Beyond the screen: How VINCE reinvents digital interaction

Stepping into a digital meeting doesn’t have to mean staring at yet another flat screen. With the VINCE application, virtual interaction takes on an entirely new dimension. Alongside its translator and Ask AI tools, VINCE introduces avatar-based 3D virtual rooms—immersive spaces where users can walk around, explore, and connect with others. Whether it’s following a presentation, chatting casually, or simply enjoying the carefully designed surroundings, these virtual rooms offer a refreshing and visually rich way to communicate in the digital age.

VINCE, the application, currently offers three main functionalities: a translator, Ask AI, and the virtual rooms. The virtual rooms provide a distinctive platform for meetings with their avatar-based environments, allowing users to move freely and interact both with the space and with other participants. The combination of live communication, presentations, and aesthetic digital scenery introduces a new way of engaging online.

From Nordic kitchen to digital nature

With VINCE version 0.6.0, our test users can now dive into many virtual worlds: a greenhouse, a theatre, a Nordic home, a sauna, an outdoor conference area, and a forest. The visual concepts of these rooms have been created at Turku UAS’s Futuristic Interactive Technologies (FIT) team by Aapo Nikkola, inspired by ideas gathered from test users and partners over the last two years as part of the service-design process.

The combination of live communication, presentations, and aesthetic digital scenery introduces a new way of engaging online. 

– When we started planning the project years ago, we couldn’t even imagine that one day we would have these amazing rooms in an app. I can’t wait to see what future room designs will bring to VINCE, says Annelie Ingmar from Länsstyrelsen Östergötland.

Exploring navigation and user experience in VINCE’s 3D rooms

The FIT team has also designed two movement options for navigating inside the rooms: teleportation and joystick, both operated via the mobile device’s touch screen. During test sessions, coordinators have observed and witnessed how intuitive these controls and room functions are for the users.

– Using virtual rooms requires good digital skills, fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and motivation to work in a digital environment. It can be extremely easy for those who are used to playing with their phones and using multiple applications, but at the same time, it can be frustrating to those who are in the beginning with their digital skills, tells Pat Kulka-Kowalczyk from Sateenkaari Koto.

Variation in test users’ digital skills has also guided the VINCE partners in designing rooms that take into account the different needs of a wide range of end-user profiles

Variation in test users’ digital skills has also guided the VINCE partners in designing rooms that take into account the different needs of a wide range of end-user profiles. Some rooms are designed for easier usability, while others offer more advanced usability with greater possibilities for interaction with the environment and other users in the room. The auditorium room provides a more traditional digital experience, allowing users to follow a presentation without needing to move around the room.

The rooms also provide an interesting insight into Nordic culture by presenting a kitchen, a sauna, a forest, and an outdoor auditorium set in the middle of summer fields, creating an aesthetically uplifting and pleasant experience.

Virtual room raising questions of culture and language

When asked what kind of feedback have these rooms received from dozens of test sessions with migrants and professionals working in integration support, Katja Ollikainen from Sateenkaari Koto tells that very often migrants who enter the rooms want to learn Finnish by naming objects around them.

– The rooms also spark discussions about Finnish culture—the Nature Room opens conversations about Nordic nature, while the kitchen raises questions about how Finnish homes function. Some rooms also feature integrated screens for presentations, which test users see as valuable for sharing information, learning new languages, or holding quick advisory meetings, Katja continues.

Continuing with the service design

The design of the rooms and the collection of user feedback will continue until the end of the project. To ensure that service design remains a central part of our work, test coordinators in Sweden and Finland send all insights directly to the Turku UAS FIT team, enabling them to evaluate what adjustments and improvements are needed for future versions of VINCE.