[Food Safety News reports on an unusual application of presence-evoking technology to simulate a free-range environment for hens, which a study shows can reduce their stress levels and increase their resistance to disease (though it also raises ethical questions about only simulating better treatment of many kinds of animals). –Matthew] [Image: Figure 1 from “Exposure to a Virtual Environment Induces Biological and Microbiota Changes in Onset-of-Lay Hens.” Representative pictures of Virtual Reality (VR) outside (A,B) and inside (C) of the chickens’ Pens. VR images were projected onto the vinyl projector screens placed against each pen wall in the VR group only.]…

[This may reach you after today’s NASA launch but I’m sure replays of the innovative VR presentation described in this story from The Hollywood Reporter (which explicitly mentions presence), will be available afterwards. For more on viewing options, see coverage in Space.com and see the extended excerpt from a story in The Debrief that follows below for discussion of “how this may be just the beginning of how events are viewed remotely going forward.” –Matthew] [Image: A look at NASA’s Artemis I rocket. Credit: Courtesy of Felix & Paul Studios] Artemis I Launch: How an Emmy-Winning Team is Prepping a…

[The Toronto Star reports on a collaborative pilot project that uses virtual reality and artificial intelligence to help adult immigrants learn English. The impacts include not just the language learning but increased comfort and confidence; the story notes apparent advantages of using cartoon avatars rather than more perceptually realistic ones. See the original version of the story for two more pictures and for more context see the related April 2019 ISPR Presence News post “Believing VR is a Promising Tool for Learning Languages, Companies and Colleges Invest.” –Matthew] [Image: From left: Yusra Doro, Manar Mustafa, and Adlais Hitou are seen…

[This story from Pittsburgh Inno describes some of the technology Meta is using to develop more effective social presence illusions. See the original version for 12 more images, and for more Meta developments see a related story from NEXTpittsburgh, “Inside Pittsburgh Tech: Walking a Mile in the Ekto One Virtual Reality Boots” (which includes a 1:53 minute video). –Matthew] [Image: Meta’s Reality Labs in Pittsburgh. Shown here is Mugsy, a system with 170 cameras and hundreds of lights in a sphere-like shape that’s nearly 10 feet tall. It’s used to recreate someone’s face with impressive detail. Credit: Nate Doughty] Making…

[MediaPost reports on a new tool available to anyone to create apparently real news anchors delivering apparently real news, which provides an excellent example of the potential perils of presence illusions. See the original story for a second image, read the press release in Yahoo! Finance, and watch a short demonstration video on the Hour One website. –Matthew] Human Avatar Developer Moves Into News, Enables Anyone To Have Their Own ‘Anchor’ By Joe Mandese August 23, 2022 At a time when many in the media industry are debating the authenticity of some sources of news and information, a developer of “virtual…

[An expert in deception and manipulation wrote this warning about the dangers of presence for The Washington Post; it concludes with recommendations to study and develop technology to counter them. For more about the author  see his LinkedIn page. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Matt Chinworth for The Washington Post] Opinion Facebook misinformation is bad enough. The metaverse will be worse. By Rand Waltzman, adjunct senior information scientist at the Rand Corporation August 22, 2022 Here’s a plausible scenario that could soon take place in the metaverse, the online virtual reality environments under rapid development by Mark Zuckerberg and other tech entrepreneurs:…

[This story from Wired describes two services that use social (co)presence (and in the case of the second, also spatial presence) to increase the productivity of people who work remotely. There’s no discussion of *why* it works, but the ‘About’ page of the Focusmate website includes this: “You choose a time to work, and Focusmate pairs you with an accountability partner for a live, virtual coworking session that will keep you on task. Research in psychology and behavioral science shows that regular human connection reduces the likelihood that a worker will procrastinate or become distracted. The Focusmate virtual coworking model…

[Despite the humorous description in this review by TonyVT (Skarredghost) in his excellent The Ghost Howls blog, and modern echoes of the Pet Rock phenomenon, “Rock Life: The Rock Simulator” is a real, apparently presence-evoking game for VR and other platforms. I see a sly but important message here about the ability of even simple, low resolution, limited interaction simulations to create effective, and in these stressful times, appealing, presence experiences. See the original blog post for more images, and a 7:28 minute video version of the review on YouTube; there’s also a 4:20 minute un-narrated gameplay video on YouTube.…

[A vivid example of presence after death is described in this story from BBC News. Additional details from the Daily Mail follow below; the original version of that story also contains more images. A 1:33 minute video is available in DesignTAXI’s coverage (and available on YouTube), and you can interact with the StoryFile version of the late Marina Smith on her foundation’s website. For more on StoryFile and related projects, see the May 2021 ISPR Presence News post “Modern Spiritualism: How holograms, deepfakes, and AR are raising the dead.” –Matthew] Holocaust activist seems to talk to guests at her funeral…

[Here’s a succinct summary of the features needed for a ‘perfect’ VR headset. See the original version of the MIXED story for an image or video about each feature, as well as a video of the 2 hour 40 minute Siggraph presentation (also available via YouTube). For a related story see the June 2022 ISPR Presence News post “Meta reveals VR prototypes on path to improve presence and pass the ‘Visual Turing test.’” –Matthew] Meta’s display chief names 10 features for a perfect VR headset There are still many hurdles to overcome before virtual reality reaches its technical potential. The…

[Amid vivid news coverage of modern inhumanity around the world, this touching and inspiring NPR story describes a project that uses presence experiences to help people affected by such events in the past. See the original version for the seven minute video and many more pictures. –Matthew] [Image: Ishar Das Arora, 83, watches a 3-D video of his birthplace in Pakistan, through a virtual reality device. Credit: Raksha Kumar/NPR] 75 years after India’s violent Partition, survivors can cross the border — virtually By Lauren Frayer August 13, 2022 NEW DELHI — First comes the melancholy twang of a South Asian…

[The mixed reactions to a digital recreation of beloved baseball announcer Harry Caray, at a game celebrating a much-loved film about “a farmer who builds a baseball field in his cornfield that attracts the ghosts of baseball legends” (Wikipedia), illustrate the challenges of creating effective presence illusions of people who have died. The report below is from The Washington Post, where the original includes more pictures, video clips and Tweets; find more reactions in coverage from TV Insider, CBS Sports and Sports Illustrated. Note that the reactions seem to have been more positive in the stadium than on social media…