A Tree’s Perspective: Enhancing Nature Connectedness Through Transitional and Multisensory Virtual Reality ExperiencesEmbodying natural entities in Virtual Reality (VR) shows potential to enhance nature connectedness, but design factors that support such embodiment remain underexplored. This study examined whether transitional elements in the physical setting before and after VR and multisensory stimuli during VR can strengthen natur…2026LTLisa L. Townsend et al.TU Dortmund UniversityImmersion & Presence ResearchMultisensory Fusion ExperienceHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)CHI
Diffusing Social Boundaries through Virtual Bodies: How Mixed Reality Embodied Experiences Can Foster Social Connection.Virtual and Mixed Reality (XR) offer new opportunities for supporting social connection by reshaping embodied interaction and transforming social norms. We present Body RemiXer, an asymmetric XR installation designed to foster connection by inviting interpersonal touch, abstracting identity through ethereal avatars, e…2026ESEkaterina R. Stepanova et al.KTH Royal Institute of TechnologySocial & Collaborative VRImmersion & Presence ResearchIdentity & Avatars in XRCHI
Being in Virtual Worlds: How Interaction, Environment, and Touch Shape Embodiment in Immersive ExperiencesEmbodiment is an everyday experience that typically goes unnoticed. While we often take it for granted, with the adoption of virtual reality (VR) technology, embodiment in virtual bodies and worlds has become an important consideration for designers of immersive experiences. To date, the VR design community has primar…2025JDJohn Desnoyers-Stewart et al.Simon Fraser UniversityMid-Air Haptics (Ultrasonic)Full-Body Interaction & Embodied InputImmersion & Presence ResearchCHI
Awedyssey: Design Tensions in Eliciting Self-transcendent Emotions in Virtual Reality to Support Mental Well-being and ConnectionAccess to nature and feeling connection is critical for mental health and well-being. These benefits may be mediated by self-transcendent emotions evoked by nature. We need to explore the capacity of technology to offer such experiences when we lack access to the restorative power of nature. Despite growing resea…2023NMNoah Miller et al.Simon Fraser UniversityImmersion & Presence ResearchMental Health Apps & Online Support CommunitiesInteractive Narrative & Immersive StorytellingDIS
Strategies for Fostering a Genuine Feeling of Connection in Technologically Mediated SystemsHuman connection is essential for our personal well-being and a building block for a well-functioning society. There is a prominent interest in the potential of technology for mediating social connection, with a wealth of systems designed to foster the feeling of connection between strangers, friends, and family. By s…2022ESEkaterina R. Stepanova et al.Simon Fraser UniversityAgent Personality & AnthropomorphismSocial & Collaborative VRCHI
Virtual Transcendent Dream: Empowering People through Embodied Flying in VRFlying dreams have the potential to evoke a feeling of empowerment (or self-efficacy, confidence in our ability to succeed) and self-transcendent experience (STE), which have been shown to contribute to an individual’s overall well-being. However, these exceptional dreaming experiences remain difficult to induce at wi…2022PLPinyao Liu et al.Simon Fraser UniversityFull-Body Interaction & Embodied InputImmersion & Presence ResearchCHI
JeL: Breathing Together to Connect with Others and NatureBio-responsive immersive Virtual Reality can transform our interactions to bring awareness to our physiological rhythms fostering connection with our bodies, each other and nature. JeL is an immersive installation that aims to foster a feeling of connection through the process of breathing synchronization. Two imme…2020ESEkaterina R. Stepanova et al.Simon Fraser UniversityImmersion & Presence ResearchHuman-Nature Relationships (More-than-Human Design)Digital Art Installations & Interactive PerformanceDIS
Designing Mind(set) and Setting for Profound Emotional Experiences in Virtual RealityVirtual reality (VR) has the potential to support profound emotional experiences, such as experiencing awe when virtually viewing the Earth from space. In doing so, VR can potentially both give people positive emotional experiences contributing to their overall well-being and give researchers a way to study these prof…2020AKAlexandra Kitson et al.Simon Fraser UniversityImmersion & Presence ResearchInteractive Narrative & Immersive StorytellingDIS
FaceHaptics: Robot Arm based Versatile Facial Haptics for Immersive EnvironmentsThis paper introduces FaceHaptics, a novel haptic display based on a robot arm attached to a head-mounted virtual reality display. It provides localized, multi-directional and movable haptic cues in the form of wind, warmth, moving and single-point touch events and water spray to dedicated parts of the face not covere…2020AWAlexander Wilberz et al.Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied SciencesMid-Air Haptics (Ultrasonic)Immersion & Presence ResearchCHI
Inhaling and Exhaling: How Technologies Can Perceptually Extend our Breath AwarenessAttending to breath is a self-awareness practice that exists within many contemplative and reflective traditions and is recognized for its benefits to well-being. Our current technological landscape embraces a large body of systems that utilize breath data in order to foster self-awareness. This paper seeks to deepen…2020MPMirjana Prpa et al.Simon Fraser UniversityMental Health Apps & Online Support CommunitiesSleep & Stress MonitoringBiosensors & Physiological MonitoringCHI
Geocaching with a Beam: Shared Outdoor Activities through a Telepresence Robot with 360 Degree ViewingPeople often enjoy sharing outdoor activities together such as walking and hiking. However, when family and friends are separated by distance it can be difficult if not impossible to share such activities. We explore this design space by investigating the benefits and challenges of using a telepresence robot to suppor…2018YHYasamin Heshmat et al.Simon Fraser University360° Video & Panoramic ContentTeleoperation & TelepresenceCHI
Navigation Interfaces for Virtual Reality and Gaming: Theory and PracticeIn this course, we will take a detailed look at various breeds of spatial navigation interfaces that allow for locomotion in digital 3D environments such as games, virtual environments or even the exploration of abstract data sets. We will closely look into the basics of navigation, unravelling the psychophysics (incl…2018EKErnst Kruijff et al.Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied SciencesFull-Body Interaction & Embodied InputImmersion & Presence ResearchCHI
Are You Dreaming? A Phenomenological Study on Understanding Lucid Dreams as a Tool for Introspection in Virtual RealityVirtual reality (VR) is resurging in popularity with the advancement of low-cost hardware and more realistic graphics. How might this technology help others? That is, to increase mental well-being? The ultimate VR might look like lucid dreaming, the phenomenon of knowing one is dreaming while in the dream. Lucid dream…2018AKAlexandra Kitson et al.Simon Fraser UniversityImmersion & Presence ResearchMental Health Apps & Online Support CommunitiesCHI
Navigation Interfaces for Virtual Reality and Gaming: Theory and PracticeIn this course, we will take a detailed look at various breeds of spatial navigation interfaces that allow for locomotion in digital 3D environments such as games, virtual environments or even the exploration of abstract data sets. We will closely look into the basics of navigation, unravelling the psychophysics (incl…2018EKErnst Kruijff et al.Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied SciencesFull-Body Interaction & Embodied InputAR Navigation & Context AwarenessImmersion & Presence ResearchCHI