[There are certainly lots of challenges, but this new patent from Google is an interesting approach to creating effective and useful telepresence experiences. The story is from TechRepublic, where it includes different images; the patent is available from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Quartz; credit: AP Photo/John Locher] Google may soon take conference calls to the sky with video conferencing drones On Tuesday, Google was awarded a patent for a quadcopter with cameras and screens. But could it replace traditional video conference calls? By Alison DeNisco August 10, 2016 Conference calls may soon take flight, literally:…

[This fascinating interview with photographer June Korea explores the current and possible future roles of life-sized dolls and the medium-as-social-actor presence responses they evoke. The original story in Highsnobiety includes many images. –Matthew] Meet the New York-Based Artist Living With a Sex Doll By Maddie Holden July 27, 2016 We get a lot of strange emails here at Highsnobiety: newly formed brands and aspiring artists often reach out in the hopes of being featured, and plenty of these emails are attention-grabbing and unusual. However, South Korean-born and NYC-based artist June Korea stood out more than most. His new work, Still…

[Presence can evoked by simple, low-bandwidth cues too; this story is from Yahoo! Tech (where it includes two other images). See also coverage of the related Pillow Talk product in ISPR Presence News. –Matthew] The love of your life can hear your heartbeat in real time with smart wedding band Kyle Wiggers August 4, 2016 There’s something irrefutably intangible about a phone conversation — especially with a loved one. Sure, voice and video chat is good in a pinch, but there’s no replacement for more palpable signs of affection like, say, a warm embrace. Transmitting that sort of physicality over…

[This post from the blog of Grammy nominated DJ/producer Morgan Page (also available via OSSIC) provides an insider’s view of the current status and potential future of VR and presence in nearly all aspects of music: consumption, performance, collaboration and sharing, and learning and teaching; it features 11 videos that illustrate the author’s points. Btw, DAW is an acronym for Digital Audio Workstation. –Matthew] Beyond the DAW – How VR Will Change Everything July 27, 2016 After spending two weeks with the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets, it’s clear that virtual reality will completely reshape the human experience.…

[The Dark Ride Project is using modern presence-evoking technologies to preserve presence experiences evoked in the haunted house amusement rides of the past. This story is from TechnoBuffalo, where it includes more images and two videos; a press release is available from Hypergrid Business; and more details and 360 videos are available on the Project’s Indigogo page. –Matthew] Interview: Using VR to preserve the last remaining haunted house amusement rides By Jacob Kleinman August 21, 2016 Joel Zika is on a mission to preserve the last remaining haunted house amusement park rides before they disappear and he’s using virtual reality…

[A stand-alone, open source mixed reality headset from Intel and Microsoft is likely to speed the adoption of effective presence-evoking technology. This story is from MIT Technology Review, where it includes an additional image; a 7:35 minute video of the demo is on YouTube, and for more on Intel’s larger vision “for a fully connected world,” see coverage in PC Magazine. –Matthew] [Image: Depth sensors on the headset allow you to interact with things in a virtual world using your hands and fingers, or objects you are holding.] Intel and Microsoft Are Teaming Up to Make Virtual Reality Ubiquitous A…

[Neuromarketing using virtual and mixed reality is an important example of the promise and peril of presence; this story is from Motherboard, where the original includes three more images. –Matthew] How Companies Will Use VR and Read Your Brainwaves to Sell You More Stuff By David Silverberg, Contributor August 17, 2016 I’m passing through the front foyer of a major Chinese bank. I careen through well-lit hallways and teller booths, before sliding by some signage written in Cantonese. It’s as if I’m there, minus the tellers, customers, and sounds of a bustling financial institution. But the thing is, I’m not…

[This short item from The Verge notes the apparent appeal of performing mundane, repetitive tasks during presence experiences, and raises the provocative thought that actions in a mediated (‘virtual’) environment might be (or be feared to be) unknowingly used for teleoperation, i.e., to manipulate a corresponding nonmediated environment. The original story includes a 1:15 minute video. –Matthew] This VR window washing game will probably destroy the middle class By Adi Robertson on August 8, 2016 If you’ve read things like Ender’s Game, you probably know that every time you play a video game, there’s a small chance that it’s secretly some…

[The promise of presence: Scientists, doctors and patients walking through a cancer cell, or blood vessel or other part of the body, is likely to have a variety of positive impacts; this story is from Mashable, where it features more images. –Matthew] [Image: A new project will let scientists step inside a cancer cell. Credit: UNSW.] Scientists can now explore cells in virtual reality By Ariel Bogle, Australia August 16, 2016 After generations of peering into a microscope to examine cells, scientists could simply stroll straight through one. Calling his project the “stuff of science fiction,” director of the 3D…

[This story from Rolling Stone (where it includes more images) is about how virtual reality and presence “[open] a private door into a very modern solution to a very old problem: how to have better sex.” –Matthew] How Virtual Reality ‘Sex Edutainment’ Is Revolutionizing Porn “Virtual Sexology” pairs an adult star with a sex therapist to bring Masters and Johnson techniques to the porn-enlightened public By John Gaudiosi August 5, 2016 For decades, porn has been blamed for creating unrealistic sexual expectations, and for some addicts, it’s impacted the ability to have healthy sexual relationships in the real world. Now…

[Soon we may be able to take virtual cross country bicycle rides from the comfort and safety of our home (or gym); note the comment in the fifth paragraph of this story from New Atlas (which features a 9:43 minute video) about the “feeling of actually being somewhere”; for more of Aaron Puzey’s observations on his DIY creation, see coverage in The Verge, and his CycleVR blog. –Matthew] [Image: Land’s End, the start line of the VR cycling tour.] The world’s first cross-country virtual reality cycling tour is underway Loz Blain August 11, 2016 One of the best ways to…

[Not only can you video chat with your pet, she can initiate the call (!), and note the unexpected use mentioned at the end of this story from Twin Cities Business via MinnPost. For more details see the PR Newswire press release, an earlier ISPR Presence News post and the PetChatz website (which includes images and videos). –Matthew] [Image: Source: YouTube] Yes, there’s a market for video-chatting with your dog By Sam Schaust | 04/07/16 In 2014, after raising nearly $2.5 million, Burnsville-based Anser Innovation brought the first version of PetChatz to market with a test launch. As a device…