From driving simulations to virtual nature and social robots with facial expressions: XR technology (Extended Reality) is no longer science fiction.
In education, it offers new ways for students to practice, experience, and experiment in safe yet lifelike environments. We spoke with Jan Willem van ’t Klooster, scientific director of the BMS Lab at the University of Twente, about how XR is transforming education and research, what the national Npuls programme means in this context, and how lecturers can start using this technology themselves.
The Setup of the BMS Lab
The BMS Lab is the central research and education lab of the Faculty of Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences (BMS) at the University of Twente. Instead of separate facilities per department, the faculty opted for one large, efficiently organised lab where technology and social science come together.
“The lab has been around for about nine years,” says Jan Willem van ’t Klooster. “We started with four people – a manager, a developer, an education supporter, and a lab manager. We now have fifteen, from data scientists to XR developers and software engineers. Every year we support more than 350 projects, both within the faculty and with external partners.”
The BMS Lab has grown from a start-up into a mature centre of expertise with hundreds of sensors, simulators, and digital tools. “What makes us special,” says Van ’t Klooster, “is that we support both the scientific side of research – data, design, analysis – and the technical implementation. From idea to simulation.”
XR, VR and AR: What Do We Actually Mean?
Terms like VR, AR, MR, and XR are often used interchangeably. “XR is the umbrella term,” Van ’t Klooster explains. “It stands for Extended Reality – essentially a collective term for everything that blends the real and digital worlds. Virtual Reality (VR) is fully digital: you’re immersed in another world. Augmented Reality (AR) adds digital elements to the real world, for example through a HoloLens. Mixed Reality (MR) lies in between: the headset uses cameras to record the surroundings and combine them with digital layers.”
For BMS Lab researchers, XR is a powerful tool to study behaviour and interaction in realistic but controlled settings. “You can put people in situations that would be too expensive, dangerous, impractical, or simply impossible in real life,” says Van ’t Klooster. “Think of fear of heights, hazardous traffic situations, or medical emergencies. In XR, you can safely simulate those.”
XR in Practice: From Driving Simulators to Virtual Nature
XR applications within the BMS Lab serve both safe learning environments and simulation- or intervention-oriented projects. “We use VR in driving simulations, for instance, to study how much trust people have in self-driving cars,” says Van ’t Klooster. “We can also measure stress and workload, to determine when someone should intervene.” XR is also used to study the impact of virtual nature: does a digital forest walk help people relax? Does a virtual garden invite conversation? “We’re investigating which environments are effective for relaxation or social interaction,” he explains.
Augmented Reality (AR) is mainly used to make social issues tangible. “For example, in projects about the acceptance of wind turbines or solar parks,” says Van ’t Klooster. “With an AR headset, citizens or policymakers can see what a new energy project would look like in their own surroundings – before anything is actually built.”
XR applications are also finding their way into education. Students learn to build VR environments or train in simulations where they practice debating or teaching. And there are experiments with social robotics: physical robots with expressive faces. “One of our Furhat-robots is connected to ChatGPT,” says Van ’t Klooster. “It can really talk to you, move its head, and show emotions. It literally gives AI a face.”
From Lab to Street: XR Beyond the University
The BMS Lab doesn’t limit itself to the campus. With its mobile lab, researchers take their studies into the field. “We want to collect data in realistic environments, outside the campus as well – and, of course, from participants who aren’t students but represent all layers of society,” says Van ’t Klooster. “That makes the results much more valuable.”
The lab also collaborates with external partners. Together with Medisch Spectrum Twente (MST), for instance, it developed a social robot that can provide patients with validated medical information through a safe language model. With the municipality of Enschede, VR studies were conducted on the public acceptance of drones flying over the city: how do people react when drones monitor festivals or shopping streets? “Such studies help policymakers better understand how technology is experienced in daily life,” says Van ’t Klooster.
Npuls and Open Learning Materials
In addition to research, the BMS Lab plays an active role in education. Within the national Npuls programme, the lab is developing and sharing XR learning materials. “Npuls focuses on innovation in higher education,” explains Van ’t Klooster. “XR is seen as a key technology within that. We’ve received funding to make our XR educational materials openly available so that other institutions can use them too.”
That sounds simple but turns out to be complex. “You can’t just say: here’s everything, do what you want,” Van ’t Klooster warns. “You have to consider licences, rights, learning objectives, and metadata. Many materials contain elements under copyright. That’s why we’re now investing time and resources to make our materials copyright-free, well-documented, and sustainably available through platforms like Edusources by SURF.” The goal is for other universities and universities of applied sciences to use and adapt the UT’s XR learning environments for their own courses. “That way XR truly becomes a shared educational tool,” says Van ’t Klooster. “Not just a local innovation.”
The Future of XR in Education and Research
According to Van ’t Klooster, XR will become increasingly accessible and realistic in the coming years. “The hardware is getting cheaper, the headsets lighter, and the content better,” he says. “More importantly, we’re combining XR with measurement tools like eye-tracking, stress sensors, and even brain-computer interfaces. This allows us to precisely see how people react in virtual situations.”
Artificial intelligence will also play a larger role. “Instead of fixed scenarios, AI will allow us to create dynamic environments that adapt to the user. A virtual conversation partner that really responds to you, instead of following a script.” He sees great potential for the Netherlands. “We’re relatively ahead in Europe,” he says. “We’re a country that embraces technological innovation quickly. The challenge now is scaling up: not one lecturer with one headset, but large-scale applications that truly become part of the curriculum.”
MIT Europe in Twente
What is Van ’t Klooster’s own ambition? “Our vision is to become a kind of MIT Europe,” he says with a smile. “A leading innovation lab for social challenges, where technology and human behaviour meet.” Disruptive technologies such as XR, neurotechnology, and AI play a central role in that vision.
He also advocates for stronger regional collaboration. “We have fantastic labs here in Twente – at the UT, at Saxion, and at the ROC. If we combine those strengths and work together in national programmes like Npuls and Dutch, we can create much more impact. That requires people who build communities and drive collaboration.”
Tips for Lecturers Who Want to Start with XR
According to Van ’t Klooster, XR is no longer a gadget. “It’s a way to understand complex human issues,” he says. “Whether it’s about stress, communication, or teamwork – XR helps us study behaviour in a safe, controlled, yet realistic environment. And that makes it so powerful for education and research.” What would Van ’t Klooster advise lecturers who want to start using XR? “Start small and see what already exists,” he says. “Almost every faculty has someone or a lab already working with XR. Connect with them, collaborate, and learn from existing applications and networks like Npuls. Don’t use XR just because you can, but because it adds value to your learning objectives or teaching methods.”
He emphasises that XR is most valuable in experiential learning: situations where students need to practise behaviour, collaboration, or communication. “Simulations are ideal when you want to train or test something that’s difficult to organise in real life – for instance, giving feedback, tackling ethical dilemmas, or working in teams under pressure.”
