[This ‘Perspective’ column from The Washington Post, which includes insights from a recent study by and an interview with our colleague Jeremy Bailenson, describes a parent’s experiences with virtual reality and presence. For more on the topic see the December 2021 CNN story “In VR, there are no rules, so parents are making up their own,” which includes this: “While casting [an option that lets you see what the VR headset-wearer is doing in real time on a smartphone or other flat screen] and limiting types of content kids can access may help adults track what their children are doing,…

[This commentary from MediaPost argues that while the current discussion of and investment in the technologies of a metaverse may be overly optimistic, they mark an important – and presence-related – change in the relationship between humans and technology. For a primer on the metaverse concept, history and possible future, see the new CNET article “The metaverse is just getting started: Here’s what you need to know.” –Matthew] [Image: Source: CNET] COMMENTARY Don’t Be Too Quick To Dismiss The Metaverse By Gord Hotchkiss, Featured Contributor February 1, 2022 According to my fellow Media Insider Maarten Albarda, the metaverse is just…

[The pandemic has increased the value of the social and spatial presence evoked by religious activities in virtual environments, as reported in this Associated Press story in Japan Today. See the original version for a photo gallery containing eight more images. –Matthew] [Image: Pastor D.J. Soto, the lead pastor of VR Church, delivers a sermon in his home in Fredericksburg, Virginia, on January 23. Credit: AP] Faith in the metaverse: A VR quest for community, fellowship By Luis Andres Henao February 3, 2022 Under quarantine for COVID-19 exposure, Garret Bernal and his family missed a recent Sunday church service. So…

[This story from KBTX describes the use of VR and presence to increase safety for construction workers. See the original story for a 1:06 minute video report as well as Texas A&M Today for more on Namgyun Kim and the three-minute thesis competition he won, a poster presented at the 2021 Associated Schools of Construction Annual International Conference, and articles in Advanced Engineering Informatics and the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management. A report from the Texas A&M School of Architecture includes this: “Similar to how a child is more careful to not touch a stove after burning their hand,…

[This first-person report from CNBC suggests that the experience of professional basketball games via social VR is increasingly, if not fully, effective at evoking both spatial and social presence. See the original story for four more images; for more about upcoming games and other events see the Oculus blog. –Matthew] Here’s what it’s like watching an NBA game courtside — in the metaverse By Jabari Young January 15, 2022 Boston Celtics head coach Ime Udoka popped up from the team bench, and before I knew it, he was blocking my view. Indiana Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was close enough for…

[This example and link-filled story from Time describes both the advantages and challenges, for both brands and consumers, of incorporating augmented reality and the presence it evokes into the shopping experience. As always, making the technology simple, easy and intuitive to use is key. See the original story for a second image. –Matthew] [Image: Screenshots of Nike’s AR shopping lens on Snapchat. Credit: Snapchat] Augmented Reality is the Future of Online Shopping By Megan Mccluskey January 28, 2022 When you open up Snapchat’s lens carousel, you’re greeted with a variety of filters that let you do everything from smoothing your…

[Normally I’d post this to the ISPR Presence Community on Facebook, but it’s a particularly vivid example of medium-as-social-actor presence. Note the anthropomorphic language in the Digital Trends report on a routine malfunction of a Roomba vacuum cleaner. Other coverage is similar, including in PennLive where the story begins this way: “A robot vacuum cleaner made a jailbreak and escaped from a British hotel the other day. Evidently fed up with its life of forced servitude, the vacuum broke out of the hotel…” The review of available models at the link at the end of the story below defines “robot…

[This CNN story provides an example-filled update on how virtual reality is being incorporated into education from K-12 to college, and some of the costs, benefits, challenges and limitations involved. See the original story for two more images. –Matthew] [Image: A screenshot of Stanford students participating in a discussion on Zoom while working together collaboratively as avatars in VR.] Forget Zoom school. For some students, class is in session in VR By Rachel Metz, CNN Business January 27, 2022 Jeremy Bailenson has studied virtual reality for decades. But it wasn’t until last year that the Stanford professor felt the technology…

[The philosophical debate about the possibility that we’re living in a fully convincing presence-inducing simulation is fascinating even if just as an example of how simulation has become the latest metaphor for how we (try to) understand the mysteries of our world and lives. But the last few paragraphs of this essay from The New York Times raise a disturbing, less abstract. and more practical implication that I think should serve as a key motivation for presence scholarship. For more insights on this topic see two other recent articles: “Does it matter if you’re in the matrix?” in Prospect Magazine,…

[A new documentary film that presents the stories of real people in the virtual environments of VRChat is getting positive reviews, including the one below from Engadget. See the original version for a second image and a 3:03 minute “Meet the Artist” video (also available on YouTube). The review in Little White Lies concludes with this: “Many have pondered in the physical world about the net results of Zuckerberg’s intent with his metaverse, and it’s inevitable the viewer will come away from an experience like this wondering the same. How exactly will we communicate in the future? Are long-distance exchanges…

[A clever use of technology from virtual reality and video games translates stereoscopic visual information into haptic input to let people who are visually impaired more fully perceive and interact with their environment. The story below from Interesting Engineering provides details. Coverage in Futurism adds this: “Zahn and Khan’s paper frequently use Microsoft’s Kinect, a motion-detection system that adds additional features to Xbox games, as a point of reference. Both are confident their camera and setup will be smaller, less conspicuous and cheaper to build than a Kinect. It’s an intriguing idea for people with low vision. Some rely on…

[Apologies for the pause in posts last week, which was due to the sudden ‘death’ of my home computer. This story from The New York Times provides a link-filled update on innovative uses of presence in theater; see the original version for three more images. –Matthew] [Image: Nubiya Brandon performing with the NuShape Orchestra in “All Kinds of Limbo.” Credit: .The National Theater] Augmented Reality Theater Takes a Bow. In Your Kitchen. The Immersive Storytelling Studio at the National Theater in London is using technology to bring a miniature musical to viewers’ homes. It’s one of several high-tech British projects…