Meaningful XR 2025 conference, UC Davis, May 22-23 (Save the date!)
Submission deadline: February 28, 2025
We are excited to invite you to Meaningful XR 2025 (www.meaningfulxr.org), a conference dedicated to exploring the transformative potential of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR)—collectively “XR”. Meaningful XR 2025 is an engaging gathering of researchers, educators, industry professionals, and students passionate about XR technologies and their meaningful applications. Join us on May 22–23, 2025, at the UC Davis International Center (meaningfulxr.ucdavis.edu/) or participate virtually through our hybrid option.
Keynote Speakers
Katherine Isbister, Professor of Computational Media at the University of California, Santa Cruz, specializes in human-computer interaction and games research, focusing on emotion and social connection in digital experiences.
Mark Roman Miller, Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the Illinois Institute of Technology, studies virtual and augmented reality from the perspectives of communication, security, and data science.
Themes for Submission
We encourage submissions addressing these key areas:
XR’s impact on behaviors, attitudes, and relationships.
Integration of XR and AI to create meaningful experiences.
XR applications in education, workplace productivity, and social issues.
Theories and models for XR research and development.
Game design principles in meaningful and efficacious XR spaces
Tools and methods for analyzing XR datasets and designing innovative spaces.
The future of XR technologies and their societal implications.
Proposed Timeline
Submission deadline: February 28, 2025
Decisions and invitations: April 1, 2025
Early bird registration deadline: April 15, 2025
MXR Conference! May 22-23, 2025
Invited special issue re-submissions due August 16, 2025
Final decisions on special issue November 15th, 2025
Submission Overview & Categories
All submissions should address some aspect of the Meaningful XR themes described above, contributing to an understanding of the current state of the art, practice, science, and/or discipline of Meaningful XR. To that end, submissions should present original, unpublished, work that is not currently under review by any other venue. Student and early career submissions are highly encouraged.
Submission categories include:
Full Research Papers (8000 words max; does not include references, tables, figures, abstract, or title)
Full research papers should present theoretically grounded research or design projects. In collaboration with the Frontiers in Virtual Reality, papers that are accepted to the conference and then revised may be submitted to the journal to go through a review process for an upcoming special issue (Original Research article type), with attempts made to retain at least one original reviewer. Please note that acceptance for the conference does not guarantee publication in the special issue.
Papers must be anonymized and should use APA 7th edition format.
Accepted submissions will likely be scheduled for oral presentation at the conference or, in rare cases, for a poster exhibition (with author consent).
Short Papers (3000 words max; does not include references, tables, figures, abstract, or title)
Short papers are appropriate for a wide range of works, including but not limited to completed research projects, retrospectives on XR design projects, and theoretical, methodological, or technical developments.
Submissions must be anonymized and should use APA 7th edition format.
Accepted submissions may be scheduled for oral presentation or poster exhibition at the conference.
Posters (500 words max, all-inclusive; poster draft submission optional)
Posters are appropriate for a wide range of works, including but not limited to completed research projects, works-in-progress, retrospectives on XR design projects, and theoretical, methodological, or technical developments.
Submissions must be anonymized and include a write-up (APA 7th edition format) of the project to be presented in the poster. Authors may also submit a draft of the poster to be reviewed along with the write-up.
Accepted submissions will be scheduled for the conference poster exhibition.
Panels and Roundtables (500 words max, all-inclusive)
Panels and roundtables should contribute to Meaningful XR community building. Proposals should include an overarching statement of the vision behind the panel, a statement of how all participating members will contribute to this vision and the names and bios of participating members.
MicroTalks for Big Ideas (300 words max, all-inclusive)
Have an awesome idea about Meaningful XR that you want to share with the community? Maybe you are running a company or preparing a dissertation in this space. Do you want to explain how the future of the industry or discipline should be shaped? Tell us about it for a chance at the mic for ~10 minutes.
XR Demos — Apps, Experiences, and Research
Demonstrate your XR applications, experiences, and designs to the Meaningful XR community! Appropriate XR submissions include but are not limited to student/indie/experimental/serious XR games, novel XR meeting/social media platforms, XR productivity applications, research/studies using XR technology (yes, you may submit demonstrations of your XR research designs).
Submitters must obtain all permissions and rights to demonstrate any material.
Submissions should include a document (PDF) describing the application in text and/or images and must include a link to a detailed video showing the XR application in use. If possible, also include a link for reviewers to experience the app on their own. Apps in various stages of completion are eligible, but the app must be in a form that is presentable and usable for exhibition at the conference.
App exhibitors are expected to attend the Meaningful XR conference and demonstrate their application with their own equipment during the exhibition time.
Attendance
Physical Location: UC Davis International Center - Multipurpose room - 463 California Ave #3140, Davis, CA 95616
Physical attendance will be limited to participants who have a paper or proposal accepted for presentation. Likewise, papers and proposals must be presented in person at the physical conference by at least one member of each submission team. However, we will also offer a hybrid option for remote participants to attend selected presentations and social events using a VR headset, computer, or mobile device.
Hybrid: We will offer a hybrid option for remote attendance. Details TBA.
Expected Fees
Industry Participant: $450
Faculty Participant: $350
Student Participant—Early Bird: $200
Student Participant—Regular: $300
Need-based travel scholarships may be available for students and early career scholars.
Brief History
The inaugural Meaningful XR Conference (MXR24), held on Stanford University campus in May 2024, was characterized by 2.5 days (27+ hours) of spectacular presentations, intellectual conversations, and exciting (but safe!) social events. With ~90 participants, MXR hit a sweet spot in size: small enough for sufficiently long convos, large enough to meet many new people. We also supported virtual attendance with an OBS capture of the main conference room Zoom plus screenshare streamed to our VR Chat world, which some attendees viewed in VR headsets. …about right for Meaningful XR.
We hope you will consider joining us for MXR 2025 and becoming part of the growing Meaningful XR Community!
Thanks,
Rabindra (Robby) Ratan, MXR Association Director
Jorge Pena, MXR 25 Conference Chair
Maxwell Foxman, MXR 25 Submissions Chair
David Beyea, MXR 25 Special Issue Chair