Award: Honorable mention of paper “User-Centric Requirements for Enhancing XR Use Cases with Machine Learning Capabilities” in the “Best Presentation” award at the International Workshop on Virtual Reality for Human and Spatial Augmentation (VR-HSA) in conjunction with IEEE VR 2025
We are glad to share that our team from CWI (Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica) participated and presented their work in the International Workshop on Virtual Reality for Human and Spatial Augmentation (VR-HSA), held in conjunction with IEEE VR 2025 in the beautiful coastal city of Saint-Malo, France, on March 9, 2025. At the workshop, we presented our paper, “User-Centric Requirements for Enhancing XR Use Cases with Machine Learning Capabilities,” authored by Sueyoon Lee, Moonisa Ahsan, Irene Viola, and Pablo Cesar. Additionally. This paper is based on two use cases (a) Virtual Conference, which mimics a real-life like conference in a VR environment (VRDays Foundation) and (b) Augmented Theatre, which showcases a Greek play in AR environment (Athens Festival). The paper shows our user-centric approach for conducting two focus groups to gather user requirements for these two use cases and to find where ML technologies could be implemented using VOXReality technology modules. We also showcased the overview of the full data collection, processing and evaluation pipeline with a poster presentation in a parallel session. We are happy to share that our presentation received the honorable mention in the Best Presentation Award category.
We are excited to see our work contributing to the growing field of ML-enhanced XR user experiences. We extend our thanks to all contributors from the use case owners (VRDays Foundation, Athens Festival AEF) and everyone who was part of the process and supported in the contribution for enabling this work; to the VR-HSA organizers and the broader XR community for supporting discussions. This recognition motivates us to continue working towards more user centric immersive experiences.
Abstract: The combination of Extended Reality (XR) and Machine Learning (ML) will enable a new set of applications. This requires adopting a user-centric approach to address the evolving user needs. This paper addresses this gap by presenting findings from two independent focus groups specifically designed to gather user requirements for two use cases: (1) a VR Conference with an AI-enabled support agent and real-time translations, and (2) an AR Theatre featuring ML generated translation capabilities and voice-activated VFX. Both focus groups were designed using context-mapping principles. We engaged 6 experts in each of the focus groups. Participants took part in a combination of independent and group activities aimed at mapping their interaction timelines, identifying positive experiences, and highlighting pain points for each scenario. These activities were followed by open discussions in semi-structured interviews to share their experiences. The inputs were analysed using Thematic Analysis and resulted in a set of user-centric requirements for both applications on Virtual Conference and Augmented Theatre respectively. Subtitles and Translations were the most interesting and common findings in both cases. The results led to the design and development of both applications. By documenting user-centric requirements, these results contribute significantly to the evolving landscape of immersive technologies.
Keywords: Virtual Reality, VR conference, Augmented Reality, AR theatre, Focus groups, User requirements, Use cases, Human-centric design.
Reference
- Lee, M. Ahsan, I. Viola, and P. Cesar, “User-centric requirements for enhancing XR use cases with machine learning capabilities,” in Proceedings of VR-HSA Workshop (IEEEVR2025), March 2025.
Moonisa Ahsan
Moonisa Ahsan is a post-doc in the DIS (Distributed & Interactive Systems) Group of CWI. She was also the external-supervisor for the aforementioned thesis work. In VOX, she is contributing in understanding next-generation applications within Extended Reality (XR), and to better understand user needs and leveraging that knowledge to develop innovative solutions that enhance the user experience in all three use-cases. She is a Marie-Curie Alumna and her scientific and research interests are Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), User Centric Design (UCD), Extended Reality (XR) and Cultural Heritage (CH).
