[It never uses the terms presence or telepresence, but this story from The Atlantic carefully considers the key issue in all presence phenomena: how technology mediates our experience. –Matthew] [Image: A man tests a Zeiss VR One virtual reality headset in Barcelona, in February 2016. Albert Gea / Reuters] The Quest For the Next Human-Computer Interface What will come after the touch screen? Adrienne LaFrance Jul 11, 2016 A computer keyboard, at its most reliable, is barely noticeable to the person using it. It is designed to be felt, heard, and mostly ignored. Once you’re comfortable with the thing, you…

[As this story from Fast Company illustrates, the rapid evolution of technology is creating many niche markets for VR and presence. The original story includes more images and two videos. –Matthew] Virtual Reality Is Coming For Weddings “Imagine you had a grandmother who couldn’t make it to the wedding for some reason—now she could, with 360-degree goggles.” Rina Raphael 07.15.16 Destination weddings can be fraught with guest-list politics. Do I have to invite my second cousin’s inappropriate girlfriend? I’m inviting my high school best friend, but only because I’m sure she’ll decline. But now, literally anyone can attend your wedding—virtually,…

[This is a great example of the use of both social presence and medium-as-social actor presence to improve people’s lives. The story is from IEEE Spectrum, where it includes more images and the mentioned 2:16 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: SAM is a mobile telepresence platform that autonomously navigates from room to room in a nursing facility, allowing staff to check in on residents on a regular schedule. Credit: Evan Ackerman/IEEE Spectrum.] SAM Brings Much-Needed Robotic Assistance to Senior Living Facilities By Evan Ackerman August 2, 2016 Creating a successful robot company based around providing commercial services is not easy, although…

[Presence experiences can be enhanced when the mediating technology mimics human non-mediated perception. Foveated rendering allows this at least in part by using computer resources more efficiently. This story is from MIT Technology Review, and more information, including larger versions of these and other images and a 1:20 minute video, is available from NVIDIA. –Matthew] [Images: Sample image with no foveation (top) and with contrast-preserving foveation (bottom). Source: NVIDIA.] Nvidia’s Eye-Tracking Tech Could Revolutionize Virtual Reality A phenomenon first observed by Leonardo da Vinci is being used to make virtual images look more realistic. by Simon Parkin July 21, 2016…

[TV broadcasts with resolution 16 times full 1080p HD now have their own channel in Japan; this story from Tech Insider notes the limited but important contexts (including VR) in which this ‘Super Hi-Vision’ resolution will improve the viewing experience. For details on where to see the new channel’s offerings see NHK’s press release, and for an overview of the tech available for the Rio Olympics and likely to be available for the Tokyo 2020 games, see coverage in TechRadar. –Matthew] The world’s first 8K TV broadcasts are now live — here’s what that means for you Jeff Dunn August…

[To what extent and in what ways will the future of mediated experiences, and the presence they evoke, expand from aural and visual to the other senses? This interview with Imagineering Institute director Adrian Cheok in Asian Scientist (which includes a second image) considers some of the possibilities. –Matthew] Wake Up and Smell The Roses—Virtually You can now send tastes, smells and even kisses virtually. A new age of virtual reality involving all five senses is here, with Adrian Cheok of the Imagineering Institute at its forefront Daniel Soo August 1, 2016 Once the stuff of science fiction, virtual reality…

[This story from The Washington Post is about the use of technology to create both spatial and social presence for runners, including the idea near the end of a future in which “a million people [are] literally running, walking or crawling the virtual Boston Marathon on a global scale.” The original includes more images, related links and a 2:26 minute video. –Matthew] [Image: With Outside Interactive, runners log in to an app and pay for videos of routes, which they watch on their iPad or Android tablet or on an HD television. They can manually select the pace or sync…

[Whether Veeso’s product or that of a competitor, face-tracking in VR has significant potential to enhance social presence. This story is from Gizmag, where it includes more images and a 3:01 minute video; for an interview with the head of the company see coverage in UploadVR. –Matthew] VR headset that relays facial expressions to the virtual world Michael Irving July 24, 2016 VR hardware is already capable of tracking your head, your hands, your eyes and in some cases, your feet, but Veeso is claimed to be the first VR headset to capture your face and transmit your expressions –…

[This story from Forbes suggests that with patent issues resolved, products and online services that offer sexual experiences via virtual reality (‘teledildonics’) may finally succeed in the marketplace; of course that success will in large part depend on the extent and nature of the presence illusions they provide. The original version of the story includes more pictures and a 0:56 minute video. –Matthew] This VR Platform Invites Users To Have Virtual Sex With Real Performers Janet Burns, Contributor Jul 21, 2016 A popular cam site is hoping that our brave new world of high-tech lovin’ has plenty of people in…

[Wearing 3D glasses, even the modern smaller, lighter ones, interferes with presence (especially for those of us who have to wear them over vision-correcting glasses); this MIT News story reports on a promising development toward getting rid of 3D glasses in movie theaters. See the original for more information and a 0:49 minute video. –Matthew] New movie screen allows for glasses-free 3-D at a larger scale Adam Conner-Simons | CSAIL July 25, 2016 3-D movies immerse us in new worlds and allow us to see places and things in ways that we otherwise couldn’t. But behind every 3-D experience is…

[This looks like it could be a compelling communal virtual reality experience; the story is from Live Science, where it includes a different image and a 4:16 minute video. See the Kickstarter page and the event’s website for more information. –Matthew] [Image: Source: The Hubble Cantata Kickstarter page] ‘The Hubble Cantata’ Weds Live Music with VR Views of the Cosmos By Mindy Weisberger, Senior Writer | July 25, 2016 An event combining virtual reality and live musical performance aims to bring together a 20-piece orchestra, a 100-person choir and breathtaking views of the cosmos captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.…

[This follow-up story about the Mr. Robot VR experience (the original post is here), includes a detailed description and review (starting in the fourth paragraph) and the good news that those who missed the viewing window last week will get another chance after July 25 (see the last paragraph). The story is from The Verge, where it includes many more pictures. –Matthew] The Mr. Robot VR experience isn’t a gimmick — it’s true storytelling By Bryan Bishop on July 22, 2016 Mr. Robot mastermind Sam Esmail has made a point of taking on nearly every creative role possible on his…