[Gizmodo describes the technology likely used to create the illusion that a waving younger version of the Queen was riding in a Gold State Coach during the Platinum Jubilee in London on Sunday (see the original story for a video and additional images). Reactions varied: Journalist Barry Malone tweeted “So a hologram of the queen drove through London in a golden carriage today. And people waved at it. They waved at a hologram,” which generated thousands of comments. Metro UK’s video is titled “Prince Charles stands as hologram of the Queen passes by in golden carriage”; the video shows other…

[I wish I’d seen and posted this IEEE Spectrum story when it appeared in late 2021 but it’s still all too timely. In it, Katie Winkle, Digital Futures Postdoctoral Research Fellow at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, describes the motivations for and the methods and results of a study she conducted to see if young people’s gender biases could be altered by replacing the typical subservient persona of robots with one that counter argues or counter attacks sexist remarks. The results suggest the power as well as the challenges in evoking of medium-as-social-actor presence. See the original story…

[This essay from Forbes is a ‘big picture’ look at how technologies, especially those that evoke different types of presence, are changing our personal relationships. For coverage of more specific changes, see three recent stories: “Metaverse dating could help you find real love in VR” (Lifewire), “Dating is getting hot in the metaverse, per exclusive Reddit data” (The Drum) and “Ghosting the machine: Humans, robots, and the new sexual frontier” (Harpers). –Matthew] [Image: Credit: Lucas Racasse / Getty. Source: Lifewire] What Digital Intimacy Is And How Technology Is Changing Our Relationships By KJ Dhaliwal, Forbes Technology Council; KJ Dhaliwal is…

[At a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland a United Arab Emirates official argued that murder in a future version of the metaverse should be an internationally recognized punishable crime. The story from IFL Science reports on the initial comments and immediate responses and I’ve compiled excerpts from several other stories that represent other responses. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: A. Solano / Shutterstock.com] Will Murder In The Metaverse Be Outlawed? Davos Discusses How To Police New Tech By Tom Hale May 27, 2022 If you’re “murdered” in the metaverse, should it be considered a distressing crime that…

[A new study in Scientific Reports found that “gentle strokes on the back” from a robotic hand, expressions of care by a synthesized robot voice, and especially the combination of the two, produced more positive moods and perceptions that the robot was more human-like (indicators of medium-as-social-actor presence). The summary of the study below is from BPS Research Digest (where it includes a different image) and you can follow the link within it to read the full article. The findings reinforce those of an earlier study summarized in a November 2021 PsyPost story titled “A pat on the hand from…

[Although it doesn’t mention presence, many of the examples of “disappearing displays” in this story from Electronic Design highlight their potential to evoke presence illusions (see the original story for two different images). I found this story after watching a 5:24 minute video about how the producers of Star Trek: Discovery have begun using a “real-life Holodeck” “augmented reality wall” to enhance the “realism” for both actors and viewers; the video is available on YouTube and for more information about this and other examples of these AR Walls see a July 2021 story in American Cinematographer. –Matthew] [Image: NBC’s Beijing…

[In a post on his blog, writer Matt Bell reports on a small test he conducted to see if computer-generated deepfake images of vacation photos would deceive his Facebook friends. In the process he raises important questions about the ethics and implications of not just selecting the “best” unaltered images to create an idealized impression of an event, or editing some of the images to further enhance the impression, but including completely artificial images of places and events that never occurred, something that is increasingly easy for even non-experts to do. As in so many contexts, it seems we’ll have…

[This story from the UK’s Birmingham Mail describes some of the work of social care organization Antser that uses immersive media experiences to increase understanding and help prevent domestic violence. For more about its work see Antser’s website. An October 2021 story in Knowable Magazine and a July 2020 story from Australia’s 7NEWS.com.au report on similar efforts. For some evidence-based context see two articles by our colleagues: “Being the Victim of Intimate Partner Violence in Virtual Reality: First- Versus Third-Person Perspective” in Frontiers in Psychology and “The Paradox of Interactive Media: The Potential for Video Games and Virtual Reality as…

[This TechRadar story is an encouraging reminder that virtual reality headsets will continue to evolve to be less obtrusive and more comfortable, which will make them more capable of evoking compelling presence illusions. The original version of the story includes a 4:53 minute video (also available via YouTube), and follow the story links and see coverage in Road to VR for more information. –Matthew] Nvidia’s ultra-thin VR glasses look like the big step that virtual reality needs But don’t expect the Meta Quest 3 to get a design overhaul yet By Hamish Hector May 10, 2022 Nvidia developers, in association…

[Presence plays a key role in a new 8,000-word essay in Medium by Meta President of Global Affairs (and former UK Deputy Prime Minister) Nick Clegg that attempts to outline the company’s vision for the metaverse. Much of the coverage includes this quote: “We’ve gone from desktop to web to mobile; from text to photos to video. In this progression, the metaverse is a logical evolution. It’s the next generation of the internet — a more immersive, 3D experience. Its defining quality will be a feeling of presence, like you are right there with another person or in another place.”…

[The global pandemic has brought many changes in the demand for and evolution of technologies that evoke presence. This NPR story uses personal stories, statistics and interviews with technology creators to describe some of the changes in physical exercise. See the original story for seven more pictures and a 44 second video. –Matthew] [Image: Linda Munson’s youngest grandson, Daniel Gomez, 2, tries on an Oculus headset in her yard in Berlin, Conn. Playing different virtual reality games has become her family’s regular Sunday activity, Munson said. Credit: Yehyun Kim for NPR] Virtual workouts spiked during the pandemic — and the…

[Based on definitions of presence that involve an illusion of nonmediation or at least partial overlooking of the role of technology in an experience – a seemingly direct connection to mediated places, people and events, brain-computer interface (BCI) technology has great potential to evoke presence experiences. But how would it work? This story from Fast Company describes a series of videos by design firm Card79 that explores this question. The original story includes four more images and a 3:45 minute video from the series; the other videos are available on Card79’s website. –Matthew] What a brain-controlled computer might feel like…