We’re proud to share that one of Anns authored a survey paper presented at the 2025 ACM International Conference on Interactive Media Experiences (IMX), held June 3-6, 2025, in Niterói, Brazil. The paper, titled “Transitions between Realities: A Systematic Review on the Usage of XR Systems for Bridging Reality and Virtuality”, is a significant contribution to the growing body of research on extended reality (XR) and immersive media: https://dl.acm.org/doi/full/10.1145/3706370.3727858
As XR technologies become increasingly central to interactive experiences—spanning entertainment, education, healthcare, and beyond—the ability to design smooth and meaningful transitions between physical and virtual realitiesbecomes a critical design challenge. These transitions impact user immersion, cognitive load, and the overall fluidity of the experience. However, current approaches are often fragmented, with technical and design aspects examined in isolation.
This paper offers the first comprehensive systematic review focused specifically on how XR systems handle these transitions. Analyzing 38 studies from major databases, the authors identify three main research themes—research topics, application domains, and transition entities, to organize the field’s current knowledge. Importantly, they also highlight key research gaps: Limited exploration of XR transitions across a variety of domains; Conflicting metaphors and frameworks used to describe transitions; A lack of understanding around multi-scale transition design.
By mapping these challenges, the paper not only synthesizes past work but also provides a foundation for future research and design strategies in XR development.
Participation in ACM IMX 2025, one of the leading conferences at the intersection of media, interaction, and user experience, marks an important milestone for Anns. We’re excited to see their research influencing the next generation of immersive systems.
Abstract
Transitions between “realities” play an important role in designing XR experiences, as they significantly influence user experience. However, integrating these transitions into XR applications poses a significant challenge on multiple levels, including both technical and design aspects. Although this challenge has been tackled over the past decade, existing efforts seem to be fragmented, often examining different issues in isolation. This paper aims to address this issue by conducting a systematic literature review of research related to transitions between realities using XR technology. The study seeks to provide an overview of these transitions, enhancing our understanding of the relevant elements and structures involved in the process. The review covers 38 papers from the Scopus and ACM DL databases. To provide the current state of research, we classify the literature into three main themes: research topics, application domains, and transition entities. Our findings reveal three research gaps in this area: 1) limited exploration of XR transitions across diverse domains, 2) contradictions in the transition metaphor, and 3) a lack of comprehensive understanding of XR transitions across multiple scales. In conclusion, we outline future research opportunities aimed at advancing knowledge in the field.
