[Although they didn’t measure presence directly, this report by a member of a research team at Stanford University’s Institute for Human-Centered AI (HAI) provides a good example of the powerful effects the context of a mediated experience can have on media users’ perceptions and responses. –Matthew] [Image: Microsoft’s Chinese chatbot Xiaoice] How to Build a Likable Chatbot Consumers have consistent personality preferences for their online friends, new research shows. Ranjay Krishna January 11, 2021 A few years ago, Business Insider predicted that 80% of enterprise applications would use chatbots by 2020. Today, the internet is flooded with millions of conversational…

[Engadget describes how the largest American independent film festival is moving not just online but to a virtual reality platform, and notes that even after the pandemic ends it’ll likely retain the virtual component. See the original story for seven more images and a teaser video, and for more details start at the Festival page of the Sundance website. –Matthew] The Sundance Film Festival makes a giant leap into VR The legendary film fest is going virtual in more ways than one. By D. Hardawar January 25th, 2021 Like most major events over the last year, the esteemed Sundance Film…

[Bloomberg provides this widely cited story about Apple’s progress in developing a VR and AR headset; see the original verison for three more images and a link to a related story. –Matthew] Apple’s First Headset to Be Niche Precursor to Eventual AR Glasses The company’s first major new product category since the Apple Watch faces development hurdles. By Mark Gurman January 21, 2021 Apple Inc.’s first crack at a headset is designed to be a pricey, niche precursor to a more ambitious augmented reality product that will take longer to develop, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The…

[In a positive application of presence that could be extended beyond the military, the U.S. Air Force is developing a training tool that uses scenarios experienced within VR to help train airmen to recognize the signs of, and to help prevent, suicide. This story is from the Enid (Oklahoma) News & Eagle. –Matthew] [Image: Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Sam Eckholm] Virtual reality brings new dimension to suicide prevention training By Karen Petitt, 375th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs January 20, 2021 SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. — Leaders from across the 375th Air Mobility Wing stepped…

[A chemical engineering professor at the University of Toronto is adapting to pandemic-related restrictions by using “virtual reality (VR), high-resolution virtual tours, at-home experiments, and 3D simulation/design software,” as reported in this story from University of Toronto Engineering News. See the original version for a second image and a video snippet. For more about Professor Chan see “Scaling up safely: Meet Professor Ariel Chan” in the same publication. –Matthew] [Image: Unit Ops Lab site lets students virtually tour and inspect equipment found in the two-storey space.] Virtual reality makes unique chemical engineering lab accessible from home By Liz Do January…

[Adweek provides a short primer on a new non-linear, interactive Wallace & Gromit story users can experience at home via a free augmented reality app. The project was created through a UK government media innovation grant and “aims to push the boundaries of tech-driven storytelling.” See the original story for two videos. Next Reality adds these details: “With the viral launch and sustained success of Pokémon GO, intellectual property holders have been eager to replicate the geocaching formula with their own franchises, with Jurassic Park, Walking Dead, Ghostbusters, and Harry Potter games launching over the past two years, and a…

[A story from the American Alliance of Museums describes efforts not only to create presence experiences but to develop an evaluation tool to measure the impacts of those and other experiences, including whether they actually lead to visitor learning. See the original story for two more images. –Matthew] [Image: The dazzling effects of augmented and virtual reality are obvious, but how can museums know if they actually facilitate learning? Credit: Courtesy of Chicago History Museum] Evaluating the Impact of Augmented and Virtual Reality By Colleen McGaughey & John Russick [see bios at end below] January 15, 2021 “I am perfectly…

[The new version of the expressive and now teleoperated-via-VR robot Reachy caught my attention but this story from CNET about new developments in robotics showcased at the (virtual) 2021 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) highlights other presence-related tech and how innovations are helping us live during the pandemic. The original story includes a 2:35 “Tactile Telerobot Showreel” from Shadow Robotics (also available via YouTube). For more on Reachy, see coverage in Tom’s Hardware and the Pollen Robotics website, both of which include a 1:26 minute video (also on YouTube); the website also features an online simulator. For more examples of presence…

[With all the too-often avoidable turmoil and tragedy of the last many months, I think many of us would benefit from the application of presence described in this story from Tatler Hong Kong. See the original version for three more images, and for more details see the SpaceVR website, particularly the FAQ page. –Matthew] Float Co. Mid-Levels Introduces Asia’s First Virtual Reality Space Experience By Zabrina Lo January 7, 2021 With a VR headset and a sensory deprivation tank, aspiring cosmonauts can experience the thrill of being in orbit without having to leave planet Earth I have alway7s wanted to…

[This PC Magazine story describes what it’s like to set up and use an AI driven digital human that can carry on emotionally engaged conversations with customers and others, the next step in chatbot technology: it includes this quote from an expert: “Digital humans are considerably more valuable than any alternative [since] they aren’t just transactional, they are ‘interactional.’” See the original story for three more images and a video. –Matthew] One Step Closer to SkyNet: Your Next Help Desk Chat Might Be With a Digital Human AI company UneeQ seeks to take the next step in the evolution of…

[This Debugger story explains the promise of and our progress toward effective and commonly available holograms (actually volumetric images); our colleague Frank Biocca is one of the experts quoted and the original story includes three videos and an additional image. For related news see USA Today’s story about IKIN’s new RYZ, “the first personal hologram platform”; Digital Trends’ story about Looking Glass Factory’s 3D holographic display and software that transforms any 2D image into a 3D one; and a short Bloomberg video about the Swiss company Inverse’s 3D hologram meeting technology that just won a CES 2021 Best of Innovation…

[Digital Trends reports on the development of a novel exosuit designed to make virtual experiences “indistinguishable from real life”; the original story includes a one minute video and three different images. Coverage in New Atlas adds these details: Reese has been testing it at a simulated 1/20th of normal Earth gravity, making walking around and jumping less laborious than in real life while still giving a user a sense of force and balance. Currently, there are motors only at the hip and knee joints, but future plans would extend this to five motors on each leg, with more on your…