[We haven’t heard much about Google’s Project Starline for a while, but this first-person report from The Verge indicates that Google is gradually expanding access to, and pursuing use cases for, the “next generation 3D video chat booth.” In addition to describing the impressive illusions it evokes, the author makes this key observation about both Starline and Meta’s virtual and mixed reality efforts: “I found it striking that two of the biggest tech companies in the world are trying to improve virtual presence.” See the original story for more images and the 1:51 minute “heartwarming” video. –Matthew] [Image: This image…

[Amid the incessant hype about virtual reality and the metaverse, honest assessments and advice from an expert can be both refreshing and valuable. John Carmack illustrates this in the Ars Technica story below; the original version features additional sidebars and Carmack’s hour-long unscripted talk at Meta Connect 2022 (which is also available on YouTube). For related assessments, and some historical context, see “What happened to the virtual reality gaming revolution?,“ also from Ars Technica, and “Virtual reality will now ruin ‘The Office’” from Cracked. –Matthew Carmack: “There’s a bunch that I’m grumpy about” in virtual reality Lonely lecture as a…

[The evolution of artificial intelligence systems that generate images, and now videos, from text prompts, has been particularly rapid this year. As the qualifiers in this story from MIT Technology Review (and others) suggests, it’ll still be a while before a member of the public can generate complete, complex and convincing audiovisual renderings of imagined objects, people and events, but the prospects are both intriguing and concerning. The original MIT Technology Review story includes three example videos, and for more on Meta’s system see coverage in The Verge. Google has already answered Meta’s work with its own Imagin system– see…

[Wired reports on Amazon’s improvements in, and longer term plans for, its home robot Astro, which include evolutions in form (limbs?) and function (elder care? companionship?) likely to generate a variety of medium-as-social-actor presence responses. Key quotes: “the company firmly believes domestic robots will one day become widespread. And they described how such devices offer a powerful way for Amazon to fulfill its main objective—anticipating customers’ every want and need.” and “’This is the beginning.’ Don’t expect Astro to evolve into something wildly more capable overnight—or Amazon to give up on the project.” –Matthew Amazon Wants Its Home Robot, Astro,…

[This insightful Big Think interview with the director of the documentary “A Glitch in the Matrix,” about the ultimate form of presence and its meanings and implications, isn’t new, but examples of people interpreting events as examples of the phenomenon continue to appear in the news, as noted in the new Yahoo! story, “TikToker convinced she finds ‘glitch in the matrix’ when unpacking after her move: ‘Your timelines merged’”; see the original Big Think story for different images and the documentary’s trailer (also available on YouTube). –Matthew ‘A Glitch in the Matrix’ documentary explores the dark side of simulation theory…

[Will there be a new, viable option for presence-evoking video conferencing that falls between relatively simple, non-immersive products like Zoom and advanced, cumbersome immersive systems like virtual reality? This Fast Company story describes one possibility. The original version of the story includes a second image and a short video. See the TMRW Foundation’s website for more information and videos, and watch Cevat Yerli describe his vision in a YouTube video from the World Government Summit 2022. –Matthew] This new service gives Zoom-style video calls a 3D video game twist Room gets your coworkers out of the grid and into a…

[This brief story from Upworthy describes the extensive efforts of marine biologist Erika Woolsey to use presence-evoking technology, including what the non-profit institution she founded identifies as Shared, Synchronized, Immersive Reality Experiences (SSIRE), to build public understanding, empathy and action regarding the Earth’s oceans and ocean life. See the original version of the story for six different vivid images and two videos, and see the Hydrous website for much more information. –Matthew] [Image: Manta Ray Eden: “This first iteration of our shared, synchronized, immersive reality experiences brought audience members at National Geographic’s virtual reality theater under the waters of Palau…

[This inspiring story from the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering is a reminder that presence experiences can and should be made available to everyone. See the original version for a 1:31 minute video (also available on YouTube). –Matthew] Haylee Mota Can Only See Light and Shadows. Yet She Sees So Much More. USC Viterbi sophomore reimagines telepresence robots for the visually impaired By Omar Lewis September 29, 2022 Haylee Mota remembers the moment well. She was a curious and inquisitive 7-year-old in awe of the spaceships, rockets and fighter jets at the National Air and Space Museum…

[In this post from Psychology Today’s The Future of Intimacy blog, clinical psychologist and sex therapist Marianne Brandon provides vivid descriptions of spatial and social presence in both non-sexual and sexual contexts (e.g., “your body bypasses your thoughts, taking its marching orders from your senses”), and highlights key questions about the promise and peril of experiences of intimacy via virtual reality. –Matthew] [Image: Source: KDdesignphoto/Shutterstock] When the Voyeur Enters the Scene: The Promise of Virtual Reality Porn VR porn may be more impactful than 2D porn in a variety of ways. By Marianne Brandon Ph.D., The Future of Intimacy Reviewed…

[I capitalized the word ‘could’ in the headline of this story from The Guardian because much of the coverage of a new, short opinion piece in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood co-authored by Ananya Arora and Anmol Arora of the University of Cambridge suggests that the publication is a research study and gives the conclusions great weight. Even the co-authors note positive effects of voice assistants and steps Amazon has taken to minimize negative effects on children. A EurekAlert! press release from the journal mistakenly identifies only one of the authors and omits some key information. At least…

[This report from the University of Toronto’s student newspaper The Varsity summarizes a recent faculty panel discussion about “virtual reality and life”; in addition to raising some interesting issues and questions it demonstrates the relevance of presence-evoking technologies across diverse disciplines. –Matthew] [Image: Professor Karina Vold led the discussion on VR with six professors from various departments. Credit: Courtesy of Prof. Karina Vold] Virtual reality and the future of society September Soiree in Technophilosophy asks questions about VR and life By Jevan Konyar and Sahir Dhalla October 2, 2022 It takes great vision and knowledge to tackle questions as vast…

[This compelling first-person report from the Toronto Star describes the rapid evolution and great potential, along with some of the practical challenges, of developing and adopting presence-evoking technology for surgical performance and training. See the original story for four more images. –Matthew] [Image: Ben Sainsbury, CEO of Marion Surgical, tests out the 5G capabilities of its virtual reality module that can help surgeons practice surgical techniques. Credit: MaRS] The virtual cutting edge: How augmented reality is poised to transform surgery Futuristic tools are revolutionizing health care, with everything from virtual reality simulators to 3D holographic body imaging. Will Canada embrace…