[The evolution from Second Life to persistent virtual worlds for VR raises important possibilities for presence. This story is from Variety from earlier this year and for more see recent coverage by CNBC. –Matthew] HelloVR Is Creating A 10,000 Square Mile Virtual Reality World Janko Roettgers, Senior Silicon Valley Correspondent July 20, 2016 Never mind the foosball table: One of the perks of working for San Francisco-based virtual reality (VR) startup HelloVR is a 24-hour campfire — a digital campfire, to be precise. It’s part of MetaWorld, the virtual world that HelloVR has been building over the past several months.…

[This story from New Scientist considers a future in which we use telepresence to embody not just a single robot but many of them, both human-like and non-human-like. The prospects raise lots of intriguing research and philosophical questions. The original story includes a different image and a 2:54 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: Source: YouTube] What is it like to be a bot? The strange world of telerobotics Not Like Us is Aviva Rutkin’s monthly column exploring the minds of intelligent machines – and how we live with them By Aviva Rutkin 2 November 2016 “What is it like to be a…

[Microsoft is advancing the state-of-the-art in adding a sense of touch to presence experiences; see the original version of this story from SiliconANGLE for a 3:25 minute video. –Matthew] Microsoft Research paper points to touch-sensitive VR interfaces by Kyt Dotson | Oct 17, 2016 Virtual reality headsets made by Oculus, HTC, Sony and others can drive powerful audio-visual immersion, but one aspect of immersive user interfaces is still literally out of reach. That’s what Microsoft Research aims to change. This week, Microsoft Corp.’s research arm is publishing a white paper on a pair of new prototype systems that provide “haptic…

[Here’s another interesting application of VR and presence – and note the explicit use of the term in this story from VentureBeat. More information can be found in coverage by Fast Company. –Matthew] L’Oréal launches virtual reality hair education for salon stylists Dean Takahashi November 1, 2016 Salon stylists may not be known as early adopters of new technology, but L’Oréal is targeting them with its virtual reality hair education program in a partnership with 8i and hair care brand Matrix. The move is a recognition that consumers aren’t the only target for VR, which is expected to be a…

[This story from The Creators Project describes an interesting example of presence being used to preserve and reproduce the experience of a place, in this case a temporary art installation; the original story includes lots of pictures. –Matthew] ‘Donald Dump’ Artist Hanksy Brings Street Art into Virtual Reality Andrew Nunes Oct 26 2016 Once known as a parodist street artist who riffed on Banksy tags through the goofy addition of Tom Hanks’ head, the anonymous Hanksy has begun to branch out to bigger and better things. This past weekend the artist put on Surplus Candy VR, a New York show…

[As the Boiler Room CEO/founder notes in this story from Magnetic Magazine, presence technologies are poised to bring music fans closer to performers and performances, “to what it’s like being at a sweaty rave or an amazing concert half-way across the world.” The story includes two videos; for more information see the press release available via BusinessWire. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Pitchfork] Boiler Room and the emerging worlds of VR in electronic music Electronic music fans can now get closer than ever to the live streaming action Akhil Kalepu October 27, 2016 The international music broadcaster is bringing their live streaming…

[One of the most important applications of presence is bringing people together via technology to increase the likelihood of understanding; the project described in this story from the New York Times (where it features an additional image), is a good example. This work reminds me of Sam Keen’s book and documentary “Faces of the Enemy” and his more recent “The Art of Enemy Making.” –Matthew] [Image: Jiabao Li experiencing the virtual reality project “The Enemy” in Cambridge, Mass. Credit: Kayana Szymczak for The New York Times.] Meeting ‘the Other’ Face to Face By Randy Kennedy October 26, 2016 CAMBRIDGE, Mass.…

[Technology that connects strangers using social presence has the potential to widen horizons and enrich lives; this story is from the Austin American Statesman, where it includes more images and two videos. See also a 2015 ISPR Presence News post about the use of this technology by the UN. –Matthew] [Image: A virtual portal housed inside a shipping container allows visitors at St. Edward’s University to communicating by videoconference with people all over the world. In this photo, Tony Chavez (left), who works at the university and was on the committee for the project with Shared Studios, speaks to Mona…

[It’s still early days of course, but the ability to create AI-driven reproductions of well-known TV characters, or living or deceased private individuals, raises all kinds of possibilities and ethical concerns. In addition to the link to a detailed related story about Eugenia Kuyda’s creation of a chatbot of her best friend after he died, the original version of this story from The Verge includes a different image and a 1:45 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: Source: PSFK] Researchers resurrected Joey from Friends as a video chatbot No one told you life was gonna be this way by Casey Newton Oct…

[Presence scholars have emphasized virtual reality over augmented reality, but projects like the one described in this story from The Creators Project point to the potential of AR to evoke a meaningful altered perception of a place. See the original story for many more images. –Matthew] How Augmented Reality Is Fighting Cultural Erasure in East Harlem Beverly Bryan — Oct 23 2016 Culture and history are vital, though often invisible, parts of any community, but the Mi Querido Barrio (My Beloved Community) augmented reality tour, presented by New York City’s Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI), showcases the many…

[Here’s a depressing example of the all-too-timely dark side of presence; it’s from Medium, where the story includes two screenshots from the QuiVr game. –Matthew] [Image: Source: The Verge] My First Virtual Reality Groping October 20, 2016 Jordan Belamire Last week I was groped in virtual reality — did you know that could happen? I didn’t, but now I’m all the wiser.…

[Aside from the further expansion of VR presence experiences, it’s interesting that the NBA learned that it had to incorporate elements of traditional broadcasting into its 360-degree live broadcasts to maintain viewer attention and interest. This story is from Fortune. –Matthew] Here’s How the NBA Is Stepping Up Its Virtual Reality Game by Jonathan Vanian October 20, 2016 The NBA is getting more serious with virtual reality. NBA Digital, a joint venture between Turner Sports and the NBA that manages the league’s online properties, said that it will broadcast one basketball game a week that viewers can watch in 360…