[Illustrating the potential of presence experiences to break down many types of barriers, a set of real time audio-video portals now connect people in the cities of Vilnius, Lithuania and Lublin, Poland, as described in this story from The Verge. More details and images are available in a press release and on the Portal website, which also features a 1:32 minute video. The project is reminiscent of the Cisco Town Hall ad available on YouTube.  –Matthew] Vilnius, Lithuania built a ‘portal’ to another city to help keep people connected The project is meant to prompt people to “rethink the idea…

[The Village Voice describes a recent event that arguably evoked several forms and levels of presence in recreating a two-decade-old performance and art installation. See the original story for two more images and watch the 27:33 minute video of the event on the Hauser & Wirth website. –Matthew] [Image: Performance at Hauser & Wirth Los Angeles in collaboration with Monday Evening Concerts. Credit: Elon Schoenholz Photography] David Hammons’ Faxes From The Future The performance has now reached 21 years into the future to be recreated in a technology-assisted homage and reboot that pushes those same interdisciplinary boundaries even further By…

[This story about the possible roles of presence-evoking technologies in virtual travel is unusual in advocating the replication of complete vacation trips (and indirectly raises ethical questions about virtual travel to locations that are dangerous due to terrorism and other human misbehavior). See the original version from the World Economic Forum for two more images and a video. –Matthew] [Image: The Faroe Islands is just one destination using new technologies to create a virtual tourism experience. Credit: Knud Erik Vinding/Pixabay] How virtual tourism can rebuild travel for a post-pandemic world By Anu Pillai, Digital Transformation Leader, Engineering, Construction, Operations and…

[Virgin Media and Musion conducted an interesting experiment to demonstrate how presence-evoking technology can bring people together. This short story from AV Magazine provides the basics of what was done and the original version includes a 2:42 minute video (also available via YouTube) with more details. SWNS Digital reports on the experiences of two pairs of participants and includes videos for each (also available via YouTube here and here). Commentary from a “futurologist and tech forecaster” from coverage in E&T follows below. –Matthew] ‘World-first hologram dining’ reunites loved ones Technology company Musion 3D brought together loved ones located 400 miles…

[This story from Good Times Santa Cruz describes an ambitious project applying presence-evoking technology to make some of the effects of climate change real for people. See the original story for three different pictures and the Virtual Planet website for much more information; a guided, interactive 2D simulation and a two minute video are available on the Santa Cruz Sea Level Rise Explorer website. –Matthew] [Image: Screenshot from Santa Cruz Sea Level Rise Explorer] Researchers Use Virtual Reality to Show Dangers of Sea Level Rise Team uses virtual reality to show a Santa Cruz affected by sea level rise By…

[This story from Yale News describes many of the ways presence-evoking technologies are being used to help both patients and medical students. The original story includes two more images. –Matthew] [Image: A screenshot from the anti-vaping virtual reality game, Invite Only VR.] A safe space: Medical researchers use virtual reality to reach youth By Brita Belli May 7, 2021 For years, Dr. Asher Marks, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine and director of the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Program at Yale New Haven Hospital, has urged his young patients to attend support groups. Meeting…

[A new study from University College London (UCL) explores how we adapt to technological augmentation of our body, in this case via a mechanical ‘third thumb.’ Perhaps not surprisingly we adjust quite well, with the augmentation coming to feel like it’s part of our own body and with corresponding changes in the brain, a phenomenon that represents an interesting type of presence illusion. This story from UCL includes many of the details along with a 2:50 minute video (also available via Vimeo). Coverage in HealthDay adds this perspective: “Since the extra thumb forced people to alter the way they moved…

[CNN reports on efforts to improve the training of police officers and prevent the kinds of tragedies we hear about so often. See the original version of this story for more images and a 2:55 minute video report. For related recent stories see How a new virtual reality system can help train Sacramento police for real-life encounters (The Sacramento Bee) Greenfield [Indiana] officers using virtual reality to help with de-escalation training (WTHR) New Voinovich Academy initiative offers Appalachian law enforcement training via virtual reality (Ohio University) –Matthew] With virtual reality police training, Sacramento tries to ‘get to a much better place’ By Emma…

[I’m sure many of us would like to try out Google’s new prototype system for social presence called Project Starline, described in this first-person report from Wired. See the original story for two looping mini-videos and see Google’s 1:50 minute video on YouTube. –Matthew] Google’s Project Starline Videoconference Tech Wants to Turn You Into a Hologram Our reporter tests out a “video booth” to glimpse the future of telepresence. By Lauren Goode May 18, 2021 Over the past several years, Google has been working hard to craft software experiences that make you feel like you’re present with another human being,…

[Although there’s much more research to do, particularly on the specific role of presence, this New York Times story suggests another positive application of presence-evoking technology. See the original story for a second image and a 2:52 minute video (also available via YouTube). –Matthew] [Image: Michael Heinrich, who lost the use of the lower half of his body after an accident, undergoes virtual reality therapy. “From an emotional standpoint, coming off an injury where I lost the majority of the use of my body, V.R. pushed the boundaries of what I thought was possible,” he said. Credit: Michigan Medicine] Meet…

[This link-filled story from The Conversation summarizes some of the presence-related themes of the author’s new book Artificial Intimacy: Virtual friends, Digital Lovers and Algorithmic Matchmakers. See the original story for two more images. –Matthew] Sex bots, virtual friends, VR lovers: Tech is changing the way we interact, and not always for the better By Rob Brooks, Scientia Professor of Evolutionary Ecology; Academic Lead of the University of New South Wales Grand Challenges Program, UNSW May 2, 2021 Twenty-first century technologies such as robots, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) are creeping into every corner of our social and…

[We seem to lose track of time when we’re using virtual reality (and other presence-evoking media technologies?), as demonstrated in the new study reported in this story from UC Santa Cruz. Follow the link in the story to read the new article in the journal Timing & Time Perception. –Matthew] Virtual reality warps your sense of time Psychology research demonstrates unique ‘time compression’ effect of virtual reality By Allison Arteaga Soergel May 12, 2021 Grayson Mullen was playing a virtual reality game at a friend’s house when, suddenly, he noticed that something very strange was happening. “I stopped playing the…