Third Workshop on AI and AR/VR for Exergaming (AIVR4Exergame)

INVITED TALKS

The 2026 edition of the Workshop on AI and AR/VR for Exergaming (AIVR4Exergame) held in conjunction with the 2026 IEEE International Conference on Artificial Intelligence & extended and Virtual Reality (AIxVR) will host as invited speakers:

Invited Talk: Dr. Anat Lubetzky, Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, New York University, United States

Title: Virtual Reality Applications in Balance and Rehabilitation Sciences

With recent advances in virtual reality technology, head-mounted displays (HMDs) are currently affordable and accessible. Low latency and accurate head tracking as well as the ability to systematically manipulate the environment complexity tracking provide a unique opportunity to study the mechanisms of balance disorders, especially sensory integration. Paradigms combining HMD and brain imaging also allow for better understanding of how the brain controls balance. HMD’s portability enables research outside the lab in clinics and the community at large (e.g., schools).

Dr. Anat Lubetzky, PT, PhD, CSCS, is an Associate Professor at New York University, Department of Physical Therapy, and the Director of NYU Steinhardt’s PhD Program in Rehabilitation Sciences. Her work has been funded by the NIH and the Hearing Health Foundation. In this talk Dr. Lubetzky will share her lab’s journey through multiple research designs: Mechanistic studies to better understanding study sensory integration for postural control and how the brain controls balance; Clinical studies to develop and validate instrumented assessments of balance, and Intervention studies using HMD for balance rehabilitation and exergaming to reduce stress in high-schoolers.

Invited Talk: Dr. Tetsunari Inamura, Professor, Brain Science Institute Advanced Intelligence & Robotics Research Center, Tamagawa University, Japan

Invited Talk: Dr. Annie Wan, Associate Professor, Creative Studies, Digital Arts and Humanities, Media Studies, The University of British Columbia, Canada

Invited Talk: Dr.-Ing. (habil.) Stefan Göbel, Head of the Serious Games Research Group, Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany

ABOUT

AI-enabled AR/VR-based exergames have the potential to enable a broader spectrum of users to participate in rehabilitative and fitness activities in immersive social environments that provide continual feedback to improve performance and incentivize continued usage. However, consumer grade AR/VR systems do not yet have the full capabilities needed to realize exergaming at scale. These challenges include, but are not limited to AI feedback algorithms that can run on untethered systems, long-term usage comfort due to system bulkiness, inability to simulate real-world attributes such as weight and resistance, novel exercise routine generation, and multi-user latency.

Through invited talks, demos, papers, and posters, AIVR4Exergame will bring researchers and industry practitioners together to discuss these new emerging research challenges and technologies. Following topics are of interest.

• Design of exergames to facilitate long-term continued usage
• Privacy and security and related topics for AI and AR/VR use in exergaming
• Ethical considerations for use of AI for AR/VR-based exergaming
• Design of AI algorithms that provide closed-loop feedback to enable continued usability
• Design of AI algorithms for assessing and correcting virtual interactions for safe usage
• Design of AI algorithms to generate novel exercise routines
• Simulating the real-world in AR/VR (e.g., weight, friction, resistance)
• AI techniques for movement tracking using smartphone sensors for smartphone-based AR/VR exergaming
• Incorporating haptics and biofeedback to ensure safe interactions in immersive AR/VR environments
• Effectiveness of AI-enabled AR/VR-based exergaming through results from case studies
• Emergent hardware platforms to enable broader uptake of AR/VR-based exergames
• Long term physical and psychological effects of exergaming in AR/VR
• Co-located and remote social environments for AR/VR exergaming
• Designing rehabilitative AR/VR exergames for children, older adults, and individuals with disabilities
• AR/VR-based tele-rehab server platform to connect participants from remote locations

The workshop will be held in-person (with remote options) at the Osaka University Toyonaka Campus, in Toyonaka, Osaka, Japan, and is co-located with IEEE AIxVR 2026.

ORGANIZERS

NATASHA BANERJEE
Associate Professor
Terascale All-sensing Research Studio (TARS)
Wright State University

SEAN BANERJEE
Associate Professor
Terascale All-sensing Research Studio (TARS)
Wright State University

ASHUTOSH SHIVAKUMAR
Assistant Professor
Terascale All-sensing Research Studio (TARS)
Wright State University