Extended Reality (XR) as a Communication Medium: Special Issue Guest Editorial

The explosive growth of extended reality (XR) technologies during the Covid-19 pandemic (Koumaditis et al., 2021), the recent rise of high-quality virtual and augmented reality platforms that afford collaboration in shared hybrid spaces (Pidel & Ackermann, 2020), and the increased interest of both commercial and research institutions towards the design and development of the metaverse (Dwivedi et al., 2022) highlight the potential of XR to serve as a fundamental communication medium in the future (Dzardanova et al., 2022). XR technologies connect users, whether they are far away or close by, in shared virtual environments. These immersive spaces offer rich multisensory experiences, fostering meaningful communication. XR systems allow the co-presence of individuals in immersive or hybrid spaces through high-fidelity personalized avatars, physical presence, or live video transmission (Nguyen & Bednarz, 2020). Participants of these environments may communicate in real time through spatial voice and, using advanced tracking technologies, they may incorporate a multitude of nonverbal cues such as full-body gestures, gaze, and facial expressions (Kasapakis et al., 2021; Maloney et al., 2020; Baker et al., 2021). XR enhances natural and physical interactions through embodied interfaces, enabling multiple users to collaborate in immersive and visually appealing virtual environments. (Lee & Yoo, 2021). Those features render XR the most effective alternative to face-to-face communication and collaboration but pose challenges regarding their impact on the medium’s efficiency and overall user experience. Some of these challenges include, but are not limited to, usability and user experience in multi-user XR environments, nonverbal communication in immersive virtual reality, novel system setups for co-presence and remote collaboration, impact of embodiment in user behavior and social presence, and the design and evaluation of multi-user XR systems in specific application areas. Our interest in shedding more light on these issues inspired the call for this special issue. We aimed to collect and present recent advances related to XR systems and their affordances as communication and collaboration environments. The call sought original studies or reviews that address new challenges and implications and explore the potential of XR to serve as a communication medium along with the factors which can affect its efficiency and overall user experience. The Presence: Virtual and Augmented Reality special issue on “Extended Reality (XR) as a Communication Medium” received 23 submissions contributed