Marnix S. van Gisbergen

Professor Digital Media Concepts, Academy for AI, Games & Media Digital Media Concepts

Breda University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands

Marnix van Gisbergen is professor ‘Digital Media Concepts’  and R&D manager at Breda University of applied Sciences (Academy of AI, Games and Media). He is also jury member of the European Digital Communication Awards (2017-), Curator board member (2019-) of Chronosphere (Volumetric Capturing collaboration), co-founder and researcher in Experience lab (BUas) and was a Professor Media Enriched Sport Experiences (powered by ZIGGO and Hilversum Municipality). As a research director (2005-2012) of a research agency DVJ Insights and youth company YoungVotes he was responsible for the initiation and management of media related research projects for over 75 brands (e.g., RTL, MTV Networks, Sony BMG). Within the central program line ‘Contextual Connected Media’ the main R&D goal in his professorship is to help brands to realize an immersive media (VR, AR, XR). With an international team of media researchers, game developers and students, Marnix is involved in several innovative media related National and European funded projects on topics such as virtual reality, human body sensors, transmedia and new media business models. Over 40 national and international funded projects have been acquired, created and tested around immersive media projects with a total value over €15M. This includes projects for and with organizations such as Aegon, Heinz, Samsung, Sony, United Nations, Schola Medica, Thermo Fisher, Novadic Kentron, PSV, KOOLE, , Noldus, BLueTea, VisionaiR3D and several museums, hospitals (Stichting Amphia, Stichting Spaarne Gasthuis) and broadcasters such as Google, YouTube, NPO, Warner Music, DPG Media, JIC BRO, 4DRStudio, Effenaar, and Banijay. This has led to over 300 output deliverables and Industry magazines and key-notes, as well as digital media products ranging from VR Supermarket, VR museums, VR/AR entertainment and Virtual Human applications for games, films, ads, news, brand, HR, sport and dance experience

Speech Title: A Digital Déjà Vu known as Virtual Reality

Abstract: We can in 2025 safely argue that VR an AR will not disappear, despite skeptical articles that refer to the decline of XR in the (recent) past. We will spend a significant proportion of our time inside a mediated digital Virtual Reality. However, the question is how much time and with what purpose? Due to the increasing number of media, selection of a medium becomes increasingly more complex and important. Especially as we do not suddenly get more time to spend on media and as budgets for organizations do not increase with the same speed as media arise. Hence, the key question is what kind of role VR will have. What is the added value of VR compared to other media? In this key-note we will discuss what we have learned so far from a decade of developing and testing VR products and strategies. We will discuss the findings behind VR adoption (and rejection), based on the 5-C adoption model and the Virtual Reality reward-effort paradox. We will share the optimum design of VR to create experiences and stir behaviour reflecting on the 4 VR technology model and the 5-P presence model. We will discuss the role of realism based on virtual human experiences. The audience can choose in which context they like to discuss these: from health to entertainment, and from sport to training and education.

Anne Hermans

SenseGlove, Netherlands

Anne Hermans is the Chief Technology Officer at SenseGlove, a Dutch company developing wearable haptic force-feedback gloves that facilitate intuitive interactions in XR for training and telerobotic operations. With a background in Industrial Design Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Biomechanical Design, she currently leads the multidisciplinary Research and Development team, bringing a human-centered perspective to advanced XR solutions. Anne is passionate about preserving meaningful human experience in an increasingly digital world, and her work reflects a commitment to bridging the physical and virtual through intuitive, haptic-enabled interaction.
Speech Title: From virtual seeing to a fuller virtual reality: bringing the sense of touch into the XR mix

Abstract: As XR technologies continue to evolve, visual and auditory advancements often steal the spotlight, overlooking the sense of touch as a vital part of our interface with the world. This keynote will begin by examining why touch matters and what it can add to your XR applications. From vibrotactile cues and kinaesthetic force feedback to thermal signals and contact-based interactions, this talk will ‘touch upon’ the spectrum of haptic technologies and their practical applications in XR. Haptics can imitate reality, enhance immersion, or even speculate new sensations altogether. We’ll compare general-purpose solutions like haptic gloves to specialized devices; discuss design dimensions like actuator resolution, latency, and feedback fidelity; and consider how to align haptic goals - immersion, skill transfer, realism - with your simulation requirements. The session concludes with seven practical steps for integrating haptics into any XR workflow.

Leon Schipper

Chief Executive Officer at Aryzon.World

No-coding XR tool bringing all neurotypes together!  

Carmen-Silva Sergiou

Postdoctoral researcher GUTS
Youth at risk| GUTS GO cohort

Carmen-Silva Sergiou is a forensic neuroscientist that works as a postdoctoral researcher at Amsterdam UMC at the youth at risk department as part of the GUTS project. The GUTS project is a longitudinal study that follows the brain development and social behavior of youth at risk that already have police contact or display early signs of antisocial behavior, already at age 10-13 for 7 years. Carmen’s research focuses on the psychological and neural processes involved in aggression and emotion regulation in forensic populations. Her previous work focused on using innovative research methods to investigate (or modulate) criminal decision-making using neuromodulation or Virtual Reality (VR). She aims to integrate neuroscience with technology in her research line FORNEUROTECH. She will talk about a method she developed together with colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Crime, Security and Law on using Retrospective Think Aloud protocols in combination with VR with a sample of incarcerated burglars.

Speech Title: Using Virtual Reality in Criminology research and the road ahead
Virtual reality-based retrospective think aloud (VR-RTA):  a novel method for studying offender decision-making

Abstract: This study introduces and evaluates a novel approach to studying decision-making: Virtual Reality-Based Retrospective Think-Aloud (VR-RTA). Designed to capture offenders’ perspectives, VR-RTA enhances memory recall and information elicitation by combining immersive technology with retrospective reporting.

Background: Ideally, researchers would be present at the moment an offense takes place and study offenders on the job, but ethical, practical, and safety considerations generally

render this option unfeasible. One way to address some of the challenges plaguing retrospective research methods, such as interviews and surveys, is to reinstate the context of that behavior using immersive technologies, such as virtual reality (VR) that allow for studying behavior in real time.
This allows for a realistic simulation of criminogenic environments, which offenders can navigate to demonstrate decision-making under circumstances resembling the conditions of a controlled behavioral experiment in a safe and ethical way.
Methods: VR-RTA was implemented with 200 incarcerated burglars, who explored virtual neighborhoods in immersive VR equipped with eye-tracking. Participants scouted for burglary opportunities, then reviewed screen recordings of their exploration while verbalizing their assessments and decision-making strategies. Emerging themes from these sessions were further examined in interviews and linked to survey data. Eye-tracking data provided insights into participants' attention to environmental features, identifying both deterrent and attractive cues, and were triangulated with qualitative and quantitative findings.
Results: The method yielded detailed insights into participants’ environmental assessments and decision-making strategies. VR-RTA facilitated the articulation of cognitive processes that are often automatic, while also fostering participant engagement through rapport-building.
Conclusions: VR-RTA is a promising multi-method tool for studying real-time decision-making in crime commission. By addressing limitations of traditional retrospective methods, such as interviews and surveys, and leveraging the capabilities of immersive technologies, VR-RTA has the potential to advance criminological research and understanding of offender behavior.