[Interesting Engineering carried this story about a new development in teleoperation, the use of a humanoid robot to cook food from over a thousand miles away. The story is followed by additional details from coverage by Tech In Asia. The Interesting Engineering story includes a 1:54 minute video about the robot but neither source features or links to the full version of the recent demonstration video directly; instead, you can see parts of the demonstration in videos on YouTube from PEARL (also known as Cultural Lingnan) and South Korea’s ETNews (Electronic Times News), and there are many more related videos…

[The author of this breezy first-person report from What Hi-Fi? describes some of the unfortunate factors that increasingly prevent or break presence-experiences in physical movie theaters and then some of the logistical and presence-related benefits of watching films instead in a virtual cinema via the popular Meta Quest VR headset. See the original version of the report for two more images and two videos. See the app website for more on the Skybox VR Player. –Matthew] [Image: Gloriously empty, I have this entire (virtual) cinema all to myself. Credit: Future] I watched Dune: Part Two in a virtual reality cinema,…

[Normally I wouldn’t post here on Independence Day, the patriotic national holiday in the United States, but I’m deeply sad and angry about recent events and decisions made by leaders and voters (and non-voters) here. The story below from Forbes provides some interesting, if partial, presence-related explanations for what’s been happening. The author explains, and provides some advice about how to counteract, our tendency to apply a dangerous cognitive bias in our evaluations of both artificial intelligence technologies and other human beings: “Just as we’ve been deceived by AI’s articulate responses, we consistently overvalue human confidence and extroversion, often mistaking…

[The ultimate form of (tele)presence is captured by the Simulation Argument that we’re all living in a computer simulation. As this well-written essay from Vocal‘s Futurism notes, the related Theory of Holographic Reality doesn’t require that the illusion that everything in our universe has depth when it’s actually flat was created artificially, but it raises that prospect and is a thought-provoking reminder that our fundamental perceptions of reality may not be accurate. –Matthew] What If the Universe Is a Hologram? Exploring the Theory of Holographic Reality By Holianyk IhorJune 9, 2025 The universe feels vast, solid, and deeply real.…

[This vivid first-person report on an unusual art installation that uses virtual reality to evoke both presence and disembodiment in disturbing but thought-provoking ways comes from artnet. See the original version of the story for three more images. –Matthew] [Image: Installation view of Jordan Wolfson’s Little Room at the Fondation Beyeler. © Jordan Wolfson. Courtesy Gagosian, Sadie Coles HQ, and David Zwirner. Photo: Mark Niedermann.] Jordan Wolfson’s New Virtual Reality Is Peak Body Horror I cannot unsee what I saw in “Little Room,” the artist’s ambitious new work at the Fondation Beyeler. By Kate BrownJune 24, 2025 Jordan Wolfson is…

[The Japanese company H2L has developed a new telepresence system that not only transmits the human user’s movements but their muscle activity and force, which “preserves force awareness, improving haptic authenticity and a sense of embodiment.” The original version of the Interesting Engineering story below about H2L’s “Capsule Interface”  includes the company’s short demonstration video (which is also available on YouTube) and a second longer video about “How Biomimicry is Revolutionizing Robotics.” –Matthew] [Image: Screenshots from the H2L video show a woman using the Capsule Interface to control a Unitree H1 humanoid robot.] Video: Japan’s new tech turns your body…

[As someone interested in both presence and time perception (one reason I collect clocks), I find this story from Psychology Today particularly intriguing. It’s about a series of experiments that suggest that experiences in large virtual environments (those that take advantage of the ability of virtual reality to fully immerse the user’s senses), contribute most to a sense that time is passing quickly. –Matthew] [Image: An example maze seen by participants in studies described in Mullen, Davidenko, and Kingstone (2025)] When Virtual Reality Makes Time Fly (and When It Doesn’t) VR may only “compress” time in larger virtual environments. By…

[Researchers at the University of Bath are refining their innovative, theory-based, presence-evoking training program for virtual reality that lets users (seem to) race multiple previous and future versions of themselves. The project is described in this story from Triathlete, where the original version includes a 9 second video. Note: ISPR Presence News is taking a short hiatus and will return on Monday June 30, 2025. –Matthew] This Virtual Reality Training Program Pits You Against Yourself (And It Works) Chasing your own past best performance could be the key to leveling up in any endeavor. By Elaine K. HowleyJune 18, 2025…

[This news release from the Mass General Brigham health system describes a new training tool that uses presence to teach health care professionals how to prevent and control the transmission of infections; see the original version for a second image and a 3:08 minute video (also available on YouTube). A quick search reveals several other apparently independent projects, including at Indiana University and Saint-Louis Hospital – AP-HP in Paris, and in Switzerland and Australia. –Matthew] [Image: A screengrab from the VR training module that shows invisible contamination on portable medical equipment. The training module incorporates gamification to engage learners.]…

[The story below from MSN describes two different uses of AI chatbots that evoke medium-as-social-actor presence, one use directly for the healthcare of seniors and the other to indirectly support the care by freeing up the time of caregivers. See the original version of the story for more pictures and related information, and if you have access, see the related Wall Street Journal story “The friendly caller who’s helping seniors feel less lonely.” –Matthew] [Image: Source: Wall Street Journal. Credit: Getty Images] How voice AI can slash healthcare clinicians’ workloads — and offer companionship for older adults By Effie WebbJune…

[The article below from Salon is a fascinating review of several theories from philosophy, psychology and neuroscience about how the human brain perceives our physical and psychological “self,” including some of the ways (tele)presence-evoking technologies can alter those perceptions. –Matthew] [Image: Young woman next to lighttrace face, wearing VR glasses, looking closely at the lightrace rendering. Credit: Getty Images/Henrik Sorensen] Technology is breaking our concept of the self. It could help us heal the mind Virtual reality is digging up age-old questions about who we are. That has profound implications for neuroscience By Elizabeth Hlavinka, Staff WriterPublished May 26, 2025;…

[An experience VR expert describes a (psychologically!) impactful presence experience in this first-person story from UploadVR. The original story includes a 1:10 minute video of the author’s experience and a 1:44 minute promotional video from the company that created the simulation (that video is also available on YouTube). For more information, see the Logilicity LinkedIn page and website (originally in Japanese). See also the entry for the Bungee Dive app for Meta headsets in the Meta Store. –Matthew] VR Bungee Jumping Simulation Tips You Over In Real Life At AWE By Don HopperJune 11, 2025 The show floor of Augmented…