[This is a too-short story about our colleague Andrea Stevenson Won and some of her fascinating and valuable work related to presence. It’s from the Cornell Chronicle, where it includes two more images. For more information see the Virtual Embodiment Lab website and her page on the Cornell website. –Matthew] [Image: Andrea Stevenson Won, assistant professor in the Department of Communication at Cornell University, in the Virtual Embodiment Lab. Credit: Sasha Israel/Provided] Relieving real pain in a virtual world By Jennifer Savran Kelly April 30, 2018 We’ve all enjoyed losing ourselves in a good book, but what if the story…

[The demonstration of Google’s AI-powered virtual assistant Duplex at the Google I/O conference is both extremely impressive and, to many, worrisome. This story from NPR describes some of the concerns about the ethics of such effective presence illusions; for more on the ethics and a 4:25 minute video of the demonstration see coverage in The Verge, and for an expanded discussion that includes practical concerns, see coverage in Motherboard. –Matthew] [Image: Google CEO Sundar Pichai demonstrated new AI technology that can use human-like speech to carry on phone conversations at the Google I/O 2018 Conference on Tuesday in Mountain View,…

[Google’s May 3, 2018 360-degree virtual reality Doodle is another small landmark in the history of presence. This story is from Adweek, where it includes two videos; for in-depth information see coverage in Engadget and Google itself (where the page includes a Making Of… video). The Washington Post elegantly describes the project this way: “Google has melded the future of the past, technologically and narratively, with the future of the now.” –Matthew] Google’s First Virtual Reality Doodle Honors a French Illusionist Director An homage to the ‘father of special effects’ Georges Méliès By Marty Swant May 3, 2018 Google just…

[The headline is just one of the interesting results in this story from Forbes, where the original includes more charts. –Matthew] VR Needs More Social: 77% of Virtual Reality Users Want More Social Engagement John Koetsier April 30, 2018 77% of people who use virtual reality want more social engagement in VR, according to a new survey of 4,217 consumers. And while many of their headsets don’t get regular use, most intend to use their VR headsets more in the future. “Led by Generation Z and Millennials, 77% of respondents who own a VR headset say they are interested in…

[As a rail fan I find this review of a new model train simulator for virtual reality particularly interesting; the more inclusive term “Trainset VR” is also an intriguing presence concept. The review is from UploadVR, where it includes different images and a video trailer; more information including images and a video is available in coverage by Stuff.co.nz. –Matthew] Rolling Line Review: A Delightful Model Railway Simulator By Jamie Feltham May 4th, 2018 Platforms: Rift (Reviewed), Vive Trainset VR is a term I’ve used to describe some of my favorite VR titles. By that, I’m referring to experiences that make…

[This opinion column from Aeon is from late 2016 but it’s still extremely relevant to a key debate about the effects and ethics of presence. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: PhotoAlto/Ale Ventura/Getty] Murder in virtual reality should be illegal Angela Buckingham is a writer living in Berlin. She writes about power, moral choice, self-deception, bravery and cowardice. Her most recent work, The Colonel, is a play inspired by the events surrounding the Dreyfus Affair in 1890s France. November 2016 You start by picking up the knife, or reaching for the neck of a broken-off bottle. Then comes the lunge and wrestle, the…

[A new Facebook feature will create navigable 3D virtual reproductions of places where our memorable experiences occurred. Interestingly, the limitations of the reproductions (a “pointillism effect”) apparently create both the “sense of presence in a place… [and] a sense of memory.” This first-person report on Facebook’s demo at the F8 conference is from Engadget, where it includes more images. See CNET for a 2:14 minute video. –Matthew] Facebook’s AI-created virtual memories are magically haunting Wandering through pointillistic art felt like being in a dream. Nicole Lee May 1, 2018 Ever since Facebook bought Oculus, it’s been investing in virtual reality in a…

[This story from Nature describes the nascent use of virtual and augmented reality, and the presence experiences they produce, for scientific research. See the last paragraph for a succinct summary. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: The Project Twins] Virtual-reality applications give science a new dimension Virtual- and augmented-reality tools allow researchers to view and share data as never before. But so far, they remain largely the tools of early adopters. David Matthews 30 April 2018 As I put on a virtual-reality (VR) headset, the outside world disappears. A cell fills my visual field, and as I crane my neck, I can see…

[There are some intriguing developments in presence-evoking technologies from Apple; this highly cited story is from CNET, where the original includes a 1:35 minute video and two large image galleries. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: TECHSPOT] Apple’s working on a powerful, wireless headset for both AR, VR The headset, which would straddle the two technologies and tap into Apple’s own chips, is slated for 2020. It’s the biggest sign of Apple’s interest in virtual reality. By Shara Tibken April 27, 2018 Apple CEO Tim Cook has nothing but praise for augmented reality, saying it’s a technology that’s potentially as important as the…

[This news release from Queen’s University describes what could be an important advance in evoking social presence. Follow the links near the end for more information, images and a video. –Matthew] News Release – Move over Tupac! Life-size holograms set to revolutionize videoconferencing Professor Roel Vertegaal’s new light field displays effectively simulate teleportation Monday, April 23, 2018 KINGSTON – A Queen’s University researcher will soon unveil TeleHuman 2 – the world’s first truly holographic videoconferencing system. TeleHuman2 allows people in different locations to appear before one another in life-size 3D – as if they were in the same room. “People…

[Oh the places “you” will go… This story from Cointelegraph describes a new business that allows users to pay strangers to serve as their avatar anywhere in the world; it’s reminiscent of the “human Uber” idea featured in a February 2018 post in ISPR Presence News). –Matthew] Blockchain Project to Give Users ‘Telepresence’ Anywhere Via Live Streams They Can Control April 24, 2018 By Connor Blenkinsop A Blockchain-driven company plans to “give people the power to be instantly everywhere” by creating a marketplace where users can hire someone’s physical presence in order to see and hear the world as they…

[Another very practical application of presence is described in this story from WTTV CBS4. For more information see the FLAIM Trainer website. –Matthew] Virtual reality training on display at downtown firefighters convention April 25, 2018 By Zach Myers INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Firefighters attending this year’s Fire Department Instructor’s Conference in downtown Indianapolis are getting their first look at a new, virtual reality training system. The technology, designed by “Flame Systems,” is engineered to give a realistic simulation of various fire emergencies in a virtual environment. “We’ve just launched here at the show today, and this is the first time the…