[The technology described in this widely cited story from New Scientist moves us closer to sharing richer and more diverse sensory experiences over time and distance; the original story includes a 0:35 minute video and a second 1:08 minute video is available on YouTube. See Nimesha Ranasinghe’s website for more information, including the earlier Digital Lollipop project. –Matthew] [Image: Source: [TEI2017] Virtual Lemonade: Let’s Teleport Your Lemonade! via YouTube] Virtual lemonade sends colour and taste to a glass of water By Timothy Revell 24 March 2017 When life hands you digital lemons, make virtual lemonade. A system of sensors and…

[Here’s a good example of the evolution of presence-evoking technology and (though it’s not discussed in this story from idealog), the obvious ethical issues it raises. The idealog story includes more pictures and two videos; MIT Technology Review’s coverage includes a 1:42 minute video of Nadia; and more information is available from the Soul Machines website. For a related story that raises some of the ethical issues, see “Can Alexa lie?” from Shelly Palmer’s blog. –Matthew] Soul Machines unveils its first emotionally intelligent, lifelike avatar By Elly Strang 17 Feb 2017 A Kiwi company at the forefront of humanising AI…

[This short story from Quartz describes an intriguing use of virtual reality and presence: data from scans of a person’s eye are used to produce an interactive VR experience that doctors can experience together for collaborative diagnosis and treatment, and patients can use to better understand their condition. The scan data can also be used to print a 3D version of the eye. See the original Quartz story for a 1:32 minute video, and the Wellcome Image Awards website for more information including profiles of the team that developed the technique and a different 1:52 minute video (a 4:15 minute version…

[Disney Research has taken another intriguing step toward compelling presence illusions; this story from Gizmodo (where it includes a 2:47 minute video) outlines some of the applications, and coverage in Mashable goes further: “if you really want to go long on futurecasting, this may also be an early look at a real Star Trek holodeck, a fictional room that allows users to feel real impacts from virtual objects. Whether we get there through haptic feedback suits, real world object tracking, or perhaps a combination of the two, Disney Research’s experiment is yet another indication that we’re just at the beginning…

[This story from Nature describes the potential of presence to lead to new discoveries in mathematics; the original version includes another image, two videos, and references; for much more information about the project see eleVR’s website. –Matthew] Mathematicians create warped worlds in virtual reality Immersive experience set to become accessible to all. Davide Castelvecchi 21 March 2017 “It feels like the entire universe is within a sphere that is maybe within a couple metres’ radius,” says topologist Henry Segerman at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. He is describing, not an LSD trip, but his experience of exploring a curved universe…

[Most of the press coverage of this important application of presence is drawn from the Samsung press release below, which includes a 4:43 minute video. More information on the project is available from Start VR, and an excerpt from coverage in The Australian about the origins of the project follows the press release below. –Matthew] Start VR Introduces Virtual Reality to Chemotherapy Patient Program at Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Australia on March 07, 2017 Sydney based virtual reality studio Start VR have collaborated with Samsung Australia and Chris O’Brien Lifehouse to develop a ground-breaking initiative to supply Samsung virtual reality (VR)…

[Presence via holograms and augmented reality raises a lot of interesting and important practical and legal questions; this story is from Singularity Hub, where it includes a 1:32 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Ukraine Today/YouTube] You Can Ban a Person, But What About Their Hologram? By Aaron Frank Mar 17, 2017 If you think augmented reality is only fun and games, consider that we’ve already witnessed the first known police action taken against hologram technology. During the summer of 2015, a performance by controversial gangster-rapper, Keith Cozart, was shut down when local police discovered the musician was broadcast as a hologram…

[There are few applications of presence-evoking technology more interesting and fraught with ethical issues than sexuality. This story is from The Huffington Post, where it includes two videos; more information is available from Forbes. –Matthew] [Image: “Kati,” the Lumi sex doll now at a Barcelona brothel] Hello, Westworld: Sex Doll Brothel Opens In Barcelona Industry edges closer to “realistic, robotic” sex partners. By Mary Papenfuss March 2, 2017 In the first known brothel of its kind, a Barcelona establishment is offering erotic sessions with sex dolls only. Clients of the “agency” will have to pony up $127 an hour for…

[Advances in technology are permitting both producers and consumers to effortlessly and instantly modify mediated experiences, making presence more common and determining what is ‘real’ increasingly difficult. This story is from Fast Company’s Co.Design, where it includes many images; the 1:33 minute The Human Race video (also available on YouTube); and a second, 1:49 minute video about the project. A short behind the scenes video is available on YouTube and Sam Russell, general director of global Chevrolet marketing, talks about the project in another YouTube video. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Ad Week] This Crazy New Technology Transforms Movies Into Video Games…

[Here’s another very positive application for presence-evoking technology; the story, which includes extended quotes from our colleague Brenda Wiederhold, is from Tonic, where it includes two additional images. –Matthew] I Tried Virtual Reality Breast Implants Plastic surgeons are recommending this pre-op step. Catherine Chapman March 13 2017 A plastic surgeon’s office is no place for an anxiety-stricken perfectionist like myself, but there I was about to get a consultation for a breast augmentation. I have never thought about changing my breast size, or that much about my breasts at all for that matter, but as a 28-year-old woman, my life…

[It’s sad that an all-female team had to take the initiative and invent the “personal space bubble” feature discussed in this article from MIT Technology Review; note the explicit references to presence and how it, along with human nature and the anonymity of social VR, makes invasions of personal space more likely. The original story includes a video version of the image below and a 26:04 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: Illustration by Veronyka Jelinek] The War on the Disturbingly Real Trolls in Virtual Reality When you feel like you really are inside a virtual body, protecting your personal space is…

[Reminiscent of the PARO therapeutic robot, this story from The Philadelphia Inquirer describes the increasing use and positive impacts of medium-as-social-actor presence with residents of senior centers; the original story includes more images and a 0:43 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: “Pearl”, one of the robot cats used at the Abramson Center for Jewish Life, lays across the lap of Ina Schecter, 91, a resident of the center, waiting to be petted. Credit: Michael Bryant / Staff Photographer] Senior centers try robotic cats to soothe agitated elders Updated: March 10, 2017 by Stacey Burling, Staff Writer Stanley Ellis, who has dementia,…