[This story from New York Magazine describes the interesting ways Edward Snowden uses telepresence to interact with the world and how people in the world respond, as well as his views on the emergence of virtual reality. This is an abridged version of the long original, which includes several more images. –Matthew] [Image: Attending “Astro Noise” at the Whitney. Photo: Henrik Moltke] I, Snowden For a man accused of espionage and effectively exiled in Russia, Edward Snowden is also, strangely, free. By Andrew Rice June 26, 2016 Edward Snowden lay on his back in the rear of a Ford Escape,…

[For VR and the presence experiences it creates to evolve, we need to figure out how to tell compelling stories in the new medium; production designer and founder of Virtual Reality Company Robert Stromberg provides insights about where we are and where we need to go in this story from Engadget (where it includes more images). –Matthew] [Image: A still from “The Martian VR Experience” (Image credit: Virtual Reality Company)] The struggle to adapt storytelling for virtual reality “We’re ready to tell stories but how do you do that in VR?” asks Oscar-winning art director Robert Stromberg. Mona Lalwani June…

[This story from Popular Science describes another way presence is being used to prepare athletes for competition, in this case for the triathlon at the Rio 2016 Olympics. –Matthew] [Image: Gwen Jorgesen, World Triathlon Series Champion. Original Photo by Charlie Crowhurst / Getty Images, Illustration by Graham Murdoch] Virtual Reality Training Turns Olympic Triathlon Course Into Motor Memory It helps to know the road before you go By Will Cockrell Posted June 21, 2016 Gwen Jorgensen’s secret training tool isn’t her $10,000 road bike—it’s her mind. As in when she kicks back and closes her eyes. “I use mental visualization…

[Could a mediated experience of our planet from space provide the same neurological and psychological effects as ‘being there’? This story from Wired suggests an interesting series of studies about presence, perception and human nature. For more on the Overview Effect, see the Overview Institute’s website. –Matthew] [Image: Getty Images] So You Think You Love Earth? Wait Until You See It in VR Sarah Scoles 06.21.16 In an ideal future, trips beyond the atmosphere are easy(ish) and cheap(ish). Humans will regularly slip the surly bonds of Earth, rocket up to inflatable space hotels, and stare out at space, up at…

[The creator of the robot Pepper (which some of us encountered during our ISPR-ICA conference trip in a Softbank store in Kyoto) is working on a new robot designed specifically to combat human loneliness; the story is from CNET, where it includes more images. A related story from The Wall Street Journal, “Too Cute for Their Own Good, Robots Get Self-Defense Instincts,” considers ways designers have to consider how people respond to robots in different contexts. –Matthew] [Image: Kaname Hayashi has observed that people tend to respond to Pepper by showing the robot physical affection. MARK RALSTON/AFP/Getty Images] Man seeking…

[We’re back after a two-week break. Profound thanks to everyone who made the ISPR conference event “The Power of Presence: Using Telepresence Theory, Research and Applications to Enhance Mediated Communication Experiences in the 21st Century” in Kyoto, Japan a great success; information about how to access the official proceedings will appear here soon, as will information about our next conference event. For now, this story from Rolling Stone is a nice summary of ‘the story so far,’ including references to presence experiences in VR, that technology’s rocky history and its promise in several application areas, and a striking comment at…

[This story from Geek describes a novel presence experience that explores and demonstrates the complex interaction of the visual and aural senses. The story (lightly edited for typos here) includes more images, and the link at the end is to a New York Times story that includes a 12:09 minute video and more information. –Matthew] Virtual reality sim Notes on Blindness makes you feel like Daredevil By Charles Battersby Jun. 2, 2016 Superhero stories and urban legends say that blind people develop enhanced senses when they lose their vision. In the real world, it isn’t quite so simple. The subjective…

[Presence isn’t investigated directly but clearly plays a role in a study by an impressive Harvard senior about how much and why people trust robots; context obviously matters and it’ll be important to investigate how the results change as robots become more commonplace. The story from Harvard University News features more images and a 2:04 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: Serena Booth and her robot, Gaia, in its cookie-delivery disguise. (Photo by Adam Zewe/SEAS Communications.)] In automaton we trust Student examines the issue of over-trusting robotic systems By Adam Zewe May 25, 2016 If Hollywood is to be believed, there are…

[He doesn’t use the terms social presence, CASA or medium-as-social-actor presence, but this piece from the Shelly Palmer blog includes some interesting insights and questions about them (and some relevant science-fiction references). –Matthew] I’ve Talked to the Future and It Talked Back by Shelly Palmer May 21, 2016 I love Alexa, the Natural Language Processing (NLP) system in my Amazon Echo. She wakes me up every morning, she knows my schedule, she can control many of my z-wave and Zigbee compatible devices (switches, outlets, etc.), she can tell me the temperature and weather forecast, she can play any piece of…

[This story from SFGate describes what may become one of the most valued applications of presence technology, the recording of precious experiences and people; it also highlights the way applications are often discovered inadvertently. –Matthew] [Image: Ashley Scott and daughter Reese at the 8i studio.] Virtual reality archives memories By Benny Evangelista Friday, May 27, 2016 Virtual reality could become the archive of personal memories. From a new mom tearfully re-experiencing her infant daughter six months later, to Paul McCartney remembering what led him to write a hit song, virtual reality startups have uncovered how the new technology can store…

[This new telepresence robot – even though it’s just a torso and arms – is capable of impressively natural human movement and suggests another step toward rich social presence, including medium-as-social-actor presence. The video and images included with this story from Gizmag remind me of the interactions in the 2015 film Chappie, but of course those were created with special effects (see coverage in /Film). –Matthew] [Image: The hybrid robot playing patty cake (Credit: Disney Research)] New hybrid system gives robot arms human-like grace and precision David Szondy May 13, 2016 Disney Research has come up with a glockenspiel-playing robot…

[The legal justice system is another application area for presence; this story is from BBC News, where it features more images and a video. For more information see the Digital Forensic Archaeology Project page and coverage in The Wall Street Journal. –Matthew] [Image: Dr Caroline Sturdy Colls said jurors would be transported into a “virtual world”] Juries ‘could enter virtual crime scenes’ following research Virtual reality technology used in the gaming industry could be adapted to recreate crime scenes for juries, researchers have claimed. 24 May 2016 A Staffordshire University project has experimented with technology and techniques to “transport” jurors…