This paper explores two virtual child simulators, BabyX and the VR Baby Training Tool, which provide immersive, interactive platforms for child-focused research and training. These technologies address key ethical and practical constraints, enabling the systematic study of caregiver-infant interactions and the development of professional relational skills with young children. We examine their design, features, and applications, as well as their future trajectories, highlighting their potential to advance research and improve training methodologies.

Aims: To give a comprehensive understanding of current research on immersive empathic computing, this paper aims to present a systematic review of the use of Virtual Reality (VR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies in empathic computing, to identify key research trends, gaps, and future directions.

Methods: The PRISMA methodology was applied using keyword-based searches, publishing venue selection, and citation thresholds to identify 77 papers for detailed review. We analyze these papers to categorize the key areas of empathic computing research, including emotion elicitation, emotion recognition, fostering empathy, and cross-disciplinary applications such as healthcare, learning, entertainment and collaboration.

Results: Our findings reveal that VR has been the dominant platform for empathic computing research over the past two decades, while AR and MR remain underexplored. Dimensional emotional models have influenced this domain more than discrete emotional models for eliciting, recognizing emotions and fostering empathy. Additionally, we identify perception and cognition as pivotal factors influencing user engagement and emotional regulation.

Conclusion: Future research should expand the exploration of AR and MR for empathic computing, refine emotion models by integrating hybrid frameworks, and examine the relationship between lower body postures and emotions in immersive environments as an emerging research opportunity.

In the evolving landscape of digital childhood, ensuring safe environments within the Extended Verse (XV) is essential for preventing trauma and fostering positive experiences. This paper proposes a conceptual framework for the integration of advanced emotion recognition systems and physiological sensors with virtual and augmented reality technologies to create secure spaces for children. The author presents a theoretical architecture and data flow design that could enable future systems to perform real-time monitoring and interpretation of emotional and physiological responses. This design architecture lays the groundwork for future research and development of adaptive, empathetic interfaces capable of responding to distress signals and mitigating trauma. The paper addresses current challenges, proposes innovative solutions, and outlines an evaluation framework to support an empathic, secure and nurturing virtual environment for young users.

Aims: Recent world events have resulted in companies using remote meeting tools more often in design processes. The shift to remote meeting tools has had a notable impact on collaborative design activities, such as design reviews (DRs). When DRs depend on computer-aided design (CAD) software, the lack of direct support for CAD functionalities in videoconferencing applications introduces novel communication challenges, i.e. friction. This study investigates friction encountered in real world remote DRs when using a combination of standard CAD and videoconferencing applications. The objective was to understand the main sources of friction when carrying out DRs using a combination of CAD and videoconferencing applications.

Methods: At a single Swedish automobile manufacturer, 15 DRs of a fixture component were passively observed. These observations were subjected to a qualitative thematic analysis to identify categories and sources of friction during these DRs. The DRs were carried out using a combination of CATIA CAD software and Microsoft Teams for videoconferencing.

Results: The analysis of the 15 remote DRs identified four recurring friction categories: requesting specific viewpoints, indicating specific elements, expressing design change ideas, and evaluating ergonomics. Each category highlights specific challenges that were observed during the DRs and emerged due to constraints imposed by existing methods and technologies for remote meetings.

Conclusion: This study provides a framework for understanding the current sources of friction in remote DRs using videoconferencing tools. These insights can support the future development of DR software tools, guiding the integration of features that address these friction points. Additionally, the results serve as a guideline for organizations to implement methods that reduce friction in remote DRs and improve DR quality and efficacy.

Aims: This article aims to create a taxonomy of evidence-based medical eXtended Reality (MXR) applications, including Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and 360-degree photo/video technologies, to identify best practices for designing and evaluating user experiences and interfaces (UX/UI). The goal is to assist researchers, developers, and practitioners in comparing and extrapolating the best solutions for high-precision MXR tools in medical and wellness contexts.

Methods: To develop the taxonomy, a review of medical and MXR publications was conducted, followed by three systematic mapping studies. Applications were categorized by end-users and purposes. The first mapping cross-referenced digital health technology classifications. The second validated the structure by incorporating over 350 evidence-based MXR apps, with input from twenty XR-HCI researchers. The third, ongoing mapping adds emerging apps, refining the taxonomy further.

Results: The taxonomy is presented in a dynamic database and 3D interactive graph, allowing international researchers to visualize and discuss developed evidence-based medical and wellness XR applications. This formalizes prior efforts to distinguish validated MXR solutions from speculative ones.

Conclusion: The taxonomy focuses solely on evidence-based applications, highlighting areas where VR, AR, and MR have been successfully implemented. It serves as a tool for stakeholders to analyze and understand best practices in MXR design, promoting the development of safe, effective, and user-friendly medical and wellness applications.