[Here’s an interview with an award-winning designer of immersive environments – note the definition she provides for the term, and the many indirect references to presence experiences in her definition and throughout the interview. See the original version in Live Design Online for more images, and follow the links for more about Margaret Kerrison’s books. –Matthew] Margaret Chandra Kerrison On The Art Of Immersive Storytelling By Hannah KinnersleyMarch 17, 2025 Margaret Chandra Kerrison is a six-time THEA-award-winning experience designer, senior creative director at TAIT, and the author of three books. Somehow, she also finds time to speak at SXSW 2025…

[Cambridge researcher Chris Macdonald has developed a platform that uses widely accessible technology that evokes spatial and social presence to help people overcome their fear of public speaking. The project is described in this story from the University of Cambridge; the original version of the story includes more images and a 9:05 minute video (also available on YouTube). An excerpt from coverage by The Guardian follows below, and more coverage is available from The Times. –Matthew] Free tech eliminates the fear of public speaking Cambridge scientist launches free AI-enabled virtual reality platform that transforms users into skilled and confident public…

[This story from NASA describes how the U.S. government’s space agency is using presence-evoking virtual (and in the future, mixed) reality to help members of the flight operations and science teams work together effectively during upcoming missions to the Moon. See the original version of the story for four more images. –Matthew] [Image: Tess Caswell, a stand-in crew member for the Artemis III Virtual Reality Mini-Simulation, executes a moonwalk in the Prototype Immersive Technology (PIT) lab at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The simulation was a test of using VR as a training method for flight controllers and science…

[A new Las Vegas attraction was designed to evoke compelling presence experiences from throughout the history of rock & roll music, as described in this story from Rolling Stone. I want to go! (maybe a ‘presence field trip’ at a future conference?).  See the original version of the story for four more images. –Matthew] ‘Amplified’: Inside the Ultimate Immersive Experience of Rock History The creators of the groundbreaking new Las Vegas immersive show, presented by Rolling Stone, tell us how they brought rock & roll history to life By Andy GreeneMarch 11, 2025 When the brain trust behind Rolling Stone…

[In an increasingly polarized and challenging period for political affairs, this link-filled BBC story describes the potential for presence experiences via virtual reality to make us feel more connected to nature and each other, and even act accordingly. See the original version of the story for five different images. –Matthew] [Image: Source: HabitatXR) A virtual reality pangolin made me cry and care more about the planet: Is this the real power of VR headsets? For many, constant bad news numbs our reaction to climate disasters. But research suggests that a new type of immersive storytelling about nature told through virtual…

[A powerful, positive application of presence is described in this story from The Guardian about the use of virtual reality experiences of the outside world for prisoners in solitary confinement. See the original version for five more images. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Courtesy of Creative Acts] ‘An ideal tool’: Prisons are using virtual reality to help people in solitary confinement Participants view scenes of daily life as well as travel adventures – then process the emotions they trigger through art By Abigail GlasgowMarch 8, 2025 One Monday in July, Samantha Tovar, known as Royal, left her 6ft-by-11ft cell for the first…

[This story from National Geographic, but identified as independently produced for Microsoft, describes how the creation of a detailed digital twin is being used to provide new presence experiences of St. Peter’s Basilica in both in-person exhibitions at the famous landmark and online for people around the world. See the original version of the story for 11 different images. For more information see a Vatican News story that includes a 1:01 minute video (also available on YouTube). Two more short videos are also available on YouTube here and here. –Matthew] Immersive technology reveals new views of St. Peter’s Basilica Advanced…

[A group of medical researchers has proposed using a new combination of presence-evoking technologies to provide personalized emotional support and distraction to reduce the levels of pain experienced by patients. This story from the Association of Health Care Journalists provides some of the details and includes links to more information. –Matthew] [Image: Source: Getty via MobileHealthNews] AI-cloned voices could be added to virtual reality to help patients in pain By Karen BlumFebruary 14, 2025 When you’re in physical pain, listening to loved ones and looking at relaxing scenes may help comfort you and take your mind off of your ailments.…

[This AP story describes not only the presence-evoking Paradox Museum, with “more than a dozen” global locations including Miami, but the increasing popularity and variety of “immersive art experiences” available to the public. See the original version of the story for 13 more images and a 1:43 minute video. For more information, see the Paradox website and the website of the Museum of Illusions (which has over 60 locations). –Matthew] Paradox Museum Miami takes guests through a 21st century funhouse of mind-boggling illusions By David FischerFebruary 4, 2025 MIAMI (AP) — Art gallery, science exhibition and 21st century funhouse, Paradox…

[Several of the projects described in this story from Forbes incorporate vivid presence experiences into dining in creative ways (the first one and the last one, Kitchen Memories, sound particularly intriguing). But as one expert is quoted as saying, “No one has really cracked the code on how to apply VR in the world of food… this is only the rotary phone of what’s to come.” See the original version of the story for four more images and follow the links for more information. –Matthew] [Image: Diners await their first bite-size course during Epic.Now at New York’s Michelin-starred Icca. Credit:…

[A new chatbot from Sesame AI is evoking new levels of medium-as-social-actor presence. As noted in coverage by ZDNet, the company’s goal is “to achieve something called ‘voice presence’ or the ‘magical quality that makes spoken interactions feel real, understood, and valued.’” The first-person report from TechRadar below is typical of reactions in coverage from ZDNET, PCWorld, The Verge and Beebom. Several writers make comments like this one from Mike Elgan in Machine Society: “It’s the closest thing to a relationship AI, as in the 2013 Spike Jonze movie ‘Her,’ starring Scarlett Johansson and Joaquin Phoenix.” Read more about, and…

[The latest attempt to develop an effective and practical way to enhance presence by adding taste to mediated experiences is described in this story from Popular Science; see also the news release from Ohio State University and the new publication in Science Advances, which includes images and videos. –Matthew] [Image: Source: New Scientist] New device lets you taste food in virtual reality ‘e-Taste’ analyzes food flavor profiles and tries to copy it using a concoction of chemicals pushed through a gel. By Mack DeGeurinFebruary 28, 2025 Virtual reality can, in its own imperfect ways, transport a user into distant experiences.…