Call for Papers:

Connected Realities: Exploring Collaboration and Social Interaction in eXtended Reality
Special issue of the journal Virtual Reality
https://link.springer.com/collections/ijfihjahcf

Editors:
Giuliana Vitiello, University of Salerno, Italy
Pablo Cesar, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) and TU Delft, The Netherlands
Tanja Kojić, TU Berlin, Germany
Andrea Antonio Cantone, University of Salerno, Italy

Deadline for submissions: November 30, 2025

AIMS AND SCOPE

Extended Reality (XR) technologies, including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Mixed Reality (MR), are profoundly transforming how people interact and collaborate in the digital world, overcoming physical barriers and creating new opportunities for social connection. These immersive solutions range from integrating digital elements into the real world to building entirely virtual environments, expanding the boundaries of human interaction. However, the growth of XR also presents significant challenges related to social cohesion, collaboration, inclusivity, and accessibility. Designing XR environments with a strong focus on social interaction and collaboration is essential to creating spaces that foster meaningful connections and teamwork. While XR has the potential to bridge physical distances and bring people together, it can also introduce new barriers for individuals facing accessibility challenges or feeling disconnected from digital spaces that fail to consider diverse needs. To promote inclusive social interactions, XR design must prioritize not only accessibility for individuals with physical and cognitive disabilities but also cultural sensitivity and representation. This involves implementing adaptive interfaces, accessible controls, and alternative navigation methods to ensure that XR environments are usable for people with different abilities. Moreover, it is crucial to provide an inclusive representation of user identities and cultural backgrounds, allowing everyone to see themselves reflected and valued in these digital spaces.

In an increasingly interconnected world, neglecting these social factors risks excluding users and limiting XR’s potential as a tool for global collaboration. This special issue aims to explore strategies for designing XR environments that enable equitable, inclusive, and safe participation, addressing the needs of a diverse community and ensuring that no one is left out of these new modes of interaction and collaboration.

Following the successful workshop held at the 32nd IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (IEEE VR) on the same topic, this Special Issue aims to advance research in Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality by exploring the dynamics of social interaction and collaboration in immersive environments. Addressing both technical and social aspects, it will provide valuable insights for researchers and practitioners seeking to enhance immersion, accessibility, and inclusivity in digital environments.

Authors are invited to submit articles that fall under topics such as, but not limited to:

• Social dynamics in XR
• Accessibility in XR
• Inclusivity in Immersive Technologies
• User Safety and Ethical Standards
• Designing for Engagement and Cohesion
• Emotional and Psychological Impacts of XR
• Educational and Collaborative Uses of XR

We are interested in original and unpublished contributions such as research articles, empirical studies, case studies, application projects, experiments, and evidence-based methodological analyses will be considered. Contributions in the form of literature review articles will not be accepted.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Please visit https://link.springer.com/journal/10055/submission-guidelines

IMPORTANT DATES

Paper Submission deadline: 30 November 2025
First review results: 31 January 2026