Aims and scope

The journal, established in 1995, publishes original research in Virtual Reality, Augmented and Mixed Reality that shapes and informs the community.  The multidisciplinary nature of the field means that submissions are welcomed on a wide range of topics including, but not limited to:

    Original research studies of Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality and real-time visualization, graphics, and applications
    Development and evaluation of systems, tools, techniques and software that advance the field, including:
        Display technologies, including Head Mounted Displays, simulators, and immersive displays.
        Haptic technologies, including novel devices, interaction and rendering
        Interaction management, including gesture control, eye gaze, biosensors, biofeedback, and wearables 
        Tracking technologies, motion capture, 3D spatial sound, virtual smell, and virtual taste
    VR/AR/MR in medicine, including training, surgical simulation, rehabilitation, and tissue/organ modelling.
    Impactful and original applications and studies of VR/AR/MR’s utility in areas such as manufacturing, business, telecommunications, arts, education, design, entertainment and defence
    Research demonstrating new techniques and approaches to designing, building and evaluating virtual and augmented reality systems
    Original research studies assessing the social, ethical, data or legal aspects of VR/AR/MR

To complement original research articles, the journal also welcomes papers that provide state of the art reviews of specific aspects of VR/MR/AR.  Such papers must be rigorous and represent a valuable resource for researcher and practitioners.

The journal’s audience includes those undertaking research in academia and industry, and developers and users of applications.  Since readers may therefore be unfamiliar with all aspects of a specific topic being discussed, emphasis will be placed on clear, well-written, and accessible articles which will appeal to a multidisciplinary audience.  

Special Issue on Prototyping and Developing Real-World Applications for Extended Reality
Submission Date: 2025-01-31

Guest Editors: 

    Andrea Bellucci (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid)
    Lucio Davide Spano (University of Cagliari)
    Nanjia Wang (University of Calgary)
    Judith Friedl-Knirsch (University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria)

Please direct questions to: andrea.bellucci@uc3m.es

The Virtual Reality Journal, (https://link.springer.com/journal/10055/), published by Springer Nature, announces a call for papers to appear in a special edition that will focus on the transformative impact of Extended Reality (XR), encompassing Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality, on real-world applications and end-user development.

Focus of this call:

We invite submissions of original and mature research papers that explore the potential of Extended Reality technology in various real-world applications, such as medical training simulations, immersive data visualization, and remote collaboration. This special issue aims to showcase cutting-edge XR applications and to provide empirical evidence supporting their effectiveness in solving real-life tasks. Additionally, we seek contributions that address the open challenges in enabling end users—be they developers, domain experts, or regular users—to create, program, and tailor XR experiences to their specific goals, interests, needs, and abilities. 

We are particularly interested in rigorous studies that demonstrate the benefits of XR in practical scenarios, alongside innovative applications, tools, approaches, and interfaces that streamline XR development or prototyping,  all supported by thorough evaluation. For example, involving the different stakeholders in the configuration, adaptation, and management of the environment. The integration of technologies such as Machine Learning, LLMs and Virtual Agents with XR are expected to be significant emerging themes.

The special issue aims to highlight the transition of XR technology from theoretical concepts to practical, impactful applications, emphasizing the significance of end-user development.

Important dates:

Submission open: October 1st, 2024
Paper submission deadline: January 31st, 2025 
Anticipated first decision: 2-3 months after submission
Earlier submissions are encouraged. Papers will be published as soon as they are accepted.

Publishing model: 

Virtual Reality is a fully open-access (OA) journal. All articles will be freely available to readers worldwide, ensuring the widest possible dissemination and reuse. Transforming Virtual Reality to a full OA demonstrates Springer Nature commitment to open research, providing researchers with OA publication venues that enhance their visibility and comply with funder and institutional requirements. See the FAQs for more information: https://link.springer.com/journal/10055/updates/25856886

Submission Guidelines:

Authors should prepare their manuscript in line with the Virtual Reality Guide to Authors available at https://link.springer.com/journal/10055/submission-guidelines.

Authors should submit through the online submission site at https://submission.springernature.com/new-submission/10055/3 and select “SI Prototyping and Developing Real-World Applications for Extended Reality" when they reach the “Article Type” step in the submission process. Submitted papers should present original, unpublished work, relevant to the topics of the special issue. 

All submitted papers will be evaluated on the basis of relevance, significance of contribution, technical quality, scholarship, and quality of presentation, by at least three independent reviewers. It is the policy of the journal that no submission, or substantially overlapping submission, be published or be under review at another journal or conference at any time during the review process. Final decisions on all papers are made by the Editor in Chief.