[These “follow me” photos bring the viewer into the image, creating both spatial and social presence; the story in BuzzFeed includes 18 other images. –Matthew] A Woman Is Leading Her Boyfriend Around The World In These Gorgeous Photos posted on Jul. 20, 2015 Rossalyn Warren BuzzFeed News Reporter For the past seven months, Christian LeBlanc has been travelling around Asia with a backpack, a camera, and with his girlfriend, Laura Reid, leading the way. The couple, both aged 22 and from Vancouver, Canada, travelled to 10 countries over the seven-month period. LeBlanc’s trip started in January on a school exchange…

[As a Philadelphia resident I’m depressed and embarrassed to have to relay this story of the demise of hitchBOT, the hitchhiking robot (for more information about the project see the ISPR Presence News post from August 6, 2014). The picture below from this weekend’s NPR coverage and the concern one of the creators expresses near the end of the AP/CBS News story below indicate the kind of social presence responses hitchBOT evoked. For more details about the crime see the updated story in The Philadelphia Inquirer. –Matthew] [Image: HitchBOT, a hitchhiking robot, sits with German tourists Sarah Strempel and Eric…

[This discussion of the possible applications of VR and presence for not just viewing but experiencing the Olympics includes some exciting scenarios but also addresses the challenges. It’s from The Boston Globe (even though the 2024 Olympics won’t be in Boston – details here). –Matthew] [Image: One of five shoebox-sized camera rigs that NextVR placed on the course where the 2015 US Open was played. The camera rigs captured footage used for real-time virtual reality experiences of the golf tournament.] Virtual Olympics could be a viewing option in 2024 By Shira Springer, Globe Staff July 26, 2015 The men’s 100-meter…

[Some fans of television programs go to filming locations and take photos that include photos of characters and scenes from the show, apparently attempting to form (presence) connections to the places and people in the fictional world. As a fan of Orphan Black, I favor the ones by arcsloth on that program’s Tumblr; an example is below, followed by a story from The Huffington Post about (and featuring many examples of) the same phenomenon for Orange Is The New Black. -Matthew] Teen Trespasses On Abandoned ‘OITNB’ Set, Show Has Great Response By Taylor Pittman Posted: 07/06/2015; Updated: 07/08/2015 A Netflix…

[I like that this article about the various uses of VR and presence (it even uses the term) in politics points out both the benefits and dangers; it’s from Upload and includes more images and two videos. For details on Bernie Sanders’ use of VR (mentioned at the end) see coverage in Variety. –Matthew] How Virtual Reality Will Influence the 2016 Presidential Election For better or worse. by Will Mason July 19, 2015 Virtual reality is on the precipice of transforming our world in many ways. From the way we entertain ourselves, to the way we interact with one another,…

[Shades of Lars and the Real Girl, Ex Machina and other films: The founder of RealDoll has some intriguing things to say here about the future of presence interactions that go way beyond physical intimacy; the story is from PSFK and includes seven additional vivid images. –Matthew] Sex Dolls with Artificial Intelligence to Ease Your Loneliness (and Maybe Shoot You a Text) We talked to RealDoll CEO Matt Mullen about the company’s latest project: making robotic sex dolls that talk, text, and email back Laura Yan 8 July 2015 Abyss Creations, the company beyond Realdoll (life-sized, silicone sex dolls), wants…

[Here’s a vivid first-hand report about an interesting experimental use of VR to evoke presence; it’s from PCWorld, where the story includes two more images. –Matthew] Oculus Rift took me for a ride in a real car during Honda’s trippy Dream Drive They drove, and I watched VR that synced to the motion of the car. I was on a racetrack. In a space station. Trippy indeed. Martyn Williams, IDG News Service July 24, 2015 As I climbed into the car, I didn’t have high hopes. I was trying out Honda’s Dream Drive, a prototype technology that pairs an Oculus…

[This is an unusual example of presence involving perceiving a medium as a social actor; it’s from RocketNews24, where the story includes 13 additional images (via Sina News via Zaeega) (side note: when I accessed DesignTAXI’s coverage of the same story, an advertisement appeared for The Ashton-Drake Galleries Online’s sale of the “Waltraud Hanl ‘Sweet Butterfly Kisses’ ‘So Truly Real’ ’Touch Activated’ Interactive Baby Doll). –Matthew] [Image: Song Bo takes his “daughter” Xiao Die to an IMAX film.] Emotional pictures show lonely man’s trips out with “love doll” daughter [Photos] Fran Wrigley May 6, 2015 Two years ago, Song Bo…

[I’d like to see research results, but it seems likely that the VR component of this important campaign will lead to greater presence, persuasion, and hopefully behavior change, than the same information in video or text. The story is from USA Today, where it features a different image and the short (30 second) and long (3:53 minute) videos; for more information see the AT&T press release via PR Newswire. For details on Volkswagen’s interactive in-theater PSA “Eyes on the Road” (mentioned at the end of the story) see CTV News’ coverage and watch the 1:23 minute video on YouTube.…

[Telepresence history at the White House! This is from Tech Times and more images, and a video of the event, are available from the Disability Visibility Project blog. Gizmodo broadens the focus with “The 5 Best Times Obama Met With Robots.” –Matthew] [Image: President Obama greets Alice Wong, Disability Visibility Project Founder, via Beam Pro telepresence robot before a White House reception to mark the 25th anniversary of the Americans Disabilities Act. Posted on Instagram by Pete Souza (@petesouza).] POTUS Meets Robot Guest In The White House For The First Time By J.E. Reich, Tech Times | July 21 So here’s…

[Interesting how small affordances can impact users in powerful ways that blur the real and virtual worlds; this is from SiliconANGLE, where the post includes an additional image. –Matthew] Players in World of Warcraft can now have virtual cats curl up in their virtual laps by Kyt Dotson | Jul 21, 2015 People are already able to play video games and have their cats curl up in their laps—but now World of Warcraft players can have their cats in games curl up on their characters’ laps. It’s cat lap inception! This recent addition to Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.’s cultural juggernaut massively…