[This story from The Guardian highlights one of, if not the, most important applications of presence-evoking technology, the preservation of individual and cultural history. The original version includes an additional image and a 0:51 minute video; also see “Holocaust Survivor Experiences Her Own Rescue in Virtual Reality“ (which includes a video) in TIME. –Matthew] The virtual Holocaust survivor: How history gained new dimensions Pinchas Gutter survived a Nazi death camp – and now his story will live on through a hologram that can answer your questions Thomas McMullan 18 June 2016 Pinchas Gutter goes out of his way to find…

[Presence-evoking technology continues to advance toward the visions imagined in science fiction; note especially the possibilities for fully interactive videoconferencing and entertainment mentioned in this press release from the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich Hertz Institute. –Matthew] [Image: Right in the middle of the action with VR glasses: A new camera system virtually represents people naturally and realistically. © Photo Fraunhofer HHI] Beam me up to the video conference When science fiction heroes communicate, they don‘t use landlines or cell phones. The caller simply appears in virtual form in the middle of the room; full sized and three dimensional. For…

[Now you can experience America’s controversial political campaign in virtual reality; this story is from Next Reality, where it includes more images and a 0:29 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: Virtual avatars of Hillary and Trump nearly make physical contact in virtual space. Will this someday mirror reality? Via AltspaceVR] AltspaceVR’s Democracy Plaza Puts You in the Middle of the 2016 Election Adam Dachis September 22, 2016 Most of us don’t get the opportunity to see election coverage first hand, but with virtual reality, we’re not as restricted. AltspaceVR has teamed up with NBC News to let you log in on…

[As this story from ScreenCrush notes, there are many factors that can ‘break’ presence in a movie theater, including the lack of proper screen masking. –Matthew] A Small Issue at Movie Theaters Is Becoming a Major Problem Matt Singer | September 19, 2016 People texting on their phones. Exorbitant ticket prices. People talking on their phones. Sound that’s either way too loud or way too soft. People taking pictures of the screen with their phones and then posting them to Facebook in the middle of the film. Going to the movies in 2016 can be a frustrating situation. An experience…

[As the author of this piece in TreeHugger notes, mixed reality (and the presence experiences it provides) has great potential beyond the important application area of elevator maintenance and repair described here. The original story includes two videos and several more images; the press release is available from thyssenkrupp. –Matthew] [Image: © thyssenkrupp/ using hololens to look at elevator] It’s starting with elevators, but 3D tech like the Hololens will change the way we look at buildings Lloyd Alter September 16, 2016 This site has long been preoccupied with the future of work: how new technology is changing our jobs,…

[The idea of a bodysuit that enhances presence isn’t new, but this looks like a clever design; the story is from Digital Trends. See the Skinterface website for more information including videos. –Matthew] Full-body touch sensations in VR will likely need special suits like Skinterface By Kevin Parrish — September 14, 2016 Now that consumers have general access to high-quality VR content by way of the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, eye-tracking technology seems to be the next step in the evolution of VR. But what about touch input, as in feeling the virtual wind against your skin or…

[This story from Digital Trends suggests an evolution of VR toward deeper social presence experiences based on biometrics. See also the recent ISPR Presence News post about the Veeso headset, which uses cameras to measure facial expressions. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Road to VR] Emteq wants to track your facial and eye movements for emotional interaction in VR By Kevin Parrish — September 9, 2016 In June, a company called Emteq came out of stealth mode and revealed that it’s working on a solution that will enable emotional interaction within virtual reality. Right now we can interact with virtual objects, NPCs,…

[Those who design and study presence-evoking technologies can be surprised by how users react to and use them; this story is from MIT Technology Review, where it includes an additional image. –Matthew] [Image: Netflix’s app for Samsung’s Gear VR headset lets you watch movies and TV in a virtual living room.] What’s Popular in Virtual Reality’s 3-D World? Netflix and TV. More people care about movies and shows than immersive 3-D games. by Tom Simonite September 15, 2016 Companies such as Samsung and Facebook’s Oculus promote their virtual-reality headsets by highlighting awe-inspiring 3-D experiences for gaming and virtual travel. But…

[Audiences around the world will be able to experience an upcoming champion level chess match in live-streamed 360-degree virtual reality; the coverage will be “up close and personal like never before allowing viewers to truly soak up the atmosphere” and “get into the minds of the players.” This story is from The Telegraph, where the original includes several more images, a video, and a profile of Magnus Carlsen. –Matthew] [Image: Virtual reality chess as seen on a smartphone Credit: World Chess] Cold War rivalries renewed as chess enters age of virtual reality By Leon Watson 12 September 201 When Bobby…

[Could neurofiction become a common way to experience stories (and presence)? This story from Wired describes a recent experiment using readers’ brain waves to determine story features, along with some other interesting ideas. The original includes the 9:50 minute audio podcast; for more on neurofiction see neurofiction.net. –Matthew] Books Would Be So Much Better if They Could Read Your Mind September 09, 2016 Hannu Rajaniemi is a science fiction author, a self-described “recovering string theorist,” and co-founder of the biotech startup Helix Nano. Recently he and his friend Sam Halliday got their hands on an EMOTIV Epoc headset—a very simple…

[This story from UCI News reports new evidence that telepresence can improve people’s lives; for more information about the research see the website of UCI’s Digital Learning Lab. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Steve Zylius / UCI] Robotic surrogates help chronically ill kids maintain social, academic ties at school UCI is first to conduct formal study of virtual inclusion for homebound students Irvine, Calif., Sept. 7, 2016 – Chronically ill, homebound children who use robotic surrogates to “attend” school feel more socially connected with their peers and more involved academically, according to a first-of-its-kind study by University of California, Irvine education researchers.…

[This story from MIT News describes a promising new way to evoke presence in video material. The original includes a 5:50 minute video and links to other press coverage. –Matthew] [Image: Source: interactivedynamicvideo.com] Reach in and touch objects in videos with “Interactive Dynamic Video” Technique from Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab could improve augmented reality and reduce the need for CGI green-screens. Adam Conner-Simons | Rachel Gordon | CSAIL August 2, 2016 We learn a lot about objects by manipulating them: poking, pushing, prodding, and then seeing how they react. We obviously can’t do that with videos — just…