From needs to values: approaching the ‘How’ for ethical XR experiences

New PRESENCE research explores how human-centred design can support ethical XR development.

Immersive XR is moving into real-world domains such as health, education, collaboration and cultural heritage. As these technologies become more present in everyday contexts, trust, safety, privacy and responsible adoption become central design questions rather than side issues.

A recent PRESENCE-related paper by Louise Hallström, Iris Jennes and Wendy Van den Broeck (IMEC-SMIT-VUB), published in Frontiers in Computer Science, explores how the Guidance Ethics Approach can complement Human-Centred Design in XR development. Drawing on co-creation workshops and interviews with end users and consortium partners across four XR applications, the paper shows how ethical considerations and user values can be translated into practical design actions, environmental adjustments, and user guidance.

The study concludes that ethics should be treated as an ongoing, participatory part of XR design rather than a separate check at the end. By combining Human-Centred Design with the Guidance Ethics Approach, the authors show that stakeholder reflection can help identify concerns early and turn them into practical design choices for more responsible and trustworthy XR technologies.

To read the full publication click here https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/computer-science/articles/10.3389/fcomp.2026.1856855/full

Reference: Hallström, L., Jennes, I. and Van den Broeck, W. (2026).

From needs to values: approaching the ‘How’ for ethical XR experiences. Frontiers in Computer Science, published 4 August 2026.