Active project

Interactiemechanismen voor verantwoorde XR-gesprekstraining

This practice-oriented research project aims to develop and empirically validate cross-sector design and didactic principles for immersive (XR/IX) learning environments in which professionals practise complex and (publicly) sensitive conversations. The core challenge: many XR simulations are convincing, but there is still insufficient evidence on which concrete design choices demonstrably help professionals to spot issues early in an interaction, adapt accordingly, act responsibly, and make that action explainable — with explicit attention to public values such as privacy, inclusion and transparency. The project draws on Discursive Psychology (DP) and Conversation Analysis (CA): professional conduct is understood as something "done" in real time through interaction (via timing, phrasing, turn-taking and repair), and is therefore observable and trainable. Feedback in IX should not "score" individuals, but instead reflect what actually happened in the interaction and what effect it had on the other person's response (next-turn evidence). To make this concrete, the project operationalises generic, adjustable IX design variables ("design dials"): sequential design of conversational action (from opening to closing), turn design, timing and participation (speaking space, silences, interruptions), positioning and accountability (boundaries, responsibility, weighing of norms), and repair and alignment — making "breakdowns" learnable through replay and debrief. The approach involves two pilot rounds in which IX variants are compared under controlled design conditions (for example, with or without interactional cues, in real time or via replay). Interactional indicators from logging and annotations are combined with learning outcomes from replay and debrief sessions, where possible supported by pre- and post-measurements and inter-coder reliability checks. The intended outputs are reusable resources for SME creators and public organisations, including a toolkit and design guide, a practical protocol for deployment and evaluation (including logging, replay and debrief), a rubric or checklist for quality assurance, and a scenario library with reuse conditions. The project is organised into work packages covering public values and governance, measurement and debrief, phrasing and cues, patterns, rubric and transfer, and critical moments with replay and debrief, with iterative milestones over 24 months and oversight from a steering group.

Involved organisations

Lead organisation

Hogeschool Utrecht

Partners

Beaumont Communicatie & Management Future Communication Consultants Ideate De Berekuyl B.V.Politie RVO studioBNO

Funded projects

More projects from CIIIC Kern

Discover other projects within this funding scheme

Lost in Immersion

This research project examines how interaction design affects cognitive overload in virtual reality (VR). The aim is to transform tacit design knowledge into practical, evidence-based guidelines for creating VR experiences that engage users without overwhelming them. For this study, we will use the existing VR experience Lacuna (2025) as a test case to investigate the impact of cognitive (over)load in VR, addressing a knowledge gap in user-centered immersive interaction design. Our research design will be informed by roundtable sessions with consortium partners, AIA and CIIIC networks, and interviewed producers to shape experiments, and capture implicit design knowledge from other projects. In our study, we aim to compare different versions of selected Lacuna fragments, varying the degree to which interactions are subtle or explicit. Around 100 participants will be randomly assigned to conditions, and the team will measure cognitive load, engagement, attitude, and content recall through surveys and a memory test. An additional interview study will be set up to deepen our insights. Thus, by validating how interactions balance cognitive load, attitude, engagement, and content recall, the findings will offer generalizable and theoretically substantiated design principles that may benefit a wide range of producers within the XR industry. In wider terms, the project aims to help designers, educators, and cultural organizations build immersive experiences that are clearer, more accessible, and more effective. Our output will include integration of our findings in educational programs, industry presentations and conference papers.

The hybrid stage: Assessing the enhancement of live performances through volumetrically captured video

Live music is increasingly intersecting with immersive technology. Pre-recorded volumetric video is an emerging immersive experience technology with significant creative potential for the live music and events sector. In this setting, a real artist performs on stage alongside digitally 3D-video captured content. High-profile cases (Madonna's Billboard Music Awards performance, ABBA Voyage) demonstrate its creative potential, but no scientific research has examined how audiences actually experience it. SME producers increasingly encounter the technology yet lack the empirical knowledge and validated methods to deploy it effectively. This project addresses that gap through demand-driven, practice-oriented research conducted in close collaboration with SME partners across the full live music production chain. The project explores to what extent concert attendees experience and accept pre-recorded volumetric video elements in a live performance, and under what conditions this enhances their experience. The project employs a mixed-methods design across six work packages. A co-design phase develops a hybrid performance concept with artists and production partners. Two volumetric video prototypes (2D LED presentation and 3D cylindrical projection) are implemented and tested in a controlled experiment at BUas' XR stage, using psychophysiological measurement (bodily emotion measures), quantitative self-report, and qualitative interviews. Public values considerations, including transparency toward audiences and responsible use of performers' likenesses, are treated as design criteria throughout. Findings inform an evidence-based design revision, subsequently validated at the TURF Event in Breda. The consortium unites Breda University of Applied Sciences, volumetric production specialist 4DR Productions, creative studio Live Legends, business developer Angle of Impact and music rights technology company Copyright Delta. Beyond generating empirical knowledge about audience experience, the project produces practical production guidelines and validated measurement methods designed to make volumetric concert enrichment accessible and scalable for SME producers, with findings being largely transferable to any organization seeking to evaluate the experiential impact of immersive experience applications.

IXcel-BAZ: Ontwikkeling en validatie van immersieve leeromgevingen voor schaalbaar en overdraagbaar opleiden in de regionale Basis Acute Zorg

Training within Basic Acute Care (BAZ) is under pressure from rising demand for care, staff shortages and high workloads. At the same time, comparable competencies are currently taught and assessed differently across departments (ICU, A&E, CCU, AOA), leading to inefficiency and limited transferability of skills. There is therefore a need for a scalable, transferable training approach that systematically structures generic and context-specific competencies. The IXcel-BAZ project develops and validates a modular training model for regional acute care, in which EPA-based competencies are divided into generic and context-specific components. This model is supported by immersive learning environments (IX), which allow skills to be trained safely, consistently and repeatedly. The project follows a practice-oriented, iterative approach: analysing existing training practices, co-designing the training model with stakeholders, implementing it in a real-life training setting, and systematically evaluating its effectiveness and applicability. This looks not only at learning outcomes, but also at implementation, adoption and scalability. The expected results are a validated methodology for structuring EPA competencies, a transferable training model, and an implementation approach for IX in acute care. These results will be applied directly within the region and actively shared through existing healthcare networks. The project contributes to more efficient, safer and more scalable training for healthcare professionals, and delivers practical knowledge for the wider implementation of immersive technology in the public sector.

Precision exposure therapy: Personalisation strategies and implementation of VR-based exposure therapy in mental health services

Fear-related symptoms are highly prevalent and central to mental health disorders, contributing to reduced wellbeing, increased healthcare costs, and substantial losses in productivity. Exposure therapy is widely recognised as an effective treatment for these conditions. Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) offers advantages over traditional approaches by enabling controlled and precise exposure, i.e., personalised to individual patients' needs. Personalised VRET also holds the promise to be flexibly integrated across treatment phases, including early intervention, ambulatory therapy, and at-home use. Two key challenges limit full realisation of these developments. First, there is a lack of systematic knowledge on how to effectively personalise VRET, particularly given the wide range of available content and the need to optimise treatment precision while minimising adverse effects, such as cybersickness. Second, there is insufficient knowledge on how to implement personalised VRET effectively in clinical practice, especially its ambulatory and home-based care, and of which factors influence sustainable integration. This project aims to first develop an evidence- and practice-based personalisation framework for VRET, and second, to develop, test, and evaluate a tailored implementation strategy. To accomplish this, Work Package 1 focuses on identifying personalisation parameters through a systematic literature review and iterative development using usability and user experience studies. Work Package 2 focuses on implementation, using qualitative methods including interviews to identify the organisational, technical, and clinical conditions necessary for an optimised implementation. This project extends an established multidisciplinary consortium connected through the Academic Collaborative Centre Digital Health and Mental Wellbeing, consisting of academic (Tilburg University), clinical (GGz Breburg), and industry (Psylaris) partners, supported by a sounding board with (inter)national partners with leading roles in VRET research and implementation. Embedded in (inter)national networks, the consortium will disseminate knowledge through academic, professional, and educational channels, thereby impacting patient wellbeing and reducing the burden on mental healthcare systems.

FeedbackReady: Ontwikkeling en validatie van VR-scenario's voor het versterken van feedbackvaardigheden van werkplekbegeleiders verpleegkunde

FeedbackReady develops and validates a VR-based Immersive Experience (IX) to strengthen workplace supervisors' confidence in giving feedback to nursing students across three hospitals. Workplace supervisors have sufficient knowledge of feedback methods, but experience uncertainty and hesitation to act in emotionally charged situations: when a student reacts defensively, when professional behaviour needs to be addressed, or when previous feedback has had little effect. Existing training offers too little room to practise precisely these kinds of situations. VR provides a safe environment to rehearse them repeatedly, without direct consequences for care practice. In FeedbackReady, Inholland and Windesheim Universities of Applied Sciences, together with OLVG, Spaarne Gasthuis, Noordwest Ziekenhuisgroep and The Simulation Crew, are researching how a VR-based intervention can be effectively designed and sustainably implemented to strengthen the self-efficacy of nursing workplace supervisors in giving feedback. The project runs for 24 months and comprises three work packages: iteratively designing and testing three VR scenarios, selected on the basis of survey results and context-analysis interviews, co-created with workplace supervisors (WP1); applying and evaluating the intervention in everyday practice at three hospitals (WP2); and securing and sharing knowledge through an open-access implementation guide, regional workshops and a closing conference (WP3). FeedbackReady investigates whether hospitals can effectively use immersive experiences for emotionally charged learning situations, thereby validating SME-developed conversational avatar technology within the complex care context. The results will be shared with more than 80 Dutch hospitals via Sigra, LOOV and DUTCH. In doing so, the project contributes to CIIIC objective 1 (knowledge and methods for designing and developing responsible IX) and objective 3 (a strong IX ecosystem that innovates, develops, applies and scales up together), with the societal impact of improving the quality of placement supervision — at a time when nursing education is under growing pressure from persistent staff shortages.