The Platform

A meeting place, not just a meeting tool.

Our prototype meeting platform, built in Unity and hosted in VRChat, implements the design principles our research identified. Free, publicly accessible, open to researchers and educators.

Join the Platform in VRChat →

wrld_6c18bfa4-c47f-4bb3-91da-9d2493583d8c · works on desktop or VR · requires a free VRChat account

Design principles

Five principles, one platform.

Derived from our five-year research program and implemented as features you can use today.

Principle 01

Immersive platforms for social presence

Virtual meetings feel better in immersive environments that support embodied interaction. Social presence improves; emotional connection strengthens; fatigue drops.

Principle 02

Avatars for impression management

Stylized avatars optimize self-presentation, reduce self-view fatigue, and give users control over how they show up — especially valuable for women and people of color.

Principle 03

Flexible audio tools

Modular audio lets users form real-time subgroups, broadcast globally, or maintain spatial audio. Moves beyond the skeuomorphic replication of physical-room conversation.

Principle 04

Hybrid participation tools

Features that anticipate hybrid meetings: physical-room streaming into the virtual world, audio muting between co-located users to avoid feedback, and live viewing for remote participants.

Principle 05

Playfulness for engagement

Ambient playful interactions like virtual fidget objects, sketch pens, and expressive gestures. Optional by default, visible only when users opt in. Supports emotional regulation and psychological safety.

Open to use

Research-ready

Focus groups, controlled experiments, classroom sessions, poster critiques, hybrid conferences. The platform has hosted all of these. Contact us to discuss your use case.

Inside the platform

A dozen environments, one continuous world.

From an amphitheater to an elevator atrium, each space is designed to support different scales and tones of meeting.

Amphitheater entry
Amphitheater: entry
Upper dome seating
Amphitheater: upper-dome seating
Pantheon
Pantheon: formal presentation space
Pagoda
Pagoda: small-group gathering
Elevator atrium
Elevator atrium: hub and connector
Spawn ship
Spawn ship: primary entry environment
Basketball court
Basketball court: informal / playful
Cabana
Cabana: casual meeting space
Orientation map
Orientation map
For researchers & educators

Use the platform for your work.

The Beyond Meet Space platform has hosted the Meaningful XR conference, academic poster sessions, our own focus-group studies, and classroom engagements. It's open to external research use.

  • Virtual focus groups
  • Controlled experiments
  • Classroom sessions
  • Poster critiques
  • Hybrid conferences

Contact a PI →

Aerial view of the BMS platform