Final Research Goal
This research project aims to develop and validate an Open XR collaboration platform that enhances remote collaboration through highly immersive interaction and social presence across heterogeneous devices, multiple users, and interdisciplinary environments. To this end, the team focuses on core technologies including shared virtual environment modeling, user avatars and their interaction, and social experience evaluation and design.
Current Research Goal (Stage 2, 2025~2027)
Pioneering Global XR Collaboration Technologies for High-Fidelity Immersion and Enhanced Social Presence
- Avatar reconstruction & multimodal interaction for high-fidelity immersion and social presence in XR collaboration
- Securing XR core technologies to strengthen immersive and co-presence experiences, while leading global innovation
(1) [Stage 1] Providing scene-graph-based digital twin construction and management, along with shared-space alignment technologies(~2024).
(2) Delivering realistic avatar body and facial expression generation to represent and enhance remote users’ social presence.
(3) Providing hand–object interaction and haptic technologies within collaborative environments to enhance immersion.
(4) Context-based adaptive representation and developing social presence assessment metrics focused on avatars, spaces, and social synchronization elements.
Research Details
Key areas of development include a scene graph-based system for managing shared virtual environments within digital twins, encompassing spatial layouts, objects, audio, and interactive elements. To support social presence, the research introduces avatar technologies that enable realistic user representation, including appearance, facial expressions, and clothing, combined with hand tracking and haptic feedback for immersive interaction. It also explores context-adaptive representation strategies and defines objective metrics to evaluate social presence based on avatar behavior, spatial configuration, and social synchronization.
Research Topics and Results
In the final stage, core XR technologies from KAIST—including video-based avatar generation and real-time immersive avatar interaction (haptics and hand–object interaction), which enhance social presence—are integrated into the XUM framework at KISTI and demonstrated through social presence metrics applied to construction (KICT) and healthcare (KIOM) XR collaboration.
Expected Results
The expected impact of this study lies in securing XR collaboration platform technologies to prepare for future shifts in science and technology. By enabling realistic remote collaboration experiences grounded in high social presence, the platform offers immersive, face-to-face-like interactions. It is expected to be applicable across various scenarios, including education, construction, and healthcare, helping reduce educational gaps and improve quality of life. By leveraging open platform technologies, the research also supports XR adoption across industries and contributes to market growth.