[A demonstration of the wonders of (presence) technology… This story is from ZDNet; for more about Hawking’s appearance including video excerpts, see coverage by Business Insider Australia, and for a 5:34 minute video about the technical details of transmitting (but not projecting) the signal, see Lifehacker Australia. A video of the complete appearance is on YouTube. –Matthew] Hologram Stephen Hawking visits Australia with TelePresence Summary: A hologram of professor Stephen Hawking graced the stage of the Sydney Opera House over the weekend using Cisco’s TelePresence systems. By Josh Taylor | April 27, 2015 Professor Stephen Hawking gave his first live…

[As this story from MTV News notes, there’s reason for some skepticism about this project, but also for great excitement; the story includes many pictures and two videos including the impressive 2:16 minute ‘concept ad’; see VOID.com for more information –Matthew] Will This Virtual Reality Theme Park Replace Movie Theaters Someday? Meet the guy behind THE VOID, who’s betting a fortune that his high-tech wonderland will revolutionize your weekends. by Marty Beckerman May 7, 2015 Mark Zuckerberg wants the Oculus Rift to close the gap between virtual reality and mainstream entertainment, but he may have some surprise competition. Yesterday, a…

[Watch the 2:08 minute video of Han, the latest creation from Hanson Robotics, and see if we’ve reached Mori’s uncanny valley. The story from the International Business Times also includes another image. Coverage by Reuters includes another video and notes that Han’s female counterpart Eva is scheduled to soon interact with the public in various roles. –Matthew] Han the humanoid robot understands your facial expressions and can respond in kind [Video] By Mary-Ann Russon April 21, 2015 Hanson Robotics has debuted a humanoid robot that is able to recognise and understand people’s facial expressions, hold a conversation and respond appropriately…

[This description of an intriguing project refers to nearly every type of presence but never uses the term; The Creator’s Project story includes more pictures and a 2:41 minute video; more information can be found in coverage by The Irish Times, and a 5:41 minute interview with the artists is available on Vimeo. –Matthew] Virtual Reality Film Installation Puts a Disassociative Twist on Awkward Family Dinners By Beckett Mufson — May 3 2015 There may be two sides to every story, but in virtual reality film installation The Doghouse, which landed at the UK’s 2015 Flatpack Film Festival in March,…

[Drones provide a powerful tool for evoking presence; this Adweek story includes a 2:11 minute behind-the-scenes video about Patrón Tequila’s VR experience; a web-based version of the experience is available on the Patrón website and the press release is available at PR Newswire. –Matthew] Drones Are Filming Seriously Jaw-Dropping Virtual Reality Video for Brands Patrón goes inside the agave field By Lauren Johnson May 1, 2015 Ever since Twitter used drones to create buzzy six-second videos at Cannes last year, the remote-controlled devices have ditched their reputation as weird flying gizmos the military uses in favor of one as a…

[A thoughtful consideration of how and why the most effective and useful presence technology will evoke both social and spatial presence (with lots of interesting links); this is from Upload, where the article includes more images and a video. –Matthew] Will Mason April 15, 2015 We reported earlier that reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian made reference to a reddit VR platform on the GearVR. In that article, I tried to imagine what that app might look like, especially within the constraints of the device. That was all a vision of a translation of the site, a port if you will, for…

[Feelreal is raising funds for a series of products that add more senses to virtual experiences; the 2:49 minute video included with this story in Gizmag (which also includes a photo gallery) says the products “enhance personal presence in the virtual world”; for a (negative) hands-on review see coverage in The Verge. –Matthew] Feelreal VR Mask and Nirvana helmet let gamers smell and feel the action By Richard Moss April 30, 2015 In what could just as easily prove to be a very bad idea as it could a good one, a startup company called Feelreal has created a virtual…

[This VR technology, easier than most for content producers to adopt, makes the user “[f]eel like you’re in a luxury box with friends at your favorite sporting event”; the story is from Road to VR and includes more images. –Matthew] LiveLike Combines the Cameras of Today with the VR of Tomorrow By Ben Lang – Apr 29, 2015 While other companies are busy building 360 degree camera rigs and hoping for consumer adoption, VR startup LiveLike has a unique approach which uses existing broadcast camera tech in a surprisingly effective way to make you feel like you’re in a luxury…

[A promising expansion of telepresence robotic technology is described in this article from IEEE Spectrum, which includes another image and two videos; for much more information see the DORA website. –Matthew] DORA Telepresence Robot Gives You Fully Immersive Experience By Evan Ackerman Posted 28 Apr 2015 Remote presence robots, as the name implies, act as your stand-in at a distant location, letting you move around and see and hear through a robotic surrogate. Space agencies, researchers, and the military have developed high-end telepresence systems that offer an immersive experience, but these units can cost millions of dollars. Consumer telepresence robots…

[Perspectives on the future of VR in architecture and more generally from designer and visualizer Olivier Demangel (I especially like this from near the end: “[P]erhaps you could have an empty room in your future house dedicated to VR? You could choose a different interior every day, like the Star Trek holodeck”). The interview is from Dezeen, where it includes lots of pictures, most comparing ‘real’ photos of a specific house with virtual versions, along with 3 videos. –Matthew] [Image: Ty Hedfan table, real (left) and virtual (right)] Virtual-reality architecture will be “more powerful than cocaine” Posted on Monday, April…

[This raises all kinds of possibilities for presence experiences… it’s from The Creators Project, where the story includes more images and a 3:14 minute video. For more information see coverage in The Next Web and the xxArray Kickstarter page. –Matthew] [Image: Donovan Leitch getting ready to be captured by the xxArray] You Can Finally Become a Video Game Character Thanks to 3D Scanning By Beckett Mufson — Apr 23 2015 When you boot up GTA V, do you play as Michael, Trevor, or Franklin? Soon that may not matter, thanks to Alexx Henry’s new “3D scanner for the masses,” the…

[An interesting example of the use of presence to inform and persuade; this is from Road to VR, where the story includes more images and two videos; more details and previews are available from Western River Expeditions. –Matthew] [Image: 360 Labs’ waterproof 360º GoPro array by partner Freedom360] 360 Film Aims to Save Majesty of Grand Canyon Using the Power of VR, Kickstarter Now Live By Scott Hayden Apr 20, 2015 The untouched beauty of the Grand Canyon has inspired poets, novelists, film makers, and more than 4 million recreational visitors per year to make their way to the dramatic…