When Immersion Isn’t the Hard Part

XR is changing fast. Visual realism and presence are no longer the most interesting problems. In this talk, we look at how newer approaches such as physiological input, AI-driven characters, and sound-first design are shifting what immersive experiences can do and how people relate to them. Drawing from projects developed at XRPeds, we share concrete examples of using real-time signals to shape interaction, designing avatars that respond rather than perform, and treating spatial audio as the primary carrier of meaning rather than a layer added at the end. We talk openly about what has worked, what has failed, and what these technologies demand from designers as XR moves into more personal, clinical, and emotionally complex spaces. This talk is for builders who want to think seriously about where immersive design is headed and what responsibility comes with it.

About the Speakers:

Kimberly Hieftje, PhD and Asher Marks, MD are co-directors/co-founders of XRPeds and the Yale Center for Immersive Technologies in Pediatrics at Yale School of Medicine, where they design and study immersive experiences for health, education, and clinical care. Dr. Hieftje is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics whose research spans the development, evaluation, and implementation of immersive and game-based interventions for youth, families, and clinicians and who serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Games for Health Journal.

Dr. Marks is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics, a practicing pediatric hematologist/oncologist, Director of Pediatric Neuro-Oncology, and Director of the Adolescent and Young Adult (AYA) Cancer Program at Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital, where he integrates clinical work with research to extend psychosocial support using VR and related technologies for young people facing cancer. Together they co-created Year of the Cicadas, a narrative XR experience exploring grief and memory, and co-authored the AMXRA guidelines on the responsible development and use of XR for children, a widely recognized set of recommendations for safely applying immersive technology in pediatric contexts.