV by 60% at Macy’s On the heels of a virtual reality furniture pilot, Macy’s adds augmented reality for furniture…

[This press release from ETH Zurich describes a promising new technology for evoking realistic haptic sensations that contribute to presence illusions. For more information watch a 1:58 minute video on YouTube and see the project’s web page (which features the full paper and a longer video). –Matthew] Ultra-light gloves let users “touch” virtual objects Scientists from ETH Zurich and EPFL have developed an ultra-light glove – weighing less than 8 grams – that enables users to feel and manipulate virtual objects. Their system provides extremely realistic haptic feedback and could run on a battery, allowing for unparalleled freedom of movement.…

[Presence-evoking technologies are changing traditional audio-visual media in interesting ways. Snapchat is experimenting with using augmented reality for both watching and responding to original interactive programming via mobile devices, as described in this story in Fast Company; see the original story for a 1:04 minute video and animated gifs. –Matthew] Snap is making whatever comes after TV Today the company is announcing new original programming that puts users inside the story. Is it prestige TV, social storytelling, or a whole new medium? October 10, 2018 By Mark Wilson I’m standing on a beach, and a group of beautiful twentysomethings gather…

[An interactive exhibit at the recent New York Comic Con “plung[ed] readers right in the narrative”; this story from Ad Age introduces a 3:43 minute video recorded at NYCC. Bleeding Cool has 14 images and a short video and The Verge provides more context regarding the innovations in and the popularity of audio books. –Matthew] [Image: Source: mementogorey on Deskgram; more here] AUDIBLE GETS ‘PENSIEVE’ WITH GIANT HARRY POTTER COMIC CON ACTIVATION An audio-visual experience that goes beyond the audiobook By Megan Graham October 09, 2018 To get people tuning in to audiobooks, Audible is yanking stories off the page…

[Thanks to the Mural Arts Philadelphia program, since 1984 the city has been home to over 3600 murals, the “World’s Largest Outdoor Art Gallery”; the new mural described in this story from Philly.com incorporates augmented reality and a soundtrack to tell an engaging story. See the original story for another picture and a 0:31 minute video. For more on public arts projects incorporating AR see the Mural Arts Philadelphia blog, and for more on the mission and history of the organization and the city’s murals see the Mural Arts Philadelphia website and coverage in the Huffington Post. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: David Swanson…

[The technologies used to create Halloween attractions are increasingly capable of producing rich and intense presence experiences, as detailed in this story from Fast Company; see the original version for other pictures and videos. –Matthew] Virtual reality reimagines the haunted mansion–with eerily realistic effects The Void’s hyper-reality experiences allow you to do more than just enter a new world–you get to touch, feel, interact, and even smell truly terrifying environments. By Rina Raphael October 1, 2018 I am screaming so loudly–repeatedly–that it’s more of a piercing shrill echo. I fear it’s so disturbingly distracting that I can’t stop apologizing. “I…

[In addition to their features, most of the press coverage of Facebook’s new Portal devices emphasizes questions about the actual and perceived privacy the products will provide. This story is from Business Insider, where it includes other images. A 5:43 minute interview with Portal VP Rafa Camargo at Bloomberg includes the quote here about presence and several others including a specific reference to social and “video” presence. Wired has more details about the Portals including this: “Get up and walk around, and the camera follows you, staying zoomed in. If there’s more than one human in the room, Portal will…

[Researchers affiliated with Penn State University are designing not just individual VR simulations to teach industrial engineering but an integrated, thematic curriculum that incorporates VR and presence to serve both in person and remotely located students with “the potential to transform our concept of higher education and how we learn.” This story is from Penn State News, where it includes more pictures (see also related earlier coverage from Penn State News). –Matthew] [Image: Researchers at the Data-Driven Decisions lab at Penn State Behrend and the Design Analysis Technology Advancement lab at University Park are developing a virtual-reality simulation that will…

[This story from Wired highlights the power of (in this case, medium-as-social-actor) presence, and the tension between profits and ethics: “The danger is that robot makers, consciously or not, may exploit gender stereotypes to try to make their machines more effective [with consumers] … It doesn’t have to be this way.” –Matthew] [Image: Donat Sorokin/TASS/Getty Images] It’s Time To Talk About Robot Gender Stereotypes Matt Simon October 3, 2018 Robots are the most powerful blank slate humans have ever created. Want a helpful robot? No problem. Want a mean one? Sure, if that’s what you’re into. A robot is a…

[This story from Inverse describes a new study that demonstrates the power of VR and presence to alter perceptions and, in this case, enable more effective physical exercise (although as with many presence phenomena, I can envision negative consequences if it’s not used in moderation). See the original for two more images, and coverage from The University of Kent for more details. –Matthew] VR Boosts Workouts by Unexpectedly Reducing Pain During Exercise Meet your next performance-enhancing drug. By Emma Betuel October 4, 2018 If you walk in on someone exercising with a VR headset on, they might look pretty ridiculous.…

[A new study demonstrates the potential of medium-as-social-actor presence to help develop the social skills of children with autism (and possibly others). The story is from Yale News, where it includes a 2:14 minute video. –Matthew] Robots help children with autism improve social skills By William Weir August 22, 2018 A study led by Yale researchers found significant improvements in the social skills of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) after a month of working with robots. Modeling eye contact and other social behaviors, the robots guided the children of 12 participating families through storytelling and interactive games designed to…

[This story from The Guardian describes a bit of the history of dating simulations, the (nuanced) presence experiences of people who use them, the roles of the technology and the user’s imagination that contribute to those experiences, and a future when the simulations further blur the line between real and virtual. See the original story for more pictures. –Matthew] [Image: A picture of Jumin Han, one of the characters in Mystic Messenger, and his cat, Elizabeth III. Credit: Oscar Schwartz,] Love in the time of AI: Meet the people falling for scripted robots A crop of dating simulations where the…