Immersive technologies are leaving the lab, entering daily life

For years, immersive technologies were easy to dismiss as promising but peripheral: impressive demos, pilot projects, and niche experiments that rarely made it beyond the lab or the innovation budget. That phase is ending. According to SURF’s Tech Trends 2026 report, immersive technologies - from virtual and augmented reality to mixed reality and spatial computing - are steadily moving into everyday educational, research, and operational practice. Not because the technology suddenly became spectacular, but because it finally became usable.

The core shift is subtle but decisive. The bottleneck is no longer hardware performance. Instead, the challenge lies in adoption, governance, and integration into real-world workflows. Immersive technologies are no longer about wow, but about work.

From headsets to glasses: immersive becomes wearable

One of the most visible trends is the rise of augmented reality and smart glasses. Once bulky and socially awkward, these devices are becoming lighter, more comfortable and closer in appearance to ordinary eyewear. Major technology companies are preparing large-scale launches, while early commercial success, such as Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, suggests that assisted reality is gaining traction.

For education and research, this matters less as a consumer gadget and more as an interface. Smart glasses enable hands-free access to information, real-time collaboration and contextual instructions. Researchers can consult data while working outside the lab; students can receive guided instructions in practical training environments; technicians can maintain complex equipment with digital overlays.

Yet the report is cautious. Full mainstream adoption is still years away, and ethical concerns remain unresolved, particularly around biometric data, surveillance and informed consent. The classroom, exam hall and campus are not neutral spaces, and institutions will need clear policies before immersive wearables become commonplace.

Generative AI turns XR creation upside down

Perhaps the most transformative development is the democratisation of XR content creation through generative AI. Until recently, building immersive environments required specialised skills, long development cycles and significant budgets. That barrier is rapidly falling.

AI-driven tools now allow educators, researchers and students to prototype and build virtual environments using low-code - or even no-code - platforms. Text prompts can generate 3D objects, entire scenes or interactive characters. Platforms such as Unity, Adobe and Meta are embedding generative AI directly into their XR ecosystems, dramatically lowering the threshold for participation.

This opens new possibilities for education and research. Custom learning environments can be created faster; experimental setups can be prototyped without large technical teams; immersive simulations can be tailored to specific disciplines or contexts.

At the same time, SURF flags new risks. Intellectual property becomes harder to define. Quality assurance becomes critical, especially for safety-sensitive simulations. While creation is easier, pedagogical and design expertise remain essential to ensure that immersive learning is meaningful rather than superficial.

AI-enhanced immersion: systems that adapt to humans

A third trend pushes immersion even further: AI-driven enhancement of the user experience. XR systems are becoming context-aware, adaptive and increasingly personalised. Eye tracking, voice recognition and emotional cues allow immersive environments to respond dynamically to users, adjusting difficulty, content or feedback in real time.

In education, this enables adaptive tutoring systems that support students when teachers are unavailable. In research, context-aware virtual assistants can help configure experiments or analyse data streams. Operationally, AI-driven XR assistants are already being used to answer routine questions and may soon appear as three-dimensional guides in virtual or augmented workspaces.

The flip side is dependency. As systems become more anticipatory and invisible, user autonomy and transparency come under pressure. When environments adapt automatically, it becomes harder to recognize or challenge the assumptions embedded in them.

The battle for the XR stack

Behind the scenes, a familiar pattern is unfolding. Large technology companies are competing for control of the entire XR stack: hardware, operating systems, AI engines, developer platforms and marketplaces. Apple, Meta, Google and Microsoft are positioning themselves not just as device makers, but as ecosystem owners.

For educational and research institutions, this raises strategic questions. Platform lock-in affects long-term costs, interoperability and control over data. Closed systems may limit access to lower software layers needed for advanced research. Choosing an XR ecosystem is no longer a technical procurement decision, but a governance choice with long-term consequences.

SURF highlights the tension between innovation and dependence. While big tech drives rapid progress, it also concentrates power, making collective coordination and open standards increasingly important.

Public investment shifts XR from hype to infrastructure

Unlike previous XR waves, public funding is now playing a stabilising role. Governments increasingly view immersive technologies as strategic tools for training, productivity and societal resilience. Investments in healthcare, defence, urban planning and education are shifting XR from experimental pilots toward validated, real-world applications.

In the Netherlands and across Europe, public–private programmes and Horizon Europe projects are accelerating adoption while demanding evidence of impact: safer training, higher success rates, fewer errors. This focus on measurable outcomes may finally anchor immersive technologies in institutional practice.

A question of readiness, not technology

Across all trends, SURF draws a consistent conclusion: immersive technologies are no longer limited by technical capability, but by organisational readiness. Adoption depends on skills, culture, governance and shared infrastructure.

For education and research, the question is not whether immersive technologies will play a role — they already do. The real challenge is whether institutions can integrate them thoughtfully, aligning innovation with public values such as privacy, inclusivity and meaningful human interaction.

Immersion, in other words, is no longer about escaping reality. It is about reshaping it - carefully.