[“If you give someone a healthy body in VR, will that help them recover their health?” Researchers at USC are investigating the potential of VR and presence to promote brain plasticity and recovery in stroke survivors, with encouraging early results. This story is from CNET; for more information including a 4:35 minute video see earlier coverage from USC News. –Matthew] VR could trick stroke victims’ brains toward recovery Researchers at the University of Southern California are examining how virtual reality could promote brain plasticity and recovery. By Abrar Al-Heeti October 15, 2017 Could virtual reality help stroke survivors regain motor…

[This piece from The Conversation describes a powerful presence experience (and uses the term) to highlight the differences between observing a story in “flat cinema” and living it in a genre of virtual reality called “reactive theatre.” The original version includes two videos. For more information see the Draw Me Close and Alice: The Virtual Reality Play websites. –Matthew] ‘A virtual mum put me to bed’: A view from the VR future of film September 19, 2017 Victoria Mapplebeck, Reader in Digital Arts, Royal Holloway I’ve just got back from the Venice Film Festival, which for the first time showcased an…

[This ZDNet story and the (free) detailed, interactive report it describes and links to make clear that a large percentage of workers do now, or would like to, work remotely, and highlight the role of presence technologies and experiences in increasing the benefits and reducing the drawbacks of telework. –Matthew] Companies that support remote work experience 25 percent lower employee turnover (and other findings) A new survey shows the pros and cons of a distributed workforce. By Greg Nichols for Robotics October 4, 2017 Employees are more loyal if they’re allowed to work remotely. That’s according to a new survey…

[An innovative new effort to bring static, black and white comics to VR is more evidence that presence does not require photorealism. This story from The Verge provides a quick summary and evaluation of the project. For more details see coverage in Rolling Stone; VR Scout, where the story notes that the creators “wanted to create that sense of presence that’s unique to VR”); and Road to VR, where the story features an 8:03 minute video. –Matthew] Square Enix shows off its vision for the future of comics with virtual reality And you can try it at NYCC by Michael…

[Note how the author of this story from The Verge about a new, promising effort to popularize virtual reality describes the strong sense of presence he experienced in a recent demo without actually using the term presence. The original version includes another image and a 1:46 minute video.  –Matthew] Hollywood and AMC theaters are betting on VR with Dreamscape Immersive Steven Spielberg, Hans Zimmer, and director Gore Verbinski get into the game by Bryan Bishop September 26, 2017 The notion that virtual reality is going to be the next great storytelling medium has run into some bumps along the way.…

[This press release from The Guardian announces a new virtual experience designed to help increase empathy and understanding of autism; for other similar efforts, see articles in the Times of Malta and Lovin Malta, and the UK’s National Autistic Society. –Matthew] Guardian launches The Party – A virtual experience of autism 9 October 2017 The Guardian is pleased to announce the launch of The Party – A virtual experience of autism, the publisher’s latest virtual reality (VR) project. The Party places viewers in the shoes of newly-diagnosed Layla, a 15-year old, autistic girl at her mother’s surprise birthday party.…

[It’s encouraging to see the potential impacts of new presence-evoking technologies lead to discussions about ethical guidelines for designing presence experiences. This story about the ethics of presence in the context of journalism is from Undark. –Matthew] Virtual Reality and Journalistic Ethics: Where Are the Lines? VR can transport viewers directly into news stories. But questions linger about how the stories are produced, and how audiences remember them. 09.27.2017 / By Dan Robitzski Imagine if you could spend a morning climbing a skyscraper, running with the bulls in Spain, or even walking on Pluto. As news outlets experiment with immersive…

[A new system developed at MIT will make it possible to communicate more naturally with robots, in many different contexts, via medium-as-social-actor presence. The story is from MIT News, and a 2:25 minute video is available in coverage by Design News and on YouTube. –Matthew] Robot learns to follow orders like Alexa ComText, from the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, allows robots to understand contextual commands. Adam Conner-Simons | Rachel Gordon | CSAIL August 30, 2017 Despite what you might see in movies, today’s robots are still very limited in what they can do. They can be great for…

[As this story from Forbes notes, we’re living in an era that “used to be science fiction” – the ‘Brainternet’ project raises a variety of interesting and potentially scary prospects for forms of presence enabled by networked brain-computer interfaces. For more details see the press release from University of the Witwatersrand and coverage in Motherboard, both of which include a 2:45 minute video. –Matthew] Are You Ready To Have Your Brain Connected To The Internet? September 24, 2017 David DiSalvo, Contributor (Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own) By now we’re all familiar with the “Internet of Things” and have…

[This story from the New Statesman describes both the benefits and ethical challenges of incorporating multiple types of presence, particularly medium-as-social-actor presence, in education. –Matthew] “Eton for all”: will robot teachers mean everyone gets an elite education? From Shakespeare holograms to mental health, how artificial intelligence could transform our schools. October 2 2017 By Lizzie Palmer There are a few certainties in this world: death, taxes, and that our jobs will eventually be taken by robots. However, some professions are under greater threat than others. Accountants and couriers should probably worry. But doctors and teachers will be fine, surely? Even…

[This story about the award-winning VR film “Bloodless” describes a media creator’s perspective on the important differences between film and interactive,  immersive virtual reality; it’s from the AP via Philly Voice. For more information, see coverage in the Korea Herald and the Gina Kim‘s website. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Samantha K. Kim] Director turns to virtual reality to tastefully show tragedy By Youkyung Lee Associated Press October 02, 2017 SEOUL, South Korea — For 25 years filmmaker Gina Kim wanted to make a movie about the true story of a South Korean sex worker killed by an American soldier, but struggled…

[This short story from PsyPost is about a logical and potentially valuable application of presence for accurately diagnosing social anxiety. Note: ISPR Presence News will be away on Thursday and Friday and return on Monday. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung] Virtual reality technology could be a powerful tool in diagnosing social anxiety disorder Eric W. Dolan September 23, 2017 A team of German researchers is hoping to use virtual reality technology to diagnose social anxiety disorder. Their initial results have been published in the scientific journal Computers in Human Behavior. “Most of the work done with VR so far (including from…