eXtended Reality Dining

eXtended Reality Dining for two

eXtended Reality Dining (XRDining) is a mixed-reality experience that blends shared virtual environments with the social ritual of eating. The shared environment consists of surround-videos from different locations, that fits the theme of the dinner. Each location provides a matching dish. XRDining supports small groups, either co-located at a table or connected remotely.

For DDW25 we present a two-person, co-located demo: one table and two Apple Vision Pro headsets. After a brief setup (fitting, calibration, and user configuration), participants enter a shared virtual space where they see and speak to one another as high-fidelity ‘spatial personas’ (lifelike avatars). A guided voiceover leads them through three locations that correspond to the starter, main course, and dessert. At each course a virtual menu appears with a description. No food is served in this demo; in a full deployment, each stage will be paired with the actual course.

Dining with headsets, why?

High-fidelity ‘spatial personas’ are essential for immersion and realism (eye contact, facial nuance, and timing). In addition, rendering 8K surround video and performing object detection demand high-performance hardware, which at present means high-end VR headsets. As devices evolve toward lightweight glasses, the experience will become much more practical in the near future.

How does XRDining relate to existing virtual dining experiences?

Existing solutions use projectors to create virtual scenes which feels like watching a show. XRDining goes beyond this by placing participants inside a shared virtual scene where they see one another as high-fidelity 'spatial personas' while the surround-video environment changes with each course. Further, XRDining connects co-located and remote guests across different locations in one shared scene.