It has been ten years since the term ''Immersive Analytics'' (IA) was coined and research interest in the topic remains strong. Researchers in this field have produced practical and conceptual knowledge concerning the use of emerging immersive spatial display and interaction technologies for sense-making tasks through a number of papers, surveys, and books. However, a lack of truly physically and psychologically ergonomic techniques, as well as standardized human-centric validation protocols for these, remains a significant barrier to wider acceptance of practical IA systems in ubiquitous applications. Building upon a series of workshops on immersive analytics at various conferences, this workshop aims to explore new approaches and establish standard practices for evaluating immersive analytics systems from a human factors perspective. We will gather immersive analytics researchers and practitioners to look closely at these human factors -- including cognitive and physical functions as well as behaviour and performance -- to see how they inform the design and deployment of immersive analytics techniques and applications and to inform future research.
Augmented Reality (AR) presents new opportunities for immersive storytelling. However, this immersiveness faces two main hurdles. First, AR's immersive quality is often confined to visual elements, such as pixels on a screen. Second, crafting immersive narratives is complex and generally beyond the reach of amateurs due to the need for advanced technical skills. We introduce Jigsaw, a system that empowers beginners to both experience and craft immersive stories, blending virtual and physical elements. Jigsaw uniquely combines mobile AR with readily available Internet-of-things (IoT) devices. We conducted a qualitative study with 20 participants to assess Jigsaw's effectiveness in both consuming and creating immersive narratives. The results were promising: participants not only successfully created their own immersive stories but also found the playback of three such stories deeply engaging. However, sensory overload emerged as a significant challenge in these experiences. We discuss design trade-offs and considerations for future endeavors in immersive storytelling involving AR and IoT.
Immersive analytics is gaining attention across multiple domains due to its capability to facilitate intuitive data analysis in expansive environments through user interaction with data. However, creating immersive analytics systems for specific tasks is challenging due to the need for programming expertise and significant development effort. Despite the introduction of various immersive visualization authoring toolkits, domain experts still face hurdles in adopting immersive analytics into their workflow, particularly when faced with dynamically changing tasks and data in real time. To lower such technical barriers, we introduce XROps, a web-based authoring system that allows users to create immersive analytics applications through interactive visual programming, without the need for low-level scripting or coding. XROps enables dynamic immersive analytics authoring by allowing users to modify each step of the data visualization process with immediate feedback, enabling them to build visualizations on-the-fly and adapt to changing environments. It also supports the integration and visualization of real-time sensor data from XR devices, a key feature of immersive analytics, facilita
How do we evaluate experiences in immersive environments? Despite decades of research in immersive technologies such as virtual reality, the field remains fragmented. Studies rely on overlapping constructs, heterogeneous instruments, and little agreement on what counts as immersive experience. To better understand this landscape, we conducted a bottom-up scoping review of 375 papers published in ACM CHI, UIST, VRST, SUI, IEEE VR, ISMAR, and TVCG. Our analysis reveals that evaluation practices are often domain- and purpose-specific, shaped more by local choices than by shared standards. Yet this diversity also points to new directions. Instead of multiplying instruments, researchers benefit from integrating and refining them into smarter measures. Rather than focusing only on system outputs, evaluations must center the user's lived experience. Computational modeling offers opportunities to bridge signals across methods, but lasting progress requires open and sustainable evaluation practices that support comparability and reuse. Ultimately, our contribution is to map current practices and outline a forward-looking agenda for immersive experience research.
User engagement is greatly enhanced by fully immersive multi-modal experiences that combine visual and auditory stimuli. Consequently, the next frontier in VR/AR technologies lies in immersive volumetric videos with complete scene capture, large 6-DoF interaction space, multi-modal feedback, and high resolution & frame-rate contents. To stimulate the reconstruction of immersive volumetric videos, we introduce ImViD, a multi-view, multi-modal dataset featuring complete space-oriented data capture and various indoor/outdoor scenarios. Our capture rig supports multi-view video-audio capture while on the move, a capability absent in existing datasets, significantly enhancing the completeness, flexibility, and efficiency of data capture. The captured multi-view videos (with synchronized audios) are in 5K resolution at 60FPS, lasting from 1-5 minutes, and include rich foreground-background elements, and complex dynamics. We benchmark existing methods using our dataset and establish a base pipeline for constructing immersive volumetric videos from multi-view audiovisual inputs for 6-DoF multi-modal immersive VR experiences. The benchmark and the reconstruction and interaction results
Extended Reality (XR) affords an enhanced sense of bodily presence that supports experiential modes of comprehension and affective engagement which exceed the possibilities of conventional information delivery. Nevertheless, the psychological processes engendered by XR, and the manner in which these processes inform subsequent behavioural intentions, remain only partially delineated. The present study addresses this issue within an applied context by comparing non-immersive 2D viewing advertising with immersive XR experiential advertising. We examined whether XR strengthens internal responses to a product, specifically perceived comprehension and empathy, and whether these responses, in turn, influence the behavioural outcome of purchase intention. A repeated-measures two-way ANOVA demonstrated a significant main effect of advertising modality, with XR yielding higher ratings on all evaluative dimensions. Mediation analysis further indicated that the elevation in purchase intention was mediated by empathy, whereas no significant mediating effect was observed for comprehension within the scope of this study. These findings suggest that immersive XR experiences augment empathic engag
Computational notebooks, which integrate code, documentation, tags, and visualizations into a single document, have become increasingly popular for data analysis tasks. With the advent of immersive technologies, these notebooks have evolved into a new paradigm, enabling more interactive and intuitive ways to perform data analysis. An immersive computational notebook, which integrates computational notebooks within an immersive environment, significantly enhances navigation performance with embodied interactions. However, despite recognizing the significance of organizational strategies in the immersive data science process, the organizational strategies for using immersive notebooks remain largely unexplored. In response, our research aims to deepen our understanding of organizations, especially focusing on spatial structures for computational notebooks, and to examine how various execution orders can be visualized in an immersive context. Through an exploratory user study, we found participants preferred organizing notebooks in half-cylindrical structures and engaged significantly more in non-linear analysis. Notably, as the scale of the notebooks increased (i.e., more code cells)
Immersive video, namely 180-degree and 360-degree video designed to be viewed through head-mounted displays, constitutes an important boundary case between interactive VR and conventional two-dimensional video viewing for reconsidering self-experience in XR. In immersive video, the user can select the direction of the viewpoint through head rotation, while being unable to actively change the recorded environment through walking, approaching, grasping, or manipulating. In many cases, no explicit body or avatar corresponding to the user is provided. This paper reinterprets presence in immersive video not as bodily extension or body ownership of an avatar, but as a form of self-experience in which self-location becomes relatively dominant under conditions of reduced body schema availability. This paper calls this condition a self-location-dominant state. In this state, viewpoint-directed agency is retained, whereas environment-directed agency and body ownership are constrained. Nevertheless, events such as viewpoint motion, impact, contact, and direct address may be experienced not merely as changes within an image, but as events concerning the viewpoint position at which the self is
Current visualization research has identified the potential of more immersive settings for data exploration, leveraging VR and AR technologies. To explore how a traditional visualization system could be adapted into an immersive framework, and how it could benefit from this, we decided to revisit a landmark paper presented ten years ago at IEEE VIS. TaxiVis, by Ferreira et al., enabled interactive spatio-temporal querying of a large dataset of taxi trips in New York City. Here, we reimagine how TaxiVis' functionalities could be implemented and extended in a 3D immersive environment. Among the unique features we identify as being enabled by the Immersive TaxiVis prototype are alternative uses of the additional visual dimension, a fully visual 3D spatio-temporal query framework, and the opportunity to explore the data at different scales and frames of reference. By revisiting the case studies from the original paper, we demonstrate workflows that can benefit from this immersive perspective. Through reporting on our experience, and on the vision and reasoning behind our design decisions, we hope to contribute to the debate on how conventional and immersive visualization paradigms can
As immersive technologies evolve, immersive computational notebooks offer new opportunities for interacting with code, data, and outputs. However, scaling these environments remains a challenge, particularly when analysts manually arrange large numbers of cells to maintain both execution logic and visual coherence. To address this, we introduce an embodied composition framework, facilitating organizational processes in the context of immersive computational notebooks. To evaluate the effectiveness of the embodied composition framework, we conducted a controlled user study comparing manual and embodied composition frameworks in an organizational process. The results show that embodied composition frameworks significantly reduced user effort and decreased completion time. However, the design of the triggering mechanism requires further refinement. Our findings highlight the potential of embodied composition frameworks to enhance the scalability of the organizational process in immersive computational notebooks.
The increasing complexity and volume of network data demand effective analysis approaches, with visual exploration proving particularly beneficial. Immersive technologies, such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and large display walls, have enabled the emerging field of immersive analytics, offering new opportunities to enhance user engagement, spatial awareness, and problem-solving. A growing body of work has explored immersive environments for network visualisation, ranging from design studies to fully integrated applications across various domains. Despite these advancements, the field remains fragmented, lacking a clear description of the design space and a structured overview of the aspects that have already been empirically evaluated. To address this gap, we present a survey of visual network analysis in immersive environments, covering 138 publications retrieved through a structured pipeline. We systematically analyse the key aspects that define the design space, investigate their coverage in prior applications (n=87), and review user evaluations (n=59) that provide empirical evidence for essential design-related questions. By synthesising experimental findings and eval
The rapid growth of immersive technologies in educational areas has increased research interest in analyzing the specific behavioral patterns of learners in immersive learning environments. Considering the fact that research on the technical affordances of immersive technologies and the pedagogical affordances of behavioral analysis remains fragmented, this study first contributes by developing a conceptual framework that amalgamates learning requirements, specification, evaluation, and iteration into an integrated model to identify learning benefits and potential hurdles of behavioral analysis in immersive learning environments. Then, a systematic review was conducted underpinning the proposed conceptual framework to retrieve valuable empirical evidence from the 40 eligible articles during the last decade. The review findings suggest that (1) there is an essential need to sufficiently prepare the salient pedagogical requirements to define the specific learning stage, envisage intended cognitive objectives, and specify an appropriate set of learning activities, when developing comprehensive plans on behavioral analysis in immersive learning environments. (2) Researchers could custo
The Immersive Archive is an initiative dedicated to preserve and restore the groundbreaking works from across Extended Reality (XR) history. Originating at the University of Southern California's Mobile and Environmental Media Lab, this archive is committed to developing and exhibiting simulations of influential XR devices that have shaped immersive media over time. This paper examines the challenges and strategies involved in archiving seminal XR technologies, with a focus on Morton Heilig's Sensorama and Ivan Sutherland's HeadMounted Display. As pioneering prototypes in virtual and augmented reality, these devices provide valuable insights into the evolution of immersive media, highlighting both technological innovation and sensory experimentation. Through collaborative archival efforts with institutions such as the HMH Moving Image Archive at University of Southern California and the Computer History Museum, this research integrates media archaeology with digital preservation techniques. Emphasis is placed on documentation practices, restoration of physical artifacts and developing simulations of these historic experiences for contemporary virtual reality platforms. Our interdis
This work reflects upon what Immersion can mean from the perspective of an Artificial Intelligence (AI). Applying the lens of immersive learning theory, it seeks to understand whether this new perspective supports ways for AI participation in cognitive ecologies. By treating AI as a participant rather than a tool, it explores what other participants (humans and other AIs) need to consider in environments where AI can meaningfully engage and contribute to the cognitive ecology, and what the implications are for designing such learning environments. Drawing from the three conceptual dimensions of immersion - System, Narrative, and Agency - this work reinterprets AIs in immersive learning contexts. It outlines practical implications for designing learning environments where AIs are surrounded by external digital services, can interpret a narrative of origins, changes, and structural developments in data, and dynamically respond, making operational and tactical decisions that shape human-AI collaboration. Finally, this work suggests how these insights might influence the future of AI training, proposing that immersive learning theory can inform the development of AIs capable of evolvin
This chapter examines how data analytics can be leveraged to enhance immersive teacher simulations, situating this inquiry within the broader learning sciences discourse on embodied cognition, data-informed feedback, and teacher professional learning. It explores both conceptual foundations and empirical cases to illustrate how analytics serve as mediational tools that connect immersive experiences with reflective teaching practice. The chapter unfolds in multiple sections: (1) The Innovation Journey: An Overview of Immersive Teacher Simulations outlines the evolution from traditional simulations to XR-based environments, highlighting the need for professional decision-making under realistic constraints. (2) Innovation in Existing Research and Practice situates teacher analytics within the trajectory from descriptive observation to multimodal and predictive modeling. (3) Study Approach and Design details how multimodal data-discourse, behavior, and gaze-from the TeacherGen@i simulation were collected and organized to reveal cognitive distribution of pedagogical discourse and interaction patterns. (4) Findings present the cognitive distribution of preservice teachers' pedagogical di
Ensuring reproducibility of research is an integral part of good scientific practice. One way to support this is through provenance: information about research workflows from data gathering to researchers' sensemaking processes leading to published results. This is highly important in disciplines such as geosciences, where researchers use software for interactive and immersive visualizations of geospatial data, doing virtual measurements in simulated fieldwork on 3D models. We evaluated a provenance management tool, which allows recording of interactions with a virtual fieldwork tool and annotating different states of the visualization. The user study investigated how researchers used this Digital Lab Book (DLB) and whether perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness differed between groups in immersive or non-immersive settings. Participants perceived the DLB as both useful and easy to use. While there were indications of differences in perceived ease of use (higher for immersive setting), usage patterns showed no significant group differences.
Composite visualization represents a widely embraced design that combines multiple visual representations to create an integrated view. However, the traditional approach of creating composite visualizations in immersive environments typically occurs asynchronously outside of the immersive space and is carried out by experienced experts. In this work, we aim to empower users to participate in the creation of composite visualization within immersive environments through embodied interactions. This could provide a flexible and fluid experience with immersive visualization and has the potential to facilitate understanding of the relationship between visualization views. We begin with developing a design space of embodied interactions to create various types of composite visualizations with the consideration of data relationships. Drawing inspiration from people's natural experience of manipulating physical objects, we design interactions based on the combination of 3D manipulations in immersive environments. Building upon the design space, we present a series of case studies showcasing the interaction to create different kinds of composite visualizations in virtual reality. Subsequentl
Today's virtual reality (VR) systems provide immersive interactions that seamlessly connect users with online services and one another. However, these immersive interfaces also introduce new vulnerabilities, making it easier for users to fall prey to new attacks. In this work, we introduce the immersive hijacking attack, where a remote attacker takes control of a user's interaction with their VR system, by trapping them inside a malicious app that masquerades as the full VR interface. Once trapped, all of the user's interactions with apps, services and other users can be recorded and modified without their knowledge. This not only allows traditional privacy attacks but also introduces new interaction attacks, where two VR users encounter vastly different immersive experiences during their interaction. We present our implementation of the immersive hijacking attack on Meta Quest headsets and conduct IRB-approved user studies that validate its efficacy and stealthiness. Finally, we examine effectiveness and tradeoffs of various potential defenses, and propose a multifaceted defense pipeline.
This paper proposes a hybrid radiance field representation for unbounded immersive light field reconstruction which supports high-quality rendering and aggressive view extrapolation. The key idea is to first formally separate the foreground and the background and then adaptively balance learning of them during the training process. To fulfill this goal, we represent the foreground and background as two separate radiance fields with two different spatial mapping strategies. We further propose an adaptive sampling strategy and a segmentation regularizer for more clear segmentation and robust convergence. Finally, we contribute a novel immersive light field dataset, named THUImmersive, with the potential to achieve much larger space 6DoF immersive rendering effects compared with existing datasets, by capturing multiple neighboring viewpoints for the same scene, to stimulate the research and AR/VR applications in the immersive light field domain. Extensive experiments demonstrate the strong performance of our method for unbounded immersive light field reconstruction.
Colour is a fundamental determinant of affective experience in immersive virtual reality (VR), yet the emotional and physiological impact of individual hues remains poorly characterised. This study investigated how fifteen calibrated Munsell hues influence subjective and autonomic responses when presented in immersive VR. Thirty-six adults (18-45 years) viewed each hue in a within-subject design while pupil diameter and skin conductance were recorded continuously, and self-reported emotions were assessed using the Self-Assessment Manikin across pleasure, arousal, and dominance. Repeated-measures ANOVAs revealed robust hue effects on all three self-report dimensions and on pupil dilation, with medium to large effect sizes. Reds and red-purple hues elicited the highest arousal and dominance, whereas blue-green hues were rated most pleasurable. Pupil dilation closely tracked arousal ratings, while skin conductance showed no reliable hue differentiation, likely due to the brief (30 s) exposures. Individual differences in cognitive style and personality modulated overall reactivity but did not alter the relative ranking of hues. Taken together, these findings provide the first systemati