UnitedXR Brussels

At UnitedXR in Brussels, the Volum team showcased a live holoportation experience that bridged two cities in real time. Two users on-site in Brussels were able to see and interact with a third user located in Barcelona - as a life-size holographic presence - anchored in the same physical space through passthrough mixed reality.

The result was simple to understand and powerful to experience: one shared room, three people, two locations, and a natural conversation that felt close to being together.

What we demonstrated

The demo focused on delivering a realistic sense of co-presence: not a video call, not an avatar, and not a pre-recorded volumetric clip - but a real-time holographic connection.

• Two participants in Brussels joined the session from the event floor.

• A third participant in Barcelona joined remotely and was streamed live as a holographic representation.

• Both Brussels users perceived the Barcelona participant in the same place and at the same scale, enabling natural eye contact and turn-taking.

• The experience ran in passthrough mode so the physical world remained visible, while the holographic participant was overlaid and spatially anchored.

Why passthrough holoportation changes the game

Passthrough lets users remain aware of their real surroundings while adding holographic presence on top. For enterprise and public-facing deployments, this matters a lot: it improves comfort, safety, and usability - especially in busy environments like events, offices, museums, airports, and city halls.

In practice, passthrough enables:

• Faster onboarding: people instantly understand what they are seeing because the real world is still there.

• More natural collaboration: participants can reference physical objects, signage, or shared spaces.

• Better accessibility: reduced disorientation compared to fully immersive VR for first-time users.

• Real deployments: easier integration into workplaces and public venues where full VR is not always practical.

Behind the scenes: the setup in one minute

The demo was built around a clear goal: keep the experience real-time, stable, and easy to run on-site. We prepared the session so that the Brussels attendees could join quickly and immediately see the Barcelona participant as a hologram.

• Location A (Brussels): two users connected from the booth/event space.

• Location B (Barcelona): one user connected remotely and was captured and streamed live.

• Shared spatial alignment: the holographic presence was positioned so both Brussels users perceived it in the same location.

• Focus on interaction: talk, gestures, and body language were the priority - no scripted content.

What attendees noticed immediately

The most common reaction was the "this feels like they are here" moment. Because the holographic participant was life-size, spatially consistent, and present for both users at the same time, the experience went beyond novelty and into something usable.

Where we see this going

This Brussels-to-Barcelona demo is a small slice of a bigger vision: making XR communication simple, scalable, and ready for real use cases. We are already applying holoportation and mixed reality presence to scenarios such as virtual tourism, cultural experiences, remote expert assistance, education, and events - anywhere people benefit from meeting as if they were together.

Real-Time Holoportation Between Brussels and Barcelona

How Volum connected two attendees in Brussels with a colleague in Barcelona - sharing the same space in mixed reality.