[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…

[Presence field trip! I’d love to visit this cafe in Seoul… The short story is from Adweek, where it includes several pictures, and see Design You Trust for 30+ more. The idea of a presence-evoking restaurant isn’t new of course; for example My Modern Met compares Cafe Yeonnam-dong 239-20 to “an Instagram-worthy Wes Anderson-esque cafe in the Philippines [and] a coffee shop shaped like a Rolleiflex camera in South Korea.” –Matthew] [Image: Source: Design You Trust] This Popular ‘Drawing Cafe’ Transports Patrons Into a Quirky Cartoon World A designer’s dream in Seoul By Shannon Miller September 27, 2018 When was the last time…

[Stories about the use of technology to connect children undergoing medical treatment with their school classmates, and to connect the isolated elderly with family and friends, are relatively common. Aside from highlighting new products in this area, the story below from BBC News highlights ways that designers of these technologies are refining the presence experiences they produce, including the use of one-way rather than two-way video, emphasizing sound over image and maintaining novelty and surprise. See the original story for six more images, a 1:52 minute video and links to related stories. –Matthew] ‘My robot makes me feel like I…

[Only men appear on U.S. paper currency; a new augmented reality app superimposes the images of notable women over them. This story is from Next Reality, where it includes a second image and a 1:37 minute video. All of the women and information about them are on the Notable Women website. Nexus Studios adds a bit more detail: “The process of creating Notable Women required millimetric attention to detail in order to achieve seamless portrait transitions. Due to visual differences in each dollar bill denomination, 7 portraits needed to be made for each woman. This resulted in the creation of 700…

[This interesting link-filled piece from The Conversation examines the role and significance of a variety of medium-as-social-actor presence experiences for humans. The original version includes two more images. –Matthew] Why we love robotic dogs, puppets and dolls Brent Rodriguez-Plate, Visiting Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Hamilton College September 13, 2018 There’s a lot of hype around the release of Sony’s latest robotic dog. It’s called “aibo,” and is promoted as using artificial intelligence to respond to people looking at it, talking to it and touching it. Japanese customers have already bought over 20,000 units, and it is expected to come…

[This story from ABC News in Australia describes one of several efforts to use presence to provide patients and their family, friends and caregivers the experience of various health conditions. The original story includes four more pictures and the 1:50 minute 360 degree video (also available on YouTube). –Matthew] [Image: The VR experience was filmed at a Sydney school with students from Tyler’s class. Credit: ABC Radio Sydney: Harriet Tatham] Virtual reality experience replicates life as a child with hearing loss By Harriet Tatham September 24, 2018 For anybody with hearing loss, articulating the isolation it causes is almost impossible.…

[The latest presence-evoking experiences from Philharmonia Orchestra take you on-stage during performances of works by Beethoven and Mahler. The abridged press release below via The Corner Shop PR provides the details. Find a news report on this topic in The Times (requires subscription). Luke Ritchie, Head of Innovation and Partnerships for the Orchestra, describes the development of the VR projects and the potential and challenges the format represents in a 2017 story in ArtsProfessional. A first person report on the earlier “Virtual Orchestra” experience is available from ClassicFM. The Philharmonia website indicates that all of the showings this month at the…

[Our surroundings when we eat, whether real or virtual, affect how the food tastes to us, according to new research reported in the Cornell Chronicle. For details follow the link to the new publication in the Journal of Food Science. For a related story see a November 2017 post in ISPR Presence News. –Matthew] [Image: Cows enjoy spacious accommodation at the new Cornell University Ruminant Center in Harford, New York. Source: Cornell Chronicle.] Eating with your eyes: Virtual reality can alter taste By Blaine Friedlander September 20, 2018 Humans not only relish the sweet, savory and saltiness of foods, but…

[Presence experiences are increasingly being used to combat and aid recovery from the all-too-common scourge of sexual harassment and violence. This story from Reuters via Canadian HR Reporter highlights the work of some of our colleagues; for more information about Vantage Point, see a March 2018 ISPR Presence News post. –Matthew] Virtual reality tackles real-life sex abuse Umberto Bacchi September 10, 2018 Your boss ends a meeting by grabbing a colleague and asking her to “pack something fitting” for the party you’re all planning after an out-of-town conference. Do you a) say something or b) let it pass? That’s the…

[The creators of a new child robot for training medical students have purposely adjusted the level of presence it evokes for its users by making it as realistic as possible in function but not maximally realistic in appearance. Note the comments in the story from Wired about breaks in presence (without using that term) and the observation that even plain rubber dummies can evoke intense responses. For much more information including images and videos, see the Gaumard website, and see NBC Bay Area for a 3:48 minute video news report and a 9:33 minute 360 video. –Matthew] This Hyper-Real Robot…