Social virtual reality (VR) is the experience of a shared virtual space populated by virtual representations of each individual, allowing them to communicate, collaborate and interact with each other not unlike the real world. Conventional avatars generally mirror factors like an individual’s appearance, speech, movement, and so on, yet a VR can offer many more possibilities to represent a person beyond what reality can offer. One such representation is that of emotions and empathy. To that regard, we propose Bioresponsive Avatars, an avatar system that predicts user emotional states and represents them visually via their avatar appearance. To achieve this, we first conducted an avatar design workshop to understand how user’s imagine emotional states to appear on an avatar. Then, we performed an in-the-wild demonstration of a social VR prototype where dyadic users are presented with affective topics to communicate while their avatars adapt based on their predicted emotions. • Developed bioresponsive avatars to map emotions into Valence–Arousal model. • Implemented a real-time avatar using physiological sensing and ML in social VR. • Conducted an in-the-wild study with 55 participants, noting patterns of empathy in VR.

Members of the LGBTQIA+ community are more likely to face mental health challenges. However, stigma and the fear of being outed often prevent them from seeking professional support. To address this, we collaborated with mental health professionals and LGBTQIA+ communities in Japan to develop a multi-user Virtual Reality (VR) platform that facilitates access to group therapy sessions. The system allows users to participate using personalized avatars and customized voices, preserving anonymity while enabling them to present themselves as they wish. We conducted a user study with 21 LGBTQIA+ participants and two qualified counselors to evaluate their experiences with VR-based therapy. Findings revealed that the created avatars enabled participants to express their chosen gender identity and increase confidence, acting as protective intermediaries. However, participants also noted how anonymity could affect trust, and suggested that better representation of body language and the introduction of trust-building activities could help compensate for such ambivalence. Overall, the platform fostered a strong sense of co-presence, and both counselors and LGBTQIA+ members felt that, with some ergonomic adjustment to improve the comfort of the headset during longer sessions, VR platforms could offer substantial opportunities for safe and representative access to mental health services.

Neurodivergent individuals, particularly those with Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), frequently experience anxiety, panic attacks, meltdowns, and emotional dysregulation due to societal pressures and inadequate accommodations. These challenges are especially pronounced for neurodivergent women and non-binary individuals navigating intersecting barriers of neurological differences and gender expectations. This research investigates virtual reality (VR) as a portable safe space for emotional regulation, addressing challenges of sensory overload and motion sickness while enhancing relaxation capabilities. Our mixed-methods approach included an online survey (N=223) and an ideation workshop (N=32), which provided key design elements for creating effective calming VR environments. Based on these findings, we developed and iteratively tested VR prototypes with neurodivergent women and non-binary participants (N=12), leading to a final version offering enhanced adaptability to individual sensory needs. This final prototype underwent a comprehensive evaluation with 25 neurodivergent participants to assess its effectiveness as a regulatory tool. This research contributes to the development of inclusive, adaptive VR environments that function as personalized "portable silent rooms" offering neurodivergent individuals on-demand access to sensory regulation regardless of physical location.

The limited nonverbal cues and spatially distributed nature of remote communication make it challenging for unacquainted members to be expressive during social interactions over video conferencing. Though it enables seeing others' facial expressions, the visual feedback can instead lead to unexpected self-focus, resulting in users missing cues for others to engage in the conversation equally. To support expressive communication and equal participation among unacquainted counterparts, we propose SealMates, a behavior-driven avatar in which the avatar infers the engagement level of the group based on collective gaze and speech patterns and then moves across interlocutors' windows in the video conferencing. By conducting a controlled experiment with 15 groups of triads, we found the avatar's movement encouraged people to experience more self-disclosure and made them perceive everyone was equally engaged in the conversation than when there was no behavior-driven avatar. We discuss how a behavior-driven avatar influences distributed members' perceptions and the implications of avatar-mediated communication for future platforms.