The human brain develops together with the rest of the human body, adapting to its specific properties such as size, weight, and the resulting biomechanics. Virtual/extended reality (VR/XR), on the other hand, allows us to instantly assume a virtual body (avatar) of any kind. While virtual bodies do not need to follow real-world physical, anatomical, or biomechanical constraints, their users are humans whose brains are wired to represent human bodies. VR enables embodiment in entirely new forms – human, animal, robotic, or abstract – raising profound questions: How does our human sensorimotor experience shape interactions in non-human avatars? Does our brain build special models and predictions for virtual bodies, or does it generalize from what it knows about our natural body? How can we create realistic sensations and emotional expressions for virtual bodies?

In this Dagstuhl Seminar, we will tackle these problems by bringing together experts in neuroscience and human–machine interaction who are working on cutting-edge developments in providing naturalistic sensations to users of extended reality. Work will be organized in smaller groups focused on advancing the most pressing topics such as agency, sensory feedback, phantom senses, avatar biomechanics, and more.

The outcomes of the seminar will be forming new collaborations, conceiving novel projects and defining directions for future developments of embodiment in extended reality.

Creative Commons BY 4.0

Artur Pilacinski, Sylvia Xueni Pan, Michael Wiesing, Pedro Lopes, and Christian Klaes

This seminar qualifies for Dagstuhl's LZI Junior Researchers program. Schloss Dagstuhl wishes to enable the participation of junior scientists with a specialisation fitting for this Dagstuhl Seminar, even if they are not on the radar of the organizers. Applications by outstanding junior scientists are possible until Friday, December 5, 2025.