by Gabriel Gonzalez-Castañe
The BeyondXR cluster is an open and collaborative initiative bringing together EU-funded projects at the forefront of Extended Reality (XR), and the intersection with many of the European Commission defined building blocks.
Launched earlier this year, BeyondXR was formed to amplify impact by connecting efforts across sectors such as education, industry, and immersive technologies. What began as a coalition of three trailblasing projects has now grown to include thirteen members—SPIRIT, MOTIVATE XR, VOXReality, XR2Industry, and OPENVERSE—each contributing fresh energy and expertise. Importantly, BeyondXR remains open to new collaborations from across the EU innovation ecosystem, inviting additional projects to join this dynamic platform for shared learning, experimentation, and impact.
From open calls and pilot rollouts to webinars, community-building, and cutting-edge research, each project continues to make notable progress.
Here are the latest updates from across the cluster: BeyondXR Cluster: Latest Highlights from EU funded Projects
Community, Knowledge Exchange & Events
The projects in BeyondXR are cultivating strong communities and shaping public discourse around immersive technologies through events and collaborative spaces. A standout example is the webinar series launched earlier this year, which has drawn strong engagement from across the XR ecosystem. Organised by the XR5.0 project, the first four sessions explored themes such as human-centric XR design, attracting dozens of participants each time. The fifth webinar, “Breaking Barriers: How Open XR Standards Unlock Interoperability and Compliance,” is scheduled for 14 July 2025 and aims to deepen conversations around XR standardisation.
Meanwhile, the XR2Learn Forum is fast emerging as a lively online space for developers, educators, and startups working in immersive learning. The forum offers not only technical tutorials and thematic discussions but also first-hand insights from the winners of the project’s Open Calls, fostering a vibrant knowledge-sharing culture. The importance of physical gatherings remains strong, too. Recent general assemblies brought together the MASTER consortium in Eibar, Spain, and the VOXReality partners in Santarcangelo di Romagna, Italy, creating valuable moments to showcase progress and reinforce collaboration.
Looking ahead, two highly anticipated events are on the horizon. The MOTIVATE XR project will convene its fourth general assembly in Bordeaux this September, while SPIRIT and CORTEX² will co-host a joint final session at EuroXR 2025 in Winterthur, Switzerland, highlighting their shared work on immersive telepresence and cascading funding outcomes from over 50 initiatives.
Open Calls, Funding & Pilots
Open call mechanisms continue to play a vital role in empowering external innovators and enriching the technological landscape. In the second phase of its funding programme, XR2Industry reviewed 51 applications focused on software solutions for XR, placing emphasis on interoperability and scalability. Selected teams will receive up to €275,000 in funding, while a third call—targeting TRL 7–8 use cases in areas like MR training—is open until 12 August 2025, offering up to €233,900 per consortium.
Elsewhere in the cluster, XR2Learn is actively supporting the ten winners of its second Open Call, who began their implementation phase this past April. Their solutions are being promoted through interviews and demonstration videos, creating wider awareness and visibility. Similarly, the MASTER project is working closely with 17 teams from its first call who are deploying novel XR tools via the MASTER Platform, while applications for a second open call are currently under evaluation.
SPIRIT recently announced the results of its second call, selecting 16 promising projects to test applications on its European telepresence infrastructure. VOXReality, in parallel, has entered the large-scale piloting phase for three innovative use cases—including virtual conferencing, AR-assisted training, and AR-based performance arts—now being tested in real-life settings. And within MOTIVATE XR, the five planned industrial pilots are moving into implementation after completing an intensive phase of requirement gathering and system definition.
The HECOF project, which just held its final conference, shared key insights from its piloting phase in Italy and Greece. In both countries, its AI-powered personalised learning solutions were successfully embedded in real classroom environments—highlighting XR’s growing role in higher education.
Platform Development & Technical Innovation
Across the cluster, platform development continues to advance at a rapid pace. MOTIVATE XR has made strong strides in designing a modular architecture for XR-supported training, combining ease of use with secure collaboration features. Its tool suite enables users with no programming experience to co-design, publish, and experience XR content in industrial settings. In parallel, XR5.0 is using its webinar series and technical work to push forward the discussion on open standards and the role they play in achieving compliance and interoperability within the XR landscape.
Meanwhile, the XR2Industry team has launched a new mentoring programme for hardware enablers selected through its first Open Call. These six companies are now receiving tailored support to prepare their technologies for integration into XR2Industry’s headset. OPENVERSE is also playing a strategic role in infrastructure development by collecting and curating impactful XR and Virtual World use cases through its Virtual Worlds Observatory. This central hub is intended to become a European reference point for best practices and experimentation in immersive environments. Two technical workshops, one on computing and networks and another on data and data spaces, will feed directly into the OPENVERSE Technology Framework.
Ethics, Inclusion & Responsible Innovation
BeyondXR’s commitment to inclusive and ethical technology development is reflected in several ongoing initiatives. MOTIVATE XR has embedded social, ethical, and legal principles into the very foundation of its architecture, with a focus on open science, data privacy, and responsible AI integration. At HECOF’s final conference in Brussels, one of the most discussed sessions was dedicated to the ethical and legal dimensions of AI, further reinforcing the importance of human-centric design in education-focused XR solutions.
Adding to this momentum, the TRANSMIXR project has published two significant resources. The first guide explores how to create meaningful interactions with cultural heritage in immersive settings, while the second—the DEI Reflection Tool—supports developers and designers in embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion into the heart of XR experiences. These efforts remind us that innovation must be not only groundbreaking, but inclusive and beneficial to society at large.
Join the Cluster
As the BeyondXR cluster continues to evolve, we remain committed to building a shared European vision for immersive innovation—and that includes welcoming new projects. If you’re part of a European initiative exploring XR, AI, or Robotics and would like to collaborate, we encourage you to get in touch.
Learn More & Get Involved
Are you leading or contributing to a European initiative focused on immersive technologies? OPENVERSE is actively seeking partners to shape the future of Virtual Worlds. Join the network, contribute your perspective, and help ensure that Europe leads with purpose and unity in the virtual era.
📄 Learn more about the project and its scope on CORDIS
🌐 Visit the OPENVERSE Project Observatory
📬 For collaboration opportunities, contact [email protected]