[There is intriguing, and possibly disturbing, potential for enhancing presence experiences in this research by Facebook; the story is from New Scientist. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Mashable] Facebook AI learns human reactions after watching hours of Skype By Matt Reynolds 5 September 2017 There’s something not quite right about humanoid robots. They are cute up to a point, but once they become a bit too realistic, they often start to creep us out – a foible called the uncanny valley. Now Facebook wants robots to climb their way out of it. Researchers at Facebook’s AI lab have developed an expressive bot,…

[Despite the unfortunately-worded quote that begins “The great thing about dementia is it really fits our brand…,” this story from Quartz describes an important application of presence. The original version includes more images. –Matthew] Dementia is difficult to spot early. Researchers think VR can help. By Karen Hao September 03, 2017 In 2014, German mobile carrier Deutsche Telekom initiated a search for something it could do to benefit the world. Employees met with experts in health, education, and cybersecurity, seeking out something that, according to Hans-Christian Schwingen, chief brand officer at Deutsche Telekom, would show “how mobile products and services…

[According to this story from Adweek, VR dating has “started to breach pop culture,” including a new dating program set in virtual reality. You can watch the 1:04 minute trailer on YouTube and the 7:56 minute first episode on Facebook. The reviews (e.g., in The Verge and New York Post) have been negative, but it’s interesting to imagine ways in which both actual VR dating and the program could be made more interesting and useful. –Matthew]   [Image: Source: VRScout] Condé Nast and Facebook Are Debuting a Virtual-Reality Dating Show Will VR blind dates lead to real love?…

[Here’s an interesting use of virtual reality and presence: To help new lottery winners practice responding to hints and requests from family, friends and co-workers for a share of the windfall. The effort may eventually benefit a broader segment of society too because the last two paragraphs in this story from CTV News note that the project is a precursor to using VR to combat bullying and workplace discrimination. For more information see the Canada NewsWire press release. –Matthew] [Image: Lottery winner Gilles Leprohon celebrates after receiving his cheque, Thursday, January 12, 2017 in Montreal. Credit: The Canadian Press/Paul Chiasson)]…

[A method to adjust the potential for users experiencing nausea in a virtual environment discussed in this story from MIT Technology Review could be expanded to adjusting the intensity and other attributes or types of presence. For more details about the VRemedy Labs project, see a recent post in the company’s blog. –Matthew] Now There’s a Nausea Dial for Virtual Reality A startup is building a game that will let you adjust the excitement—and queasiness—of your VR experience. by Rachel Metz August 25, 2017 Some people have no problem flipping and flying in virtual reality; others find this kind of…

[Presence can provide vivid and impactful experiences that change people’s knowledge, attitudes and behavior but that power must be used responsibly, as highlighted in the second part of this story from the Daily Mail; for more information see a 1:53 minute video from Getty Images and a 2:26 minute video on YouTube. –Matthew] [Image from Framework Creative: We created spine medical diagnostic tool for a chain of chiropractors, Back To Health, determined to be at the cutting edge of their industry. Based on a multi-player platform, the patient moves around the virtual representation of their spine in VR whilst the…

[Vogue’s story below is about the use of presence to enhance the experience of drinking fine liquor. Forbes has additional details and Paste’s coverage includes this: “Currently, Rare Journey is only available at Baptiste & Bottle; however, [national brand ambassador] Raies says similar experiences will likely appear elsewhere once it has been fine tuned. For those looking to create an approximation of the experience at home, Raies recommends The MacallanVR app, which features the Rare Journey VR video. All you need is the cardboard VR viewer for your phone, a bottle of Rare Cask, and the sherry. If you don’t…

[This short story from iLounge summarizes and links to a detailed post by Apple about how the company is improving the “naturalness, personality, and expressivity of Siri’s voice” for iOS 11; click through to the bottom of that post to listen to several audio clips of Siri in iOS 9, 10 and 11 to hear the impressive differences. For other recent presence-related Siri news, see “AI Programs Are Learning to Exclude Some African-American Voices“ from MIT Technology Review and “To Win The AI Assistant Wars, Apple Is Melding Siri With Its Other Services” from Fast Company. –Matthew] Apple publishes details…

[Precise and explicit definitions are essential for scholars (a quest close to my heart when it comes to presence). Especially in the last decade the evolution of the technologies that evoke presence has raised challenges for defining the nature and categories of the technologies and even for defining and measuring presence (e.g., many questionnaire items don’t apply well to augmented reality). This column from Computerworld outlines the situation and argues that despite the important distinctions, soon the technologies will all be commonly known as “virtual reality.” The original version of the column includes a second image and a 4:28 minute…

[This story from the Irish Independent describes several ways presence experiences are becoming more common at restaurants; the original version includes two more pictures and for more information check out the websites of Shanghai’s Ultraviolet and Ibiza’s Sublimotion. –Matthew] [Image: Sea food: Diners at Shanghai’s Ultraviolet restaurant take in an underwater experience. Photo: Scott Wright of Limelight Studio] Out for a byte: dining is now a feast for all senses Technology à la carte will whisk you away to a Tuscan garden while kitchen robots flip your burgers. Sue Quinn savours the thought June 7 2017 Have a taste of…

[As this story from Wired notes, in the possibly-near future a virtual layer of experience will become overlaid on and intertwined with our nonmediated world, with lots of potential uses and impacts. The new Mirage app is an early step toward that future. –Matthew] Finally: An Augmented Reality App that Injects the Internet into Real Life Peter Rubin August 8, 2017 When Ryan Staake and Patrick Piemonte first worked together, they helped you get around: Both were interface designers at Apple, with Piemonte working specifically on the iPhone’s map technology. Now, nearly a decade later, the two are working together…

[This big picture perspective on the future of mediated experience from Forbes makes a compelling case that today’s technologies are leading us toward what has only been considered in science fiction, raising some of the same intriguing philosophical questions about the nature of humans and how we would use or misuse such technologies. –Matthew] [Image: A picture taken on June 8, 2016 in the gardens of the Chateau de Versailles shows ‘Waterfall’ installation by Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. The spectacular installation cascades into the Grand Canal of the famous royal gardens outside Paris. Eliasson created eight works for the palace…