[This column in EdTech highlights the importance of presence, and ways to enhance it, in the distance learning classroom; for more information, see the Michigan State University study “From 2D to Kubi to Doubles: Designs for Student Telepresence in Synchronous Hybrid Classroom” in the International Journal of Designs for Learning. –Matthew] [Image: Source: “Transforming classrooms with telepresence robots. Presented by John Bell, William Cain, and Marcus Rosenthal” (PDF of PowerPoint presentation)] Telepresence Robots Give Distance Students Their Own Seat at the Table Michigan State University helps online students feel represented in a unique way. By John Bell March 8, 2017…

[You have to watch the 2:00 minute video in this story from Motherboard to fully understand the nature of Gatebox, a new embodied virtual assistant from Japan’s Vinclu Inc. As coverage in Vocativ notes, “The plot from Spike Jonze’s movie ‘Her,’ about a man who falls in love with an artificially-intelligent operating system companion, just keeps getting closer to reality.” As detailed in Forbes, the company has just been purchased by South Korea’s Naver, which has 700 million registered users for its LINE messaging app and is developing its own “digital assistant powered by machine learning.” For more details about…

[This would seem like an ideal application area for presence; the first story below, from ZDNet, describes the new Mondly language learning VR app, and the second, from The Next Web, provides a first-person user’s evaluation. For more information see the company’s press release via PR Newswire. –Matthew] Mondly launches virtual reality for learning languages, powered by chatbots Practice talking in 28 different languages with virtual characters, which teach language fundamentals and help build confidence, with the Mondly VR app By Eileen Brown February 28, 2017 Romania-based ATi Studios, the creator of the Mondly language learning platform, has released a…

[This story from Computer Weekly describes the effective use of presence for training for fire safety as well as for enhancing several aspects of an airline’s operation. The original version includes more images and links to related stories. For more news about the use of presence for safety training see “Virtual reality training for ‘safety-critical’ jobs” from the University of Exeter. –Matthew] Virtual reality simulation helps KLM engineers escape in an emergency Dutch airline KLM develops virtual reality simulation to show engineers what happens if the maintenance hanger catches fire Bill Goodwin, Computer Weekly 06 Mar 2017 Airline KLM is…

[The ethics of presence made its way onto the popular U.S. program Saturday Night Live this weekend, as reported in this story from Exclaim! –Matthew] [Image: Saturday Night Live photo by Will Heath] Father John Misty Addresses Taylor Swift Lyric from “Total Entertainment Forever”: “That Is the Worst Thing I Can Think Of” By Stephen Carlick Published Mar 05, 2017 Last night (March 4), Father John Misty stopped by Saturday Night Live to perform a new song from his forthcoming third album, Pure Comedy, titled “Total Entertainment Forever.” The song’s opening line — “Bedding Taylor Swift every night inside the…

[It’s sad that in addition to convenience, cost and carbon emissions we have to add bypassing the U.S. travel ban (and other such restrictions) to the reasons for using telepresence technologies. This story is from Business Vancouver. –Matthew] [Image: Simon Fraser University Prof. Carman Neustaedter has been using technology to solve some of the concerns business executives and others now have about travel to the U.S. | Photo: Rob Kruyt] Entrepreneurs tap tech to skirt U.S. travel uncertainty Concerns over connecting with U.S. clients, opportunities spark travel alternatives search By Tyler Orton Feb. 28, 2017 Ahead of a May lecture in Edmonton,…

[This story from MIT Technology Review describes the emergence of a new form of presence-evoking photography – it’s early days at this writing but new technologies are lowering the cost and making it easier than ever to create 360° images that can be viewed in VR, and “When you see 360° imagery that truly transports you somewhere else, you want it more and more.” See the original story for 6 videos and 5 more images. –Matthew] [Image: ALLie Camera. It uses technology originally developed for the surveillance industry and can capture images in low light.] The 360-Degree Selfie Inexpensive cameras…

[Here’s an interesting story from artnet News about the increasing prominence of presence-evoking VR/AR works in art exhibitions and sales; see the original version for more images and links to related stories. –Matthew] [Image: Installation view of Tamiko Thiel and Zara Houshmand, Beyond Manzanar (2000). Image courtesy Moving Image.] Market for Virtual Reality Art Gets Tested at Moving Image Fair The new medium opens new frontiers for art, as well as a few new obstacles. Brian Boucher, February 28, 2017 “I can count on two hands the collectors who are buying immersive media works,” said Moving Image fair co-founder Edward Winkleman at…

[It’s still early days for this innovation from Google but allowing both observers and participants to see the faces of VR and MR users could significantly boost the potential for presence experiences. That potential is only briefly mentioned in the last paragraph in this post from the Google Research Blog, which includes more images and a 1:46 minute video. –Matthew]   Headset “Removal” for Virtual and Mixed Reality February 21, 2017 Posted by Vivek Kwatra, Research Scientist and Christian Frueh, Avneesh Sud, Software Engineers Virtual Reality (VR) enables remarkably immersive experiences, offering new ways to view the world and the…

[Telepresence is being used at Grand Canyon University to let teachers-in-training learn by ‘being’ in a remote elementary school classroom; this story is from Grand Canyon University Today, where it includes several more images. –Matthew] Telepresence gives students new view of teaching February 08, 2017 Story and photos by Jeannette.Cruz, GCU News Bureau Three Grand Canyon University educators in the College of Education are exploring a new way to virtually provide students with an opportunity to get their feet wet in the profession. The initiative – a live, telepresence practicum pilot – engages students in an elementary school setting through…

[In an apparent first, an auction house is using VR to provide an immersive experience with virtual versions of art works before a sale. This interview from Sotheby’s, where it includes a 3:16 minute demonstration video and more images, never mentions presence explicitly but the phenomenon is obviously central to the discussion (note that the “watch video here” links may require sign in). –Matthew] [Image: A visitor to the exhibition tries out the virtual reality headset (photo: Ian Gavan)] Reimagining Surrealism Through Virtual Reality By Sotheby’s | 22 Feb 2017 Visitors to the Surrealist Art Evening sale exhibition at New Bond…

[NASA’s release yesterday of a 360 degree VR panorama so that we can all experience what it would be like to be on a newly discovered planet demonstrates the recognition of the value of presence. The story below is from Wired UK, where it includes the 1:23 minute interactive video and two different images. More media recreations related to the discovery are available from NASA. –Matthew] Explore Nasa’s TRAPPIST-1d exoplanet discovery in glorious 360-degree VR The 360-degree Nasa VR panorama animates the surface of a newly detected planet, TRAPPIST-1d By Victoria Woollaston Thursday 23 February 2017 Last night, Nasa revealed…